How does one get off the merry-go-round?

Listen to the music, not the stereo. If the stereo does not let you do that you will never be free!
Many audiophile components are voiced with a particular sound. This can be exciting at first but after a while the colorations get tiresome and it's time for a new "sound". It's all a plot so beware ;-))

Cdc, I like your plot theory! It places the blame squarely on the manufacturer & not the user. I think if you become too critical of your system you need to also look at the quality of the recording because even the most expensive systems cannot make every recording sound good. In fact such a system is more likely to reveal the flaws. My preference is a system that will sound good with all types of music.

My wife is a CDC counselor and I'm in audio denial.

Detlof, I don't know how but I missed your analogy of a spiral. Your right, the merry go round does sound indfinite. I think you can spiral up as well as down. I definately want a ticket to the spiral! When your done with that, how about a ticket to a state of the art roller coaster. You get on, you will have your ups and downs however when its over & all things being equal, you get off & that is a trick in itself. I think its important to to keep a sense of humor & reflect back to how ridicously as audipohiles we sound sometimes, at least to non-audiophiles. One thing I don't like is a snobby audiophile & you sir are not one of them. I can always appreciate a good transaction but some of my favorite people (friends) have left audiogon & moved on with their life but I still make an effort to stay in contact however I have managed to find a heathy balance.

loose your job that will put a stop to things quite quickly