The eternal quandary

This is a wonderful thread. Its a state of mind for me:
State 1 - If I focus on the quality of the sound, then I only select the best recorded material to play and search for weakness and strength in the system. This is a good place to be if you are ready to spend. Its a lot of frustration and a lot of fun.
State 2 - If I have reached an upgrade plateau, I enjoy the music, and the various aspects of sound quality just add to the fun, but poorly recorded yet wonderful music doesnt detract from the pleasure too much. This is the budget state to be in.
The trick for audiophiles is being able to condition your mind to move to the desired state, generally from 1 to 2, and thats not so easy.
When you get carried away with a musical experience in your car for e.g., its because you are in the right mood, have the right music, and arent critically analysing the sound quality. You are focusing on the art of the music, not the science of acoustics. Its state 2, and it is great.

Jimjoyce, when I evaluate new components I often take along recordings that are flawed in some way. For example, the system should expose an overly sharp guitar or lean sounding vocal. Its a good tool to see if the boundaries are defined. I did that with all the equipment I own.
I suppose at home when you I am being an 'audiophile' I really tend to select great recordings to show what the system can do - the optimistic approach. If listening to music, I select great music despite the recording and you have to be mentally disciplined to listen without critical ears, or the experience is ruined. i.e. let yourself be carried away with the art.
Twoleftears, agreed. The modes are very blurred, and its easy for to become critical again. I suppose if you keep reverting to being critical, you are bound to end up upgrading.

Jimjoyce, i think you learn which it is by experience. For example, I have a recording that sounds overly lean in most aspects, particularly vocals, but is otherwise very clean and detailed.
When i was shopping for my last system, i found out that some systems made it sound richer and more natural, and you could be fooled into thinking its an improvement. Then you try it on 3 or 4 reference systems, and you see it is a faulty recording. And so i use it as a boundary recording to sift out components that are too warm and rich. If that recording sounds good, i try a recording which i would say is overly rich and warm, and you virtually cant listen to it. Another example is a recording of a sharp steely guitar, and if it doesnt sound that way, you can rest assured the system will lack sparkle and life on a lot of material. I have many recordings that show up these types of things, and some hi fi stores look at me strangely when i use them, but they are very useful....of course if its your home system that you selected with great care over years, you dont want to discover any nasties....
So i suppose bias can creep in, but so what?
I like to think i am happy with my system, but there is always that next upgrade and tweak lurking. Shopping for hi fi can rightly make you highly critical, but at some point you have to really try listen to the music and write off bad recordings as just that, irrespective of the facts. If too many of your recordings have a problem, especially ones that are widely recognised as reference audiophile material by hifi reviewers, you probably need to upgrade.
By the way, I am sure i am not alone in reading hifi reviews with a view to trying the music that was used to test, rather than buying the equipment used.

I know some high end manufacturers listen to instruments in a studio, then go into the next room and listen to the reproduction through their equipment. The honest ones say they are still miles away from reality, even with superb equipment. The question is -- If the music sounds superb, yet may not be an accurate representation, does that matter?
One viewpoint is that while reality might be the basic reference point to aim for, your system is your reality at home, and if your system tickles your emotions and you can really connect you with the performance, then its doing a great job.
Not saying that I agree, but I often wonder about this.