smrex13 - I like your review. yes, in the end this is the main criteria to decide whether a component is good: namely, do you keep listening to it? Do you want to listen to more? Some components have a wow factor that tricks you, the better bass, or some other artifact. That wears off. But hi end is not about "special effects" from your system, it's about making music sound more like human music or music made by humans anyway.