How close are you to being to your endgame? My system outline and I'm almost there.

@gkelly I got it all installed and up and running last night after midnight. So I played around for a couple of hours and I was stunned at the improvement with the zenith over the wiim pro. Obviously I will get more time with it but I loved it. Just seems so natural with still lots of detail. I don't play cds a lot but reminds me of better cds or more like the few sacds that I have and I thought they sounded great. I put the updated picture up with the zenith in it. I do wish it was the silver version but I will survive I think. Now I'm going to just enjoy it for a long time. I'll start saving up for the cartridge I want but not in a huge hurry especially when the streaming sounds as good as it does. I'm just running low on things to sell to try and help me save up some cash. Might need to sell some more vinyl yet. I can rebuy vinyl anytime. Just want to have all the equipment done with only the cartridge left. I so love this hobby. 

I'm pretty much there at endgame with my 'vintage' system:

Radio Tuner: 1977 Marantz Model 2100 AM / FM Stereo Tuner

Preamplifier: 1968 Dynaco Model PAS-3X Tube Preamp

Amplifier: (2) 1975 MacIntosh Model MC2100 (210 wpc running as monoblocks)

Equalizer: 1976 BSR F Model FEW-III 12 - Band Analog

Scope: 1973 Panasonic Model SH-3434 Stereo / Quadrophonic Frequency Analyzer

Turntable: 1981 Technics Model SL-6 Direct Drive Linear Tracking

CD: 1990 Sony 5-DIsc Digital Media Player Model F- 787

RtR: 1975 Akai Model GX - 265D Reel Tape Play / Record Deck

8TR: 1974 Pioneer Model HR-100 8- Track Play / Record Deck

CSS: 1977 Teac Model A-400 Vertical Cassette Play / Record Deck

Speakers: 1970 Sansui Model SP-5500 

All pieces have been fully restored. Cosmetically, all are near mint condition. Sonically, very very nice - surprisingly so, especially to those more into the modern era equipment (Biggest surprises are the 8-track and the speakers; most people have never heard a quality 8TR deck and think all Sansui speakers are 'Kabuki' junk - and have never even heard of these rather rare 109 pound, Japan-only speakers...)

I have gotten to the point (after trying out a total of 17 different pairs of speakers in my listening room; plus various tubes in the preamp and various cables / interconnects and power supplies throughout) where I don't see any noticeable improvements anymore. At least not within the confines of my tolerances for cost, etc. And I have thousands of hours worth of vinyl, tapes, CDs, etc. to provide a good variety of enjoyable music. 

It's actually a great place to be. Very nice not to be continually chasing down 'something better'... and just enjoying the fruits of my labor. Plus, there are added side benefits that this particular niche of the hobby provides. It's the single biggest draw / conversation starter in my home (even beats out my saltwater coral reef tank on the opposite end of the room); Older visitors marvel at the tech they actually remember from their youth; younger guests are blown away by the nuanced full-spectrum sound of quality analog medium, and all that polished aluminum, chrome, bouncing VU meters; when their only reference points are usually phone earbuds or TV sound bars...

For me, I just enjoy putting on a few LPs or tapes, etc. and sitting right in the 'sweet spot' and letting the music take me away...

At some point you reach a point of diminishing returns and stay there. This is my end of the line system:

VPI TNT V, SME V, Koetsu Urushi, Vendetta SCP2-D, Conrad Johnson Premier 14, Conrad Johnson Premier 11a, Wilson Maxx 2, Inouye power conditioner, Moon 280D DAC

Some of it is id older gear but it sounds very nice to me and tinkering with it hasn't exposed any shortcomings.

My other systems are:

Sota Cosmos, SME V, Lyra Clavis, Bryston BP17, Conrad Johnson Premier 15 phono, Classe DR3 VHC, Martin Logan CLS, Hegel HD12 DAC
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Roksan Radius 5/Nima/Goldring Eroica LX Classe DR-7, Classe DR3 VHC bridged monos + PSE V monos (bass), Classe DAC1 DAC, Vandersteen 4A

Yes, I’m at my end-game system.

And I’m lucky because it essentially coincided with current downgrade in finances meaning I’m not really in this game anymore. 

Like many audiophiles I owned lots of gear over the decades.  And since I like to play with the sound, I often had more than one set of speakers to play with.  At one point I had up to seven pairs of speakers, including Thiel 3.7, Thiel 2.7, Waveform, MBL omnis, Spendor and others.

Also, in 2009 I had my listening room redesigned with the input of an acoustician, so it’s a great sounding room. 

A couple years ago, I went through a big  shedding of gear I didn’t need or was willing to sell, not only to reducing amount of gear, but also to afford my “ end game“ Joseph audio perspective 2 speakers. 

And that’s where I’ve  landed. 

I have enough gear to play with so that I’m not going to get bored.

I have the Joseph speakers , but I also kept my Thiel 2.7 floor standards as well, which I absolutely love.  I also kept my little Spendor s3/5 s - easy to store and easy to throw in the system whenever I want to glory in their beautiful sound.  And I also have kept my very old Thiel model 2 speakers - ancient simple 2-way monitors that have a magic I can’t give up.

Aside from that I can have fun tube rolling on my Conrad Johnson premier 12 mono blocks (I bought a whole bunch of different tubes to play with a couple years ago).

I can also play with preamps since I own both a Conrad Johnson premier 16 LS2 tube preamplifier as well as a benchmark LA4 solid state preamplifier - different flavours.

For sources I have  my beloved Transrotor Fat Bob S turntable, 12 inch acoustic solid arm, and bends micro ebony L cartridge.

JE Audio HP10 phono stage

For digital I stream  my ripped CD library and Tidal via my Bluesound Node to my Benchmark DAC 2L.

So tons to keep me happy for a long time.  

The only two things I can see as future purchases are:

New cartridge when that needs changing.

I’ve considered picking up a really cheap, decent solid state amplifier to occasionally throw into the system.  So I may keep my eye on the used market off and on for that.

I have to say as somebody who’s been such a fervent audiophile stocking and trying so much gear in the past 30 years, the prospect of not doing that anymore feels pretty weird.  But again if I had to stop, I sure ended up in a nice place! 

Endgame?  Such an interesting term. While I often hear it interpreted as the a quest for the ultimate, I see it as meaning good enough.

My system is in my profile and after working in the audio industry for years, spending some time audio engineering and being a musician my whole life, I feel very satisfied. While I know that objectively there are components and speakers that have the ability to outperform my gear, my current system crosses my personal threshold for musicality and that magic illusion of the delivery system disappearing. Is it the end all and be all of audiophilia? By no means.  Is it good enough so that I can devote my finances and time to the pursuit of other things that bring me joy? Absolutely.