When's enough, enough?

Well, first you have to make it to the point where you have "achieved a sound you like," before you can look for more.

It is natural to never be satisfied with the sound we achieve with our systems. Inherently we know that it does not match the "live/real" sound we tend to aspire to. Since it is impossible to achieve the sound of a "live/real" performance I submit that many of us will continually attempt to make changes large and small to our systems until we lose interest or the money runs out.

Remember though that after all is said and done it is a hobby and the appreciation of music should be foremost in your upgrade path. Each individual will have their own limit as to when enough is enough. Enjoy the ride!

I managed to blow a small fortune 18 months aago when i spent money i would never see the likes of again.. on new stereo equipment.
I retired, and had the pile, and decided since I would blow it anyway on trash if i did not first spend it on something worthwhile.
So i bought stuff costing a lot more than my prior stuff.
I got Bryston 4B-SST2 amp, Bryston BP-26 preamp, Magnepan 3.6 speakers. Furman REF20i powerconditioner. A pair of TTs and carts and a VAC Standard preamp to use as a fancy tube buffer for my old CD stuff
(Yeah I had a pile of money)

I am really set. My stuff is all i want.
Yeah if I won the lotto i could buy better. But i chose stuff to last me another twenty years going in.

The only part i would upgrade if i had a small pile of cash is to go from Magnepan 3.6 to 20.7s.
Maybe when my new 2012 car is paid off. LOL.
(So I guess I am still not quite satisfied???
Though I would not bother with any new cables! lol.

I had a good lesson one time while listening to a friends stereo which had ATC Active 50 speakers, which are very good, and we always enjoyed them but this time I had recently been in a room with a solo violin. After hearing the violin I could not believe how muted the speakers sounded in the high end and how much dynamic range they lacked compared to the real thing.

It was a good lesson and brings to mind Ivor's (from Linn) statement that stereos offer only 15% of the live music experience (several years ago) 15% seems about right in this instance and I am not talking about chopped liver with the ATCs they were very good and I stopped searching so much for the perfect sound but, instead, look for things that matter to me in stereo like dynamic range and tone and an open quality.

Bottom line is if it makes you smile it is a good stereo and yes I have been OCD (it seems) over the years.

Hi my name is Phil and I have been sober approx. 5 years...

:^)

Ha, now we all know what Elizabeth is running!