Drubin:
I cannot speak for anyone else. I think that everyone else has their own way of getting off of the ""high-end" audiophile component of the month" merry-go-round?? Me myself??? If you were to liken me to anyone here at "Audiogon"??? Then I would be a combination of "Psychicanimal" and "Sdcampbell". Because just like "Psychicanimal", I hold the viewpoint that the system that you design is an extention of your personality, and to a greater extent, an extention to the music that you listen to. Therefore, because I listen to R&B (both modern and classic), Rap & Hip-Hop, Jazz, and some Light Rock, I don't need an "over-the-top-system" to get the most out of the music that I listen to. For me, a "middle-of-the-road" system will do just fine. My system is revealing enough to allow me to pick out instruments (what type they are, who makes them, and where they are placed on stage in the recording) and identify artists as well, but is well rounded enough for me to play music sometimes without getting too serious about it. When it is all said and done, my system is going to have a "get-up-and-boogie" factor too. That way, I can get even more pleasure out of my R&B and Rap recordings too. I am now shopping for a Subwoofer to mate with my British made KEF's (they're made in England, so that qualifies them for British) which will allow me to do JUST that. And I am like "Sdcampbell" in the sense that I always tend to shop for components that offer a "high performance to the dollar" ratio, and can do more than is otherwise possible at a given price point. That's why I tend to go for components that offer me a lot of engineering and know how, but at affordable amounts of money (i.e.-- Adcom, Thorens, and now..... Monolithic). I also tend to go for designs that can withstand time. That is because I am not interested in buying and changing components every time a new component comes out. I prefer to do it right the first time, or else, don't do it at all. Now, when this system is finally completed, what will ACTUALLY happen after the fact??? Who knows??? But I will say this. My intent right now is to put together a system that is going to have some staying power behind it. When I am done, I intend to stand pat for a VERY long time. Now, if I were to upgrade today, then what I would probably do is go for simplicity as opposed complexity. And for that, to me, that would mean a pair of high quality monitors (like my KEF's, but only more expensive this time. The intent then is to upgrade my sound quality) being married to a "high-end" integrated, being topped off yet by a high quality digital source and ONE analog source (and that mean LPs will reign supreme and cassettes will be out).
That would be MY way of getting off of the "merry-go-round".
--Charles--
I cannot speak for anyone else. I think that everyone else has their own way of getting off of the ""high-end" audiophile component of the month" merry-go-round?? Me myself??? If you were to liken me to anyone here at "Audiogon"??? Then I would be a combination of "Psychicanimal" and "Sdcampbell". Because just like "Psychicanimal", I hold the viewpoint that the system that you design is an extention of your personality, and to a greater extent, an extention to the music that you listen to. Therefore, because I listen to R&B (both modern and classic), Rap & Hip-Hop, Jazz, and some Light Rock, I don't need an "over-the-top-system" to get the most out of the music that I listen to. For me, a "middle-of-the-road" system will do just fine. My system is revealing enough to allow me to pick out instruments (what type they are, who makes them, and where they are placed on stage in the recording) and identify artists as well, but is well rounded enough for me to play music sometimes without getting too serious about it. When it is all said and done, my system is going to have a "get-up-and-boogie" factor too. That way, I can get even more pleasure out of my R&B and Rap recordings too. I am now shopping for a Subwoofer to mate with my British made KEF's (they're made in England, so that qualifies them for British) which will allow me to do JUST that. And I am like "Sdcampbell" in the sense that I always tend to shop for components that offer a "high performance to the dollar" ratio, and can do more than is otherwise possible at a given price point. That's why I tend to go for components that offer me a lot of engineering and know how, but at affordable amounts of money (i.e.-- Adcom, Thorens, and now..... Monolithic). I also tend to go for designs that can withstand time. That is because I am not interested in buying and changing components every time a new component comes out. I prefer to do it right the first time, or else, don't do it at all. Now, when this system is finally completed, what will ACTUALLY happen after the fact??? Who knows??? But I will say this. My intent right now is to put together a system that is going to have some staying power behind it. When I am done, I intend to stand pat for a VERY long time. Now, if I were to upgrade today, then what I would probably do is go for simplicity as opposed complexity. And for that, to me, that would mean a pair of high quality monitors (like my KEF's, but only more expensive this time. The intent then is to upgrade my sound quality) being married to a "high-end" integrated, being topped off yet by a high quality digital source and ONE analog source (and that mean LPs will reign supreme and cassettes will be out).
That would be MY way of getting off of the "merry-go-round".
--Charles--