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

I have not dropped off per say but circumstances have changed things for me. First let me say that I had it great. My work schedule allowed me an hours time most mornings for dedicated listening. I would go to the gym for my morning workout and then after showering, breakfast, and dressing for work, I would have 45 minutes to an hour for sitting in the chair and listening intently. Then my work schedule was moved up a half hour and all was lost. 95% of my listening is now of the back round type. I have also taken up another hobby. My system sounds great to me as ever but I no longer am scrutinizing so much that I feel the need to upgrade for "something better".
I am saddened by my lost dedicated listening time but for me the cure for upgradeitis was another hobby. I still love audio but it's no longer an obsession, just an enjoyment when I can listen.

Zar, that story sounds vaguely familiar, LOL. Life does go on once you get off the merry-go-round. I would actually say that I am happier now that I have others things to obsess on. ;D

Cheers,
John

You stop when you die! I have desined a mono sys. For my coffin!

I used to have five passions-audio, catamaran racing, sports cars, being a good professor, and my family. I now have but two-audio and my family although my kids now have kids. I find people with no passions boring. I have absolutely no desire to get off the audio merry-go-round. I do a lot of listening but as relaxation and often not dedicated. What I love is when the reproduction is so real that I have to put down my book and just listen.

Between 1992 and 2007 I spent an average of $5-8,000 per year on this hobby, er merry-go-round. Looking back over those expenditures, I can certainly identify a few that returned much better value than others. But at the end of 2007 I decided to "freeze" my system and put all that money into an account for going to live performances.

If anything, I now spend MORE than I used to, but now it goes into tickets & travel (to Music Festivals, catching musicians in their home towns, etc). Now when I look back at my spending, I can say, "Oh that's when I saw Lyle Lovett" or that was the Caramoor Extreme Chamber Music series, or that was our third trip to Tanglewood. Many of those events have given me much greater pleasure than my stereo system ever did on its best days.

Of course, it is still nice to come home after work and listen to some music, but the desire to upgrade my equipment is mitigated by the thought that I could be using that same money to go see Rachael Yamagata or Vienna Teng or Yo-yo Ma in concert.

Works for me! My system has been very stable ever since.