I wonder about that too. I think that's what reviewers refer to as "the loom" - staying with the same brand throughout, particularly with cables. Please correct me if I got that wrong. My current system sounds great but I often wonder "what if I tried "X"? That will be a very expensive route with no promise of improvement. Recently I purchased Synergistic's Foundation silver XLR intertconnects and their atmosphere 2 digital cable. Sounds great. Today there was an Audiogon ad for an top of the line Audioquest WEL signature XLR cable for $1,500. I wondered - Hmmm. Then I told myself, stop doing that - you're listening to the equipment, not the music.
Is system synergy worth having matched components?
What have been differences you have noticed in listening to amps and preamps from different manufacturer's together compared to a combo from the same manufacturer? I love my current setup of an Odyssey Audio Khartago plus amplifier and Aric Audio Unlimited all tube preamp. It sounds great to me. But am I doing myself a disservice by not even hearing the Odyssey Candela or Tempest preamp with the Khartago?