LoFi

@stereo5 

I’m trying to find the problem.
The best guess is that I have a tube that went bad in my preamp.

.

@mahler123

Your lucky your not distracted or seduced by the sheer physical sound of your system.

The music just seems to hold together in my mind better without the distraction of the SQ which I have poured so much of my energy, time and money into. 
I’m not ready to give it up though.  It’s too much fun.

Yep!

No subwoofers yet.
But listening to the radio I realize this a classic case of missing the forest for the trees.
Too much sonic detail to hear a composition as a whole.
This is true especially for classical music (bigger forest) which tends to be more complex than other types of music

deep_333,

You know, I’m actually thinking of something like that. I realize how much music I’ve been missing, and how much I’m enjoying music now, and how this hobby has corrupted my senses.

It seems a shame after all the dedication and expense I’ve invested to dump everything and start over. But this Hifi addiction has been ingrained in me for so many years it seems almost impossible to break. I’ll have to find some solution that includes both listening methods but not at the same time.
Or, break the addiction. (Not likely.)

It occurs to me that no one on this forum is in it for the music only no matter what is said.
After all it’s called Audio gon.

There are plenty of other music sites.

@deep_333 

Thanks very much for your interest and suggestions.  You definitely have the right idea. 
I’m not sure I can utilize near field with my current setup, but it’s a great idea and worth a try. 
I’ll look into the BACCH processing system you mention.  Sounds interesting.

It’s really amazing how far technology has come that, for $89.99 you can buy an Alexa Echo that actually portrays classical music decently.  Amazing clarity and differentiation between instruments. The musical message is capable of being transmitted very effectively.

Not a bad idea.

@shtinkydog 

Why,  Thank you.