your frame of reference for time, i.e. history, is forever linked to the components you used to own, such as: I recall that September of '98 when I got that killer buy on a $3k new Sony XA7ES CDP for $1000 as Sony was closing out production on it...or that July of '99 when the first of many Plinius SA100's arrived to adorn my listening room, and how days later that same amp that had arrived just days earlier with thoughts of great anticipation now had me on a mission to find a fan that was inaudible enough not to have an audible influence from my listening position...and how just months later that same Class A amplifier kept me warm and cozy throughout the winter...I could go on and on, but somehow I'm left with the feeling I'm preaching to the choir ;)
You know you're an audiophile if--
You just got a pair of speakers you can barely move yourself (inverse proportionality with age probably too)
The first house you bought cost less than your current stereo investment (ditto)
You have boxes of cables with which you don't know what to do
The first house you bought cost less than your current stereo investment (ditto)
You have boxes of cables with which you don't know what to do