How good can it get, really? - my stereo sounds amazing!

A little note of encouragement from a reviewer of 13 years:

Stop being such a chicken! Scaredy cat! MMnnnnn - phooey! ;)

There are many more levels of sound quality improvement than you can imagine. You are not close to the ultimate.

For instance, as a thought experiment, imagine spending time in your home with some of the major genres of speakers - panel (magnetic planar or ESL, horn or horn hybrid, line array, etc. Just considering the different genres of speakers and the potential for improvement, you are far away from the potential that systems have that may sound far better to you, literally dozens of levels of sound quality. Frankly, there are more levels of sound quality available than audiophiles will experience. That is true for nearly all audiophiles, myself included. The odds are very good that you are nowhere close to your dream sound. Just because it sounds terrific to you in no way means it cannot get much, much better.

For instance, if you were to switch to a floor standing speaker, there would be many potential improvements associated with that move alone.

Keep a notebook of your current favorite system from first power cord to speakers. Make changes, and if you don’t like them, revert.

BTW, if your first priority is to not spend money, then pay a lot of attention to burn in, and tweaks. That will keep you right in the same performance zone, but you will have saved your money!  :) 

Buy three aftermarket power cords and put them into the system one at a time. Maybe you will learn something.  

+1 geoffkait


At this point my adage is apropos:

The greatest impediment to advancing an audiophile system is the audiophile. 

I understood the question of the OP as seeking quite significant improvements to the system. Obviously, I was wrong; when outlets and power cords become the primary objective, then one is merely tuning up the rig, not making great advancements. Adding a couple of subs would be a nice improvement. Make sure to get aftermarket power cords on the system, or else a lot of performance will be left on the table, even with the subs. 

I support outlets as improvements, so going that route will make a difference. But, let not the OP think he's really gotten close to the ultimate. No, in absolute terms there are dozens and dozens of rungs on the ladder of system improvement. Maximizing the set of components and speakers you have is a different situation. You can only take a defined set of gear so far, but if that is the goal, it is fun and can be very efficacious. 

Regarding the recommendation of those who said essentially, be content; it seems you were right, he does not wish to venture far from his current system. No shame or problem in that. 

I never promote foolishness and irresponsibility in pursuit of system improvement. I am a big proponent of contentment, as I give generously to Christian programs, budget monthly (just did so yesterday), and have allocated a consistent amount of funds over the years annually to achieve what I have over time. So, if the goal of the OP is to primarily hang where he is at, there is nothing wrong with that! Typically when I discuss the necessity of spending more, upgrading major parts of an audio system, it is within the context of the performance of the system, not associated with the individual's personal financial situation - unless they specify, which in this case he did not. 

Strictly in terms of performance of audio systems, though, I see many audiophiles ignorant of just how vast the performance spectrum is. I think I have answered that question thoroughly enough.  

Have fun with the upgrades!   :)

 

tomic601, you said, "One problem with subs is - there ain’t much music down there... listen to just them....."

That seems like a strange comment coming from someone who uses Vandy 7's, which have low end response of 22Hz  +/-2dB, or just under 20Hz  +/- 3 dB. The speaker has built in subs. Vandy even calls them by the fancy term "Fusion Subwoofers". In fact, it's quite a complex subwoofer. 

An awful lot of subs reach down from about low 20's to mid teens. Pairing the OP's bookshelf speakers is an immanently sensible thing to do, although I recommended he would be far ahead by getting rid of the bookshelf speakers and getting some serious floor standers.