Fantasies and Appreciating What You Have

[prepress]

I'm in one of my reflective moods again. This may mean I'm slipping further toward being a full-blown audiophile. I was sitting across from my system in silence, regarding all the gear from the oldest (Pioneer Elite LD player, 1999) to the newest (65" Sony A9G OLED, Oct/Nov 2020), and thoughts came to mind which I'll put here in case anyone can relate.

I realized that, despite believing I have a pretty good system, there are things I'd probably replace if finances agreed (they don't). I began thinking of what my "ultimate" fantasy system would be, and it's listed below, along with what would be replaced in parentheses. Notable to me is the inclusion of my turntable, since the SOTA was delivered less than a year ago:

Legacy Focus SE (Mirage M-3si)
Pro-Ject Xtension 12 (SOTA Sapphire)
Magnum Dynalab 107T or 108T SE (Magnum Dynalab 102)
Transparent Super IC (Transparent Plus)
Transparent Premium, Shunyata Venom NR10/12 PCs (Transparent HPPC)
Kimber 12TC
McIntosh MC501
Marantz SA-10, McIntosh MCD600 provided it doesn't use ESS chips (McIntosh MCD500)
McIntosh C2600, C2700, C52, C53, or VTL TL6.5 (McIntosh C2300)
Sony A9G OLED
Furman SPR20.1
Furman IT-Reference 15i
Pioneer Elite BDP-09FD
Pioneer Elite UDP-LX500 (Pioneer Elite 88FD)
Pioneer Elite DVL-91
Salamander Synergy (Sanus Euro)

Despite the above, over New Year's weekend a friend came over and I played Aquaman on BD for her, as she hadn't seen it. She had fun, and I enjoyed sharing it with her, re-engaging the system after another lull of interest. And last night I put on the BD of Steve Martin and the Steep Canyon Rangers featuring Edie Brickell. It sounded really good, rich, full, all the good stuff. This is played on an almost 12 year-old Pioneer Elite BD player, mind you. I was lost in the performance, not paying attention to the sound. I thought, "Why am I not spending more time with my system?" I wonder if the pandemic or the general stresses of my life as it is currently have led to this serious neglect. Did my getting COVID-19 last year start this downward trend to where I've paid little attention to what was supposed to provide entertainment and diversion, some refuge from the craziness? After I came home from the hospital last March, it was a month before I engaged the system in any way, and have not done so consistently since (I haven't played an album since July, for example).

It is time to put aside fantasies and ideas of what I'd replace or think I'd like to have and re-engage what I have, and learn (or re-learn) to appreciate it. Who knows, the fantasies and "what ifs" of new equipment may subside, or go away.