I don’t get it, I have to admit. The whole point of middle age to my mind is to have the resources to buy the stuff one craved in younger days but could in no way afford. As stated upthread I’ve got my own approach that really works for me, but I’ll never downsize unless I have to for retirement/health reasons. I just see no need to. I have however got to the point I’ve pretty much run out of any storage space for my various collections of stuff!
FWIW I could very happily live with a fairly minimal system from the kit I own, e.g. TD-124, Marantz SACD/DAC, Walkman Pro, Verdier pre, Quad 303 & LS3/5As. The thing is I just don’t need to!
PS I’m 57 years old, diabetic, asthmatic, so about as far from an athlete as one can get, yet I ride a £3k+ high-end titanium road bike. I’m also a dreadful guitarist, yet have a nice selection of guitars and use a boutique hand-wired guitar amp. Why the hell not?! I’m certainly not going to feel guilty about anything! I’d just like a better house to put it all in (that is a long-term strategy, and will likely be smaller, so at that point I’d cash-in some stuff)!