Many seem to be talking about their last system .

@brayeagle is my new hero

my mentor in things orbital ( sadly passed ) was a lifelong learner
i called him one day seeking some help and was told at 94 he was on the bus to audit a local university electrical engineering class

tgis from a guy who has 5 or six essential to Apollo program patents and one of the first 50 people in NASA

inna good thread
mostly with ya
dont write off a generation 

I don't really, it is more of a warning, things are not going particularly well.

Lots of reasons we older philes are departing the train

After 40-50 years of trading, buying, selling, hoping, reaching, praying, searching - it gets a little tiresome, and the ‘grail’ has either been found or we’ve come to the realization that it’s such a moving target that the hunt is not nearly as much fun as it once was 

if you haven’t found the sound that suits you, you come to the realization that you won’t find it and have to conclude one of two realities:  the equipment is more important than the music and you will end up perpetually unsatisfied, or, preferably, the music IS more important and you rearrange your priorities - in my opinion it should truly be about the music, in the end, not ego, not glitz, or $$$, or prestige 

other reasons: as we age, hearing acuity diminishes, perhaps aesthetics become a bigger factor ( Sonus Faber anyone?!? ), guilt feelings engage spending cash for personal and selfish reasons and thoughts of cash requirements for kids, grandkids, charities, etc,  kick in; call it enlightenment, or a greater feeling of responsibility, whatever 

spending more doesn’t guarantee ‘improvement’, satisfaction, bliss, or happiness; I’m as addicted to the search as anyone, and the irony is I can now afford pretty much whatever I want, but I’ve come to a point where priorities have changed, know now that what I own is pretty dang good, and buying the ‘next best thing’ is not likely to enhance my appreciation for either the system, or more importantly the music 

inna
Maybe it's for us to educate the youngsters as they grow older. I've been doing that with my grandchildren and great grandchildren.

Maybe the place to start and get them really interested is through the music, rather than the equipment.   When they become accustomed to listening TO the music, and not to the Bass, The Lower Midrange, the Tweeter, the Coherence, etc.  Get them interested in good music, well-recorded and presented to our systems - - - without getting off track and boasting about the latest addition to the system.   Sooner or later, they'll want to hear good music on their own systems, whatever those may be, and they'll want to hear that good music played better.  

Just a thought

Mark, good post. Finding right balance in expenses is not easy but always important. I can't even remotely afford what I might want yet I spend on the equipment much less than I theoretically could.
We, audiophiles, value both music and sound. I listen to whatever I like regardless of the recording quality but of course try to make any recording sound as good as possible. I don't feel there is always a conflict here.