the process is more challenging than the result

The real danger is reaching the goal of a perfect system. Then there is nothing to do - existential angst - either accept Camus' absurdity of life and wait for death, or, find a new challenge. But no need to go seeking, grasshopper - countless changes of equipment will not only keep the fire burning but will fuel the economy - uh,oh - with all this reference to fuel, burning and fire, the Al Gore police will be coming for me soon.

Mrtennis: Very observant post. There are certainly many aspects to this hobby and the end result is a nice system for music listening. I agree that most benefits of music listening can be garnered from listening to a radio. Furthermore, there is no need to justify the technical aspect of the hobby by requiring that use of the end result be more important or as important as the journey. For years I heard fellow amateur radio operators try to justify the hobby on the basis that you could use your handheld in an emergency (kind of out of vogue now due to cell phones), while the real joy for me in that hobby came from the technical aspects - it was not the contact that was important but rather meeting the technical challenges that had to be navigated in order to make the contact. Your view is well supported by the activity on this site as well as other audiophile sites. The vast majority of discussion focuses on the technical aspects, product reviews etc. which gives credence to the idea that a great deal of the time people invest in this hobby is invested in those aspects of the hobby.