Not brave, more exuberant at that period in time perhaps but not brave. My past profession was extremely high stress. Radio interviews at 5am when I'd gone to bed just two hours before. I carried a whole lot of "OPP", Other People's Problems. Audio was my main outlet, both tinkering and listening. Eventually I gravitated towards tried and true technology with an emphasis on improved implementation. My main DAC now is a unique spin on NOS, my turntable, in essence, a modern day version of a tried and tested classic. I like classic, simple tube circuits with 21'st century power supplies. As for speakers, I found a designer whose philosophy matches my own and I have stayed with his brand and am going on my 7th pair, hopefully my last in my main room. That same philosophy is carried by my turntable's designer. In his words, the removal of "character", what I think of as "distractions", what most people call signature colorations. A house sound that is paradoxically an absence of the same. I'm not saying that that's ben achieved but it is the goal and in the here and now, achieved to IMO a high degree based on how I've found them to be more chameleon than king of the jungle.
I tuned two dance clubs with digital XO and EQ, I'm working on a restaurant/bar now that will also use the same technology. Still, I think there is a divide between pro and specialized domestic electronics and that divide is not one of technology per se but rather one of emphasis on the common technology's application. The former has its emphasis on specific utility and efficiency dictated heavily by price constraint wrought by intense competition. The latter molded around expectations from a tightly defined market segment with less economic constraints via greater upward price elasticity.
