Do you listen to equipment or music.

brucenitroxpro

I'm afraid most of you didn't get the memo... it's ALL about the music.

Apparently you missed the memo too, or did you not notice you joined a web site devoted to audio equipment? 

Both. When I’m tweaking or changing components, I’m listening to the equipment by comparing it with what it sounded like before. When everything is set and I’m not tweaking stuff (rare, but one of my personal goals) I’m listening to the music and enjoying it. 

One must spend years listening to the equipment, until they get it right; I spent time listening to "speaker wire" and then I went from there to "interconnects", next SS amps as opposed to tube.

I decided at the beginning that I wanted a speaker that reproduced whatever it was fed without any sound of it's own; that meant a custom speaker with a crossover designed by a "crossover engineer", which I have to this day.

Last but not least has been "room treatment"; now I have the "holographic sound" that I sought from the beginning, now I can listen to music.

One must spend years listening to the equipment, until they get it right; I spent time listening to "speaker wire" and then I went from there to "interconnects",...

Wow.

That sounds like drudgery.  But, to each his own.

I wish to thank everyone for their thoughtful and in most cases courteous responses.  I freely acknowledge that there is a time for listening to equipment. I have spent a lot of time trying to get the right pieces that ultimately complement each other.  I also know that there are other factors that can impact the sound that cannot be fixed by components.  I realize that I will not be able to just enjoy music for the rest of my life without periods of system adjustment.  I also freely acknowledge that in the past I have become obsessed with adjustment and had to make myself get back to the joy of the music.  It is a fact that there may be some that just want to tinker with the equipment.  For those of you that fall into that category, I hope you find the joy in tinkering that I find in the music.
Thanks again to everyone