The desire for emotional connection is (pretty-much) a given, but I guess there are people out there for whom music is just a tool or listening is largely "cerebral".
I think I understand better your relationship with reproduction systems and music: you are listening to a different selection of music because the quality of reproduction is allowing you to connect more strongly with certain pieces that you may not have been familiar with and that you are perhaps seeking out these types of pieces. That is a cool thing about a system change... in your case it sounds like a great change!
One of the things I like about my current system is the ease of communication with a diverse range of music; even though production differences are obvious the music is still wonderful. The desire to reproduce certain types of music well is essentially a non-issue for me these days. I guess that is what I meant by a system in service of music: a system that reproduces a large variety of music in a way that conveys the musicians' intent and stirs the emotions, often. It is in service to music broadly, not just “my preferred” music.
That said, I very much enjoy music through a little blutooth speaker, average car system, and cheap headphones, so maybe I'm full of...
or perhaps my “attachment” to music reproduction is just different these days.
Nice to chat... even if it has kept me away from amp chassis design.
Keep well and enjoy!
Ray