[Fidelity_Fiend]

Presumably everyone who comes to this website comes because they love audio (generally music). An expression we hear time and time again in audio (and experience if we are lucky) is 'to get lost in the music'. I know alot of people will know what I am talking about when I say that, to simply forget about everything else and really be entirely occupied by music. 
 
However, another phrase that people fairly often use when reviewing hifi equipment (especially equipment they enjoy) is that they 'forgot about the gear and just really enjoyed the music' or some variation of that sentiment. It seems to me that lots of audiophiles (myself included) want good gear as a means to 'forget the gear' i.e. really focus on music. Now, plenty of audiophiles (again myself included) perhaps get distracted from time to time and focus too much on the gear. Maybe this is unique to me (although I doubt it) but I remember enjoying music plenty before I developed such a strong interest in fidelity. I loved listening through some gear I could not stand to listen to nowadays. 
 
I know that for me, my need for extra fidelity stemmed from listening extensively to systems much more advanced than what I was using at the time, it was very exciting to hear all the extra detail etc. The thing is, I can remember 'getting lost in the music' plenty of times before I had such a focus on fidelity (obviously these things are somewhat relative as even then I would have had some standards for audio gear). 
 
What I wonder is, does anyone ever feel like audiophilia (and by that I mean focus on fidelity, not just the experience of embracing music) is almost a burden? It sounds trite, but I wonder if others feel like there is almost a 'loss of innocence' aspect to it, in that once we have developed this critical way of listening, what we really want is to get back to simply embracing the moving qualities of music and forgetting about all the critical aspects of audiophile 'gear listening'. 
 
Now don't get me wrong, I love my music and I love the system through which I listen but I do feel that there is something to this desire to 'forget the gear' and I also feel that before I began this journey 'forgetting the gear' was not nearly such a barrier to being lost in music. 
 
 
Anyway, apologies if this is rambling but I just wanted to see what people think. If anyone finds the above intelligible and feels similarly or has any thoughts one way or another, I would love to hear them.

 

[eiouwa]

I experience it the same way as you do.

 

[EnOYiN]

Once I stopped changing my system/ buying new things I got more enjoyment out of music for sure. I haven't bought a single piece of gear for over 3 years now. That said I still enjoy music when it's coming out of my clock radio. (and always have) When I start off my day with a good song by say Bob Dylan I enjoy it just the same. In the end it's about the music and not about the gear.

 

[Seamless Sounds]

It's a burden on my wallet.

 

[maverickronin]

Caring about anything is a burden.  To achieve your true goal you must become The Unfettered.

 

[youngngray]

If I may throw about the oft used quote, "Ignorance is bliss." It seems to go this way with a lot of things. I pretty much agree with what you've said, it's possible to get caught up in the gear and forget about why you have the gear in the first place: the music.
With that said, there are certain reasons that I can see to focus on gear. For example, I'm rocking the ATH-M50's right now and I have been for probably about a year and a half now, but I've realized that they can tend to sound congested and overwhelmed by some of the music I listen to so I think it's a perfectly reasonable thing to get some other piece of gear that would work better for what I want.

 

[Head Injury]

Sometimes I catch myself critiquing sound systems I hear. The speakers in my Japanese classroom have way too much mid-bass, like a guy with a deep voice is enough to shake the floor. But it's actually pretty impressive considering how tiny they are. I'm trying to learn how to make electronic this winter, and the studio speakers didn't seem to have enough mid-range, but that might just be because the only songs I've heard on it were noisy experimental electronic songs with nothing but white noise and rumbles, or it might be because it was a lot louder than my usual listening volume.
 
But I appreciate the music more than I appreciate the gear, and will listen on anything. The cheap stuff sounds no worse than it used to, the expensive stuff just sounds better.

 

[Fidelity_Fiend]

Its good to know I am not alone in this madness. Often I wonder if the trick is not just to fight the critical listener with gear but instead to try and unlearn it altogether. I know I have spent many hours researching gear that would have been better spent locating new music. 

 

[Spareribs]

I find myself these days losing interest in hi fi stuff because I am involved with other hobbies but I still am buying CDs. Basically, my honeymoon period of my headphones, speakers, etc is over and I am less concerned with the gear I notice. But I still am loving the sonics and the music however.
 
Perhaps this may help: In about a 100 years in the future, the good gear today will probably be considered 2nd rate or possibly laughed at. However, the recordings will still survive and be taken seriously.  Will your hi fi headphone amp be regarded as the flavor of the month in the year 2112? I doubt it. But the music of the Beatles and Rolling Stones will be heard by future audiophiles who are not even born yet.
 
Far out brotha!

 

[TorqueLover]

After reading this thread, I noticed I have been spending more money on gear than on music. It's like putting the cart before the horse. My new year resolution is to buy more music instead and enjoy my existing setup as much as possible.

 

[strannik]

I think this has been mentioned quite a few times. Part of the hobby is dreaming about gear, reading reviews about gear, purchasing gear, impatiently awaiting for the gear to ship, raving like a lunatic about gear when it arrives, and then spending the rest of your days in a "X owners unite" or "X appreciation" thread. Then the cycle repeats.
 
If people genuinely get enjoyment from that, great, I know I did. Though it does indeed seem to cut down a bit on the "enjoying music" aspect of the hobby. Millions of people greatly appreciate music and "get lost in the music" without expensive equipment or being anything close to an audiophile. We're sort of an odd bunch, looking for something we'll never find instead of being happy.
 
On that note, one of the wisest thing I've read anyone say on head-fi about gear is "The hardest part is walking away when you are happy". Seems to be quite true
 

 

[Draygonn]

I actually enjoy music more now. I spend more time finding new music and enjoying it rather than simply using it as auditory wallpaper.

 

[Spareribs]

The way I look at it: Buying good gear is kind of like buying a car. I try to buy a good car and may enjoy the specs and bells and whistles. After a while, the appeal will wear off and I focus more on my destinations and travels. 
 
This is how gear should be. Gear should serve as a vehicle for your music destinations. You would hope to forget the details and get lost in the music. Let me give another example:
 
Many musicians study hard to learn to play well and perform. They have to learn the technical stuff like the theory, chords, scales, melodies, etc... A great player in many cases actually does not think about the mechanics of the music theory. Many really good players usually just let go and play the music. The music just flows like the way how Jimi Hendrix plays his guitar. You learn the mechanics, then you get comfortable enough to forget it and just play.
 
Carlos Santana said it best. (I'm paraphrasing) Music should be a slice of life, not something mechanical. Sometimes I have mixed feelings about this site as it can be a bit too materialistic. Gear is fun and should be of good quality but in the end, it should be invisible and behind the curtain.

 

[Astrozombie]

"I know that for me, my need for extra fidelity stemmed from listening extensively to systems much more advanced than what I was using at the time"
 
Bingo Bango! That's why i don't go there. The only time this has happened to me is with video games, once you go over to PC Games and you go back and play console games you notice the screen tearing/frame dips/graphic pop-in/filtering and lack of anti-aliasing. You say "man how did i ever play this crap?"