[Ruben123]

Conclusion is you have to read reviews of gear youd like to buy but dont blindly follow the reviews because you cant always trust them. That is actually very true. Look at the hypes in IEM land. Some new toy found, compared to other toys costing 10x as much, 100 people buy it, dont like it, hype over. The saddest is the endless buying of amps and comparing them, hearing differences that dont exist, and spending money again and again. Did I say spend? I meant waste. 

 

[RRod]

 
Can we even trust our own perception of differences in sound quality when auditioning headphones, or are we just imagining the differences due to preconceived ideas about how each headphone is supposed to sound?  In the end, I suppose we have to trust our own hearing regardless of whether it perceives reality accurately.  I read an interesting viewpoint on a review of high-end cables, in which the writer said we should not waste time on component or cable changes where there is such a small improvement in sound that it is not significant and instantly noticeable and we have to strain to hear it.  Ironically, that reviewer was a believer in high-end cables, and gave high praise to the particular brand he was reviewing.

 
Headphones certainly have measurable differences in relative frequency response that should be audible, so we have belief off-the-bat that should sound different, at least before equalization. Even just adjusting the placement of headphones on the ear can affect the sound (another thing that can be measured if you use something like a head dummy). So with headphones you definitely get a particular reaction between the user and the headphone.
 
These things *don't* happen with any well-designed DAC, for instance. They will have flat frequency response and have no interaction with user physiology. A good DAC should be neutral and handle the given data formats you want, period. But then what is there to review? "I really liked the RCA jacks on this DAC and that it handles DSD." That doesn't make for good drama online, and so instead you get humongous threads comparing DAC "sound."

 

[cel4145]

about our own perception, look into bias, controlled testing, and just try to avoid over confidence. the very first step when listening to 2 products is to make sure they deliver the same loudness. something obvious but not always easy to set in practice.

I think this concept tends to get over--and incorrectly--applied.

The idea behind making certain 2 products have the same loudness derives from ABX testing of two products to determine if they sound the same or not. If they do sound the same, and the loudness differs by < 1 db, we know that can bias one towards the louder product. That makes sense.

But when testing two headphones (or speakers) where the frequency response is quite different, setting the loudness the same is setting an average of the loudness of all the frequencies. I find that some headphones, because of their frequency response, are more suitable at louder volumes, and some at lower volumes. For example, Grados, which many people find fatiguing. Me, too, at louder volumes. But I love their more forward sound at moderate listening volumes. But my K612 Pros, which I find to be less fatiguing, I like at louder volumes. This phenomena is explained by equal loudness contours.

Consequently, I believe that one has to get comfortable with two sets of headphones--listening to each extensively by itself, at various volume levels (also to allow for psychological adjustment)--and then do comparisons at various volume levels.

Also, consider that ABX testing methodology says that one needs to use a measurement tool to match the volume because human ears can be unreliable for doing so. That would be more of a problem when comparing headphones since I don't think the ear is necessarily good at doing an averaging across all frequencies for two products that have significantly different frequency responses. So I think we tend to fool ourselves when we think we are accomplishing anything by saying we are comparing at the same volume unless one uses an SPL meter to set the volume level.

 

[castleofargh]

thus the last sentence of the quote. ^-^

 

[davidsh]

thus the last sentence of the quote. ^-^

You didn't quote ^-^

 

[charleski]

what are we to make of all the hundreds of thousands of reviews and forum posts discussing in great detail all the nuances of sound experienced when using these various products?  If there really are no audible differences between hi-fi products over a huge range of prices, would we not have to discard a large percentage of what is written about hi-fi audio?

Well, I'm restating something I said before, but here goes. The problem with reviews is that they actually review an experience that the reviewer had, but then attribute the qualities of that experience to the equipment used in making it. There are a lot of factors that will alter your enjoyment of music, and the equipment used is actually the least important element.
 
I quite willing to accept that reviewer A had a great experience when he (Because ... can you name any female audiophile reviewers? I can't. Maybe this is the Steve Davis effect at work.) is happening to listen to Stack-o-Gear B. This is no guarantee that he will also have a great experience when listening to S-o-G B in the future, or that you will experience anything similar.
 
Music is capable of creating a transcendent emotional repsonse, but the factors that lead to that repsonse are almost all cognitive, they're happening inside your head.
 
I've been to concerts where I sort-of enjoyed myself but was really thinking, 'Hell, these songs sounded better on the record.' But, but, this is live sound! This is the real thing!* That really doesn't matter when I've had to spend an hour queuing in the rain and am feeling grumpy compared to sitting relaxed at home. Obviously there are a ton of other factors that can influence the experience you enjoy.
 
The entire enterprise of audiophile reviewing is founded on the premise that a subjective evaluation of a perceptual experience can be attributed to the equipment used. This premise is wrong, no matter how 'skilled' (the world does not contain enough quote marks to contain that word in this context) the reviewer thinks he is.
 
 
* Actually, there are a lot of equipment-related factors that muck up live sound, particularly the fact that it's very hard to set up speakers to cover a large auditorium properly. But this is still of minor importance in terms of your overall experience.

 

[Dubwicht]

Finally - the holy grail of audio myth busting. I haven't been to this site for a long time and discovered the thread today. Many thanks to the author 267 pages ago. I can't agree more.

Speakers are the key to audio but beware the demising returns! I have three sets of home built speakers in my living room and they all sound good just different. I have a friend that designs speakers and occasionally visit him to listen to his newest creations. Everything he makes sounds good and after a hour or so and switching back and forth I forget the differences.

 

[Buffington]

  Well, I'm restating something I said before, but here goes. The problem with reviews is that they actually review an experience that the reviewer had, but then attribute the qualities of that experience to the equipment used in making it. There are a lot of factors that will alter your enjoyment of music, and the equipment used is actually the least important element.
 
I quite willing to accept that reviewer A had a great experience when he (Because ... can you name any female audiophile reviewers? I can't. Maybe this is the Steve Davis effect at work.) is happening to listen to Stack-o-Gear B. This is no guarantee that he will also have a great experience when listening to S-o-G B in the future, or that you will experience anything similar.
 
Music is capable of creating a transcendent emotional repsonse, but the factors that lead to that repsonse are almost all cognitive, they're happening inside your head.
 
I've been to concerts where I sort-of enjoyed myself but was really thinking, 'Hell, these songs sounded better on the record.' But, but, this is live sound! This is the real thing!* That really doesn't matter when I've had to spend an hour queuing in the rain and am feeling grumpy compared to sitting relaxed at home. Obviously there are a ton of other factors that can influence the experience you enjoy.
 
The entire enterprise of audiophile reviewing is founded on the premise that a subjective evaluation of a perceptual experience can be attributed to the equipment used. This premise is wrong, no matter how 'skilled' (the world does not contain enough quote marks to contain that word in this context) the reviewer thinks he is.
 
 
* Actually, there are a lot of equipment-related factors that muck up live sound, particularly the fact that it's very hard to set up speakers to cover a large auditorium properly. But this is still of minor importance in terms of your overall experience.

Thanks for your comments.  I am coming to the conclusion that it is best to avoid reading any audiophile reviews, as it is a huge waste of time.  There are too many variables, such as the other gear in the chain, the type of music being listened to, the sonic tastes and listening skill of the reviewer, the mood they're in at the time, and whether they have any economic incentive to promote a particular product.  The conclusions of someone else's review may have no applicability to me, and those conclusions vary widely from one review to another.  I don't even want to see the data from measurements, because it means nothing to me.  If I am interested in a new piece of audio gear, I think it would be best to either borrow or buy it, and evaluate it myself at home with my own gear in a quiet environment at my normal volume levels, without preconceived ideas of what its benefits or characteristics are supposed to be.  If the new equipment doesn't prove to me pretty quickly that it substantially improves the sound, I don't want to waste any more time with it.  If I have to spend a lot of time trying to hear a difference, forget it.  If it does seem immediately to improve the sound significantly, then I can spend a few more hours trying hard to disprove that it causes an improvement, especially if it's a very expensive item.  If it can't pass that test, I either return it or sell it.
 
I don't even care any more about the endless debates, some of them rather acrimonious, between the objectivists and the subjectivists concerning ABX tests, DBTs, and the like.  Both sides use the same tactic of questioning the validity of any test that has results that seem to go counter to their belief.  No one's mind will change no matter how many experiments are conducted.  I'm just going to rely on my own hearing, and try to do so with as little prior information about the products I audition as possible, so my evaluation is reasonably impartial.

 

[bigshot]

I read articles on home audio where they tell me what I can do to make my own equipment sound its best, not just tell me to buy something else. I also pay attention to facts and scientific theory and I google it and double check it to make sure the reviewer really understands it. I don't take anything on faith.

 

[prot]

Thanks for your comments.  I am coming to the conclusion that it is best to avoid reading any audiophile reviews, as it is a huge waste of time.  There are too many variables, such as the other gear in the chain, the type of music being listened to, the sonic tastes and listening skill of the reviewer, the mood they're in at the time, and whether they have any economic incentive to promote a particular product.  The conclusions of someone else's review may have no applicability to me, and those conclusions vary widely from one review to another.  I don't even want to see the data from measurements, because it means nothing to me. 

I think the biggest variable in those reviews is actually the payola. Most magazines write reviews with one hand and take ad money with the other. It just cant work.
I still read audiophile press but mostly for news and I dont trust a single word regarding SQ impressions. Especially if the reviewer is one of those ppl who hears unicorns like "cable sound".
Dont agree about measurements though. They surely dont tell the whole story but if it measures bad, it's bad. And while I do like some tube coloration, I generally prefer neutral sound. I wanna hear what the artist and producer heard not some other dude's idea about good sound.

I liked one of your previous msges about feeling lost in audiophilia land. Been exactly there several years ago. I just bought/resold lots of stuff from ebay and tested it myself. Couldnt hear 90% of the bullsh*t you read in magazines like TAS. My experience is very well summarized by the "10 biggest lies" article from audiocritic
http://www.theaudiocritic.com/back_issues/The_Audio_Critic_26_r.pdf

 

[Buffington]

I think the biggest variable in those reviews is actually the payola. Most magazines write reviews with one hand and take ad money with the other. It just cant work.
I still read audiophile press but mostly for news and I dont trust a single word regarding SQ impressions. Especially if the reviewer is one of those ppl who hears unicorns like "cable sound".
Dont agree about measurements though. They surely dont tell the whole story but if it measures bad, it's bad. And while I do like some tube coloration, I generally prefer neutral sound. I wanna hear what the artist and producer heard not some other dude's idea about good sound.

I liked one of your previous msges about feeling lost in audiophilia land. Been exactly there several years ago. I just bought/resold lots of stuff from ebay and tested it myself. Couldnt hear 90% of the bullsh*t you read in magazines like TAS. My experience is very well summarized by the "10 biggest lies" article from audiocritic
http://www.theaudiocritic.com/back_issues/The_Audio_Critic_26_r.pdf

Thanks for your input, and for the link to that article.  I am glad you introduced me to that publication, and I intend to read some of the other back issues.  It is apparently a very controversial magazine, and even some people who are generally in agreement with the author’s methods and viewpoints think he goes too far at times.  Some audiophiles adamantly state that they can hear differences between various cables and components, and I would not want to be so dogmatic as TAC is in saying those people are all wrong.  I just know that I am going to be very reluctant in the future to spend money on any gear that does not make my system sound better to me.  I am no longer going to rely on reviews written by others, regardless of whether they are informal comments on a forum such as Head-Fi, or a “professional” review in one of the audio magazines.
 
If I had known, even as recently as a few weeks ago, what I know now, I would have saved myself at least several hundred dollars on a DAC and amp, because I would have chosen less expensive ones.  In fact, I am no longer convinced that I even needed a DAC or headphone amp at all.  Maybe one of these days I will do a comparison between the setup I have now and just plugging my headphones directly into the PC, to determine whether the DAC and amp were a total waste of money.  I probably should have done that when I first got that equipment, and still had the chance to return it, but everything I had read prior to that time lead me to believe that a high-quality standalone DAC and headphone amp are essential to get the most out of high-end headphones.  Maybe that’s true, but I have become skeptical of anything I read in the world of hi-fi audio.
 
In the 15 years since the “10 Biggest Lies in Audio” article was published, it certainly hasn’t hindered the audiophile cable industry, as there are now more than 50 manufacturers of specialty cable.  I have seen USB cables priced as high as $9,000 and interconnects as high as $13,500, so apparently there are some audiophiles who have deep pockets and are either naïve or have much better hearing than I.    

 

[prot]

Thanks for your input, and for the link to that article.  I am glad you introduced me to that publication, and I intend to read some of the other back issues.  It is apparently a very controversial magazine, and even some people who are generally in agreement with the author’s methods and viewpoints think he goes too far at times.  Some audiophiles adamantly state that they can hear differences between various cables and components, and I would not want to be so dogmatic as TAC is in saying those people are all wrong.  I just know that I am going to be very reluctant in the future to spend money on any gear that does not make my system sound better to me.  I am no longer going to rely on reviews written by others, regardless of whether they are informal comments on a forum such as Head-Fi, or a “professional” review in one of the audio magazines.


 


If I had known, even as recently as a few weeks ago, what I know now, I would have saved myself at least several hundred dollars on a DAC and amp, because I would have chosen less expensive ones.  In fact, I am no longer convinced that I even needed a DAC or headphone amp at all.  Maybe one of these days I will do a comparison between the setup I have now and just plugging my headphones directly into the PC, to determine whether the DAC and amp were a total waste of money.  I probably should have done that when I first got that equipment, and still had the chance to return it, but everything I had read prior to that time lead me to believe that a high-quality standalone DAC and headphone amp are essential to get the most out of high-end headphones.  Maybe that’s true, but I have become skeptical of anything I read in the world of hi-fi audio.


 


In the 15 years since the “10 Biggest Lies in Audio” article was published, it certainly hasn’t hindered the audiophile cable industry, as there are now more than 50 manufacturers of specialty cable.  I have seen USB cables priced as high as $9,000 and interconnects as high as $13,500, so apparently there are some audiophiles who have deep pockets and are either naïve or have much better hearing than I.    

If you ask me, the whole audiophile cables industry is a shameles crook. Did some experiments a while ago and put up a little thread. Maybe you'll like it.
http://www.head-fi.org/t/729693/the-voodoo-less-cable-thread-reasonable-cable-vendors-and-reviews

Unless you have 300+ohm HPs you prolly dont need an amp. Maybe a DAC cause some pc mboards are quite noisy. But the new 2014-15 ones are quite good. A report here http://www.head-fi.org/t/754695/asrock-z97-e-itx-ac-outperforms-my-bifrost-and-crack-hd-600

As about audio critic, no idea if that guy is right. Did a lot of tests myself but I'm far from being any sort of audio expert. However, my experience matches his. And he does sound *genuine*. And that's more than I can say about any other reviewer. Everytime I open one of those so called audiophile magazines, I just see people who want to make a quick buck writing whatever they have to about whatever pays best. Too bad ADC is not published anymore, I'd like a voice like that in the audioland. Even if he was wrong.
Nowadays I do have some trust left for the pro audio press. At least they usually dont talk about unicorns.

Anyway, good luck and good sound.

 

[HPDJ]

My kind of thread...[WARNING: LONG BUT INFORMATIVE RANT BELOW] 
 
Boy, the things I've learned from 9 years of being an audiophile. I'm just SO done with so much of the nonsense. I've just glanced at some of the comments here and I'll try not to rehash what's been said already but....yeah cables? I can't say I've ever heard a difference. Not one. From power cables to interconnects to headphone cables. If you do then....great, I'm truly glad for you. I'm happy I don't because that would be MORE money to spend on stuff! Nooooooooooo 
 
This hobby really tends to draw you AWAY from the music as apposed to drawing you INTO the music....because you get SO focused on getting the sound "right"...don't even get me started on "right" or "what the musician/producer intended" nonsense. If you happen to subscribe to that kind of terminology, I understand why and I don't want to offend you. It's a BIG marketing/selling point of manufacturers of all kinds. BUT, if you weren't in the EXACT room that they mixed and mastered the music in? With the exact gear they used? I'm sorry but you will NOT be able to hear it as "the musician/producer intended". It's just not possible. What a lot of folks don't understand is that most musicians are sad that people won't be able to hear it like they do in the studio so the best they can do is listen to it on a bunch of different systems after it's mastered (a car, laptop (some big time engineers are doing mixes on laptops folks, it's 100% true), boombox, bluetooth speakers etc) and try and get it to sound at least GOOD on all those systems. I know this because as a musician, I've had to do this. Sure you can spend.....whatever amount you want on gear...a lot, a little. It can sound amazing to you....and it if DOES then hold on to that feeling. But don't try and tell yourself that this is the way the artist wanted it to sound like. Don't let that notion bring you comfort about the sound your hearing. If you like it, it's how YOU want it to sound. And again. Enjoy that! Nothing wrong with that. This chase for an authentic recreation of the music is soooo bogus...it's like a rabbit hole. I'm saying this because I've caught myself from going any deeper into that hole. It DOES. NOT. END. Dudes are buying gear every year! Just for the latest and greatest....are you serious? Look this is a hobby so, as long as your not hurting yourself or others then, by all means, there are lots of ways to enjoy a hobby. Some in this hobby have to have the coolest LOOKING gear, some want the best SOUNDING gear (to their ears)...some need to be on the CUTTING EDGE....some of these people on the cutting edge in particular are reviewers. Sure because that's what they do! They have to be on top of what's new. But don't fall for their exclamations about the latest and greatest and start looking down on the piece of gear you spent years researching and saving for (I've done that so I know)....appreciate that gear you have and spend some quality time with it....if it's working right (sometimes they don't!) then give it some time. Let it help make your music listening emotional and involving. Because I BET that's one of the reasons you bought the gear in the first place. You didn't invest in this kind of gear (whatever the price) to have background music on all the time. My gear should help TRANSPORT me...emotionally...mentally. Whatever that means to YOU. I'm sure it's different for all of us.
 
But I'm not into this endless buying of gear! The dude who wrote that review you've just read? Was in most cases PAID (as has been mentioned in this thread already)....how objective is his opinion?? Think about it. Will he bite the hand that feeds him? NO...will he find flowery words to dance around the few issues he forces himself to write, so that he appears objective? Most likely. As far as I'm concerned, I haven 't read a "professional" Hifi review in months and.....that's coming from someone who read them almost EVERY DAY.
 
My system? For me? Is fantastic. I spent years reading and auditioning gear and saving up and have only a few regrets. I'm not about to beat myself up for those few mistakes either BUT...I have to learn from them otherwise the cycle won't end and you know what? I'm here for the music FIRST AND FOREMOST. That's me. Someone wrote this quote in a comments section of a website a while back and it's probably been posted on this thread already but...what the heck I'll post it again:
 
"Reminds me of the the difference between a music lover and an audiophile.

A music lover listens to music with his sound system.

An audiophile listens to his sound system with music."

 

This hobby also can break your heart when you've had a TASTE of well recorded music on a nice involving system and then you (excitedly) pull out that track from your favorite album from back in the day. Prepared to hear it in "all it's glory!" ...only to find that..........it sounds? Not so great! And your favorite artist (in this case) did NOT record your favorite music well......and so you search for well recorded versions of that album but they all disappoint and none of them sounds as real as that certain track you heard that you didn't particularly care for anyway but...it just sounded SO REAL AND CLEAR....so you start buying well recorded music from relatively unknown artists (not knocking em, some of it's great) and get a kick out of how good it sounds on your newly assembled system...and you show off to your friends and family and they are all impressed with the sound (nobody is particularly taken with the actual music in this example)......then someone takes a look at your music shelf (or browses your itunes or Jriver or whatever) and asks to play a track from some old album of yours that you've forgotten about....you oblige and.....it sounds flat....just not so great........you toss and turn in bed........OK OK I'll stop haha. But you get my point. So many audiophiles have adjusted their musical tastes to suit the GEAR...for ME, this is not the way I want things to go with my system. So, yeah...I was that guy where I had to do a whole "song and dance" to people about why this system I spent X amount of dollars on can't magically make everything sound good. Because even the best gear can't make a poorly recorded album sound good. Once you realize that....you (hopefully) start to focus on the music again and realize that more than half of the music that WAS recorded and IS recorded, is NOT recorded in an "audiophile approving way" haha. We have high standards and the average music lover (God bless em'...truly) doesn't care. You know that old saying about ignorance......

 

I can get chills from listening to a song off of my phone! I forgot that was even possible! Then I heard Neil Young's "Only Love Can Break Your Heart" while in a waiting room at my doctors and I just HAD to have that whole album but it was too late for me to buy a physical copy from my favorite music store so I had to wait till the next day......but that SONG was calling me, so I youtube'd it and OMG I got chills. I cried. From the music coming from. My. Phone.  So I don't need my fancy headphones and DAC etc etc to be emotionally engaged. What a realization! Am I gonna sell my gear?? I've thought about it but....my gear DOES still help my music listening become much more of an EVENT that it would without it and...that is still worth keeping all of it for me. But hearing more of what the record has to offer is a DIFFERENT experience....but not always necessarily a BETTER experience (remember the poorly recorded music example from above). Our minds can do amazing things! They can make up for the shortcomings of poorly reproduced music! They do for the MILLIONS of people who don't have Hifi systems and just care about the music. Our minds can filter out the distortions and lack of frequency extension and PRAT etc etc. But only when we just focus on the music. Now, focusing on the music on a system that CAN produce great frequency extension and PRAT etc makes for something special now, doesn't it? What gear is required to get to that level? That's up to you.   But yes, my system makes listening to music more fun that it would be for me through my cell phones ear-buds. Thank goodness.

 

SO...will I stop buying gear?? For now, YES. I don't NEED anything else but to buy MUSIC. I can't believe I stopped buying music while immersed in this craziness....and now I'm back to ENJOYING and being wrapped up in my music and not obsessing over the SOUND and how it can get better....I KNOW there is better but....dude, when my music is giving me chills and my foot taps and I'm grinning when I listen? I have to not mess with that. You have to know when to get off this crazy train.

 

I will only think of buying gear again when I am able to have a dedicated space for my system and I am able to play music at any time of the day at any volume and my main focus at that time will be making sure the ROOM in not working against me and that will take some time and focus....but right now? I'm headphone focused and I got that right. For ME. Right now. When there is something SUBSTANTIAL in the world of headphones that deserves my attention...then I'll prick my ears up. But I'm talking SUBSTANTIAL. Like, Virtual Reality (yes, I'm taking it there) is about to take off in a major way very soon and with that will come Virtual sound in a more consumer friendly way and not at such a high cost, because I KNOW virtual sound is possible now already. You basiclally have to be aware of patterns in technology and how/when things trickle down to more affordable options. I've never been too upset at manufacturers "statement products" (however outrageous the cost) because that's when they dream BIG and the essence of those dreams tends to trickle down to their more affordable options over time. Woohoo! That's the best part.  What is possible now for X amount of dollars cost WAY more back in the day. But the evolution of this kind of trickle down pattern has made it possible for things to be attainable at cheaper prices over time with the advancements of technology year after year. OLED TV's are dropping in price very quickly....to use a current (relatively short term) example. They were all above 5K like a year ago. There are better examples but you get my point...

 

But virtual reality will change how people record things and that will require new gear...but most of the music we consume right now is mixed with 2 channels in mind (2 speakers). So besides wanting a dedicated music room and the right speakers to fill that room? I'm good for a while. And it's healthy to check in with yourself and see....maybe your good for a while too. Maybe you've been neglecting certain things (aspects) of your life cuz you've been hellbent on finding the RIGHT gear for your system....it happens. Happened to me in a way. Nothing too extreme. This head-fi bubble is a dangerously tempting place and can lead the newcomer down the wrong paths and fill their heads with the wrong info and a never ending desire for more or different. The term for what this kind of community can breed: a Covetous Culture. That's the danger with this kind of website. I guess our culture as a whole breeds a kind of covetousness so....yeah that's another story I suppose. But......I literally came to this site right now to unsubscribe from all my favorite threads...and then I forgot about this one in particular and...decided to talk (write) your ear off. Before I sign off.

 

My unsolicited advice? Enjoy the hobby in any way you see fit. In a safe and respectable way. Be careful. Be smart. Be cautious of what you read. HAVE FUN! This rant has been about my experiences, of course...others here who have posted, feel the way I do and...I'm sure there are more of you out there. I'm going to continue to stay grounded in the music. That feels best for me     

 

[bigshot]

If you ask me, the whole audiophile industry is a shameles crook.

 
Fixed it for you!
 
HPDJ, there ARE things you can do to improve the sound of your music. But they're rarely discussed in audiophile publications... If you have speakers, go 5.1. Huge improvement. Get an equalizer and balance your response. Ask other music collectors and find the best mastering of the albums you are looking for. All of these things will make significant improvements to the sound of your music.
 
Oh... and listen to better music, regardless of sound quality!

 

[prot]

...
My unsolicited advice? Enjoy the hobby in any way you see fit. In a safe and respectable way. Be careful. Be smart. Be cautious of what you read. HAVE FUN! This rant has been about my experiences, of course...others here who have posted, feel the way I do and...I'm sure there are more of you out there. I'm going to continue to stay grounded in the music. That feels best for me    

I would say that is very solid advice.
And your audiophilia experience is probably not that uncommon. I can definitely relate to almost all of that. I remember before getting into what I call gear-craze, I was always listening to the music. Didnt care much about the gear and had to force myself to "listen critically". After a few years of audiophilia, the oposite tends to be more true.