hi end audio, as in golf,or love, or life, is additude. you can spend all the money you care to and to an unbiased listener you won't get more than a 5% improvement. drastic differences maybe, but realistically, not drastic improvements. what you ultimately get from listening to music is food for your soul.
Down graded, with fantastic results
I sold some gear recently to raise some cash. I sold a pair of Cary/AES Six Pacs mono amps, a Cary/AES DJH preamp and a pair of B&W 703 speakers. I purchased a pair of Tyler Acoustic Ref. monitors and a Jolida 302b integrated amp to go along with my Jolida CD player, all wired with Signal cable speakers. My wife does not usually comment on the "sound" of our system, but last night when the Jolida amp finally arrived, she loved the sound of it. I must admit, it does sound fantastic! And at a fraction of the cost of my former gear! $2,050 is the cost of the new stuff. $6,200 was the cost of the AES and B&W gear.