Older And Wiser or just Tighter and Deafer?

A wise man named Jim Rohn once said: "It is good to strive for a disciplined life. Why is that? Because at the end of the road, discipline weighs ounces. Regrets weigh tons."

Frank

So, I guess actuarial tables get thrown out during pandemics...seriously, though, if you enjoy it and can afford it you don’t need to justify the expenditure to anyone but yourself and your partner.   I had a nice system before retirement (Linn Axis turntable, Paradigm Atom speakers and NAD 7020 amp) that was perfect for my mobile AF life (Air Force...). When I retired seven years ago I upgraded and decided to expand my record collection.  Then late last year we decided to improve my wife’s commute and downsize.  I sold all my records and equipment, and bought a Bluesound PowerNode 2i streamer and ELAC Debut 6.2s.   Now that the move is on hold, I spend my days listening to stuff I always meant to listen to but could never find.  Do I miss my old system and collection?   Not really.  I am exploring with the new system and enjoying it.  Hearing damage?  Yep, too much flight line time and pain meds.  To quote someone older and wiser than me, “It’s not the equipment, it’s what you do with it.”  
BTW, I have lived in a few rough places during serious epidemics:  Brazil ‘84 (conjunctivitis), Gabon 2008 (chikungunya), as well as have a mom who contracted polio in her childhood.   Epidemics and pandemics need to be taken seriously, because disease doesn't care what you want.  It is opportunistic.  You don’t give it the opportunity then you survive and it doesn’t. Really basic.
Those who complain about social distancing et al exhibit an incredible amount of selfishness, ignorance and entitlement.  This is NOT “just the flu”. It is FAR more contagious and deadly, and has far more secondary and term affect THAT WE KNOW OF.  Blood clots?  Strokes?  Brain swelling?  You want to take a risk with your loved ones with that?  Instead, listen to some great music on your outstanding audio equipment and ride this out.  You are already doing MUCH better that 95 percent of the worlds population, so stop being so f***ing ungrateful.  
How about taking it to the next level.  Do you know a COVID-19 survivor?  (I know at least three) The family of a fatality?  Again, three.  Reach out and comfort them. Help them.  And do not ignore the real pain happening around you.  

jdmccall56, regarding hearing aids ... I'm age 64 and have been using them for about 5 years now.  It's one of the best things I've ever done for myself despite the cost.  I was professionally measured and found I have significant hearing loss above 3k. The hearing aids brought back great enjoyment of my system and made it much easier to be part of conversations and understanding dialog in movies.  For a while I would do A/B comparisons with them in and out, thinking there was no way having them in could provide a realistic sound. I decided I just enjoyed my system so much more with them in and moved forward with this decision.  Is it as good as it used to be? Probably not - but I don't care ... what matters is that I get tremendous enjoyment from my system now.  I've upgraded speakers during this time (about $8k in Legacy Audio speakers) and happy to still be 'in the game'.

16f4 Thanks for this heartfelt post.... My best to you....

I'm a bit older than you and would not consider adding (as in buying) any component of reasonable or greater cost that I could not audition in my system.