a rant

Sounds like you have been reading too many reviews and buying what becomes trendy.  not faulting you at all but I think you've concluded that isn't working and I agree with you. 

I recommend relaxing a little and don't buy anything for a while. 

I'm sure your system is good if not great.  Remember if you are shopping in the high end areana, there are very few bad decisions.  For example, I posted negative about Parasound yesterday, but that was compared to Rotel, Pass and Coda.  I hate Parasound but if I had to listen to it I would learn to enjoy it.  It isn't bad.  We are chasing the last few percent.

I recommend STOP reading all reviews.  Take all online recommendations, including on this site and including any equipment recommendation I make, with a grain of salt.  Make your own decisions about what you like.  Move slowly and if possible audition the equipment to make sure you like it. 

Consider buying used so that if you don't like it, you can resell at about the same price you paid.  Much easier to try lots of different equipment that way.

and oh yeah, break-in is highly exaggerated and often used to avoid returns.  Equipment does break in a bit, but after a few hours, or maybe even minutes, it isn't that dramatic so don't expect a piece of equipment you don't like to get good.  The best that can happen is your mind gets used to it.

Jerry  

Regarding amps, I began buying them based on measured distortion profile rather than focusing on their topology. I.e., the amp’s primary distortion harmonic that would be most audible. I began noticing a pattern that my favorite amps have either second or third harmonic as their highest distortion component, with higher orders being below the amp’s noise floor. Solid state amps of this nature provide the most tube-like dimensionality without the typical drawbacks of tubes. 

That’s how I landed on my current integrated amps, one of them being class D. If you’d asked me a year ago, I probably would’ve told you I’d never again purchase a class D amp. 

Regarding reviewers, they make their money off of raves and rhapsodies. No one wants a product that is merely “ok for the money.” They know this, and that’s why they tend to gloss over or entirely omit any negative criticism. There are other reasons why I believe most reviews are untrustworthy but that’s too long a diatribe for a Sunday morning. Suffice to say that if you think about the reviewing industry critically, there is really only one conclusion to make. 

Perhaps the best thing I have done in my audiophile journey was to cease reading the online pubs and watching the YT reviews. These days if I can’t somehow experience it for myself through the secondhand market or an audition, it’s not worth my attention. I only look at reviews if they include the aforementioned distortion measurements. 

@carlsbad2 + 1

I do not trust reviews generally speaking , but it was nice to see my Amp and DAC on Part Time Audio's best of and best value for the DAC and few years in a row after I purchased them.   They are great and definitely keepers.  

My most recent buy was a pair of Studio Electric M4.   They have been on that list every year since 2022 for good reason.  They are awesome.   That review did not influence my purchase, show reports by many saying that the Studio Electric room at shows sounded impressive did. Particularly those speakers.   

I think I'm finally off the component merry go round for a while.  As always , trust your ears.