Joe,I don't think we're connecting. I am not suggesting "changing speakers frequently", just trying to build a solid foundation for a long term upgrade path. Regarding the car/tires analogy, no I would not buy the tires first. I would get a machine with a great drivetrain/suspension design and upgrade components from there. I see the amp/pre as the drivetrain. Get it right and go from there. I still don't understand throwing the system out of balance when getting better speakers. I have experienced better speakers being revealing of what's upstream and have found that good electronics sound good with almost all speakers (yes, there are exceptions but these are extreme and obvious -- like trying to drive big SoundLabs with a low power triode amp -- and not likely in real world scenarios). Nothing is forever in this hobby, and there is no "best", we all get the jones for "more" at some time. Most of us will get better components at every point in our systems before we're done (most likely when we're buried). My approach works for me and allows me to go on upgrading for a long time (read: years, and not to be confused with changing speakers frequently) before having to make major changes in the guts of the system. I guess it comes down to different strokes for different folks.
