I will admit to falling into the "trap" you've highlighted. After a long hiatus, I re-started my HiFi hobby; with all the new technological and evolutionary developments in gear since I last dabbled (some 25yrs ago), I was like a kid in a sweetshop. but, I didn't factor in that my sonic preferences, and musical tastes have also evolved.
I've chased high dynamic contrasts, and detail, but realised that while my system sounded impressive, it didn't really impart "soul", I found it dispassionate if that makes sense. But I have now, eventually, come out of the other side. What I find I'm actually looking for is to feel the music again. For instance, I've bought a pre-loved DAC, which I'm using in place of my main DAC at the moment; the reason being, it has a much more organic, lusher sound character which I find far more desirable.I did a similar thing with my integrated prior to this, for the same reasons.
We all enter this hobby with an innate love of music, but can get lost along the way, chasing an ideal that maybe doesn't exist, or if it does may actually not be what is desired to fulfil the musical yearning.