I wanted to add this to my comments,
I have 30 years experience as an audio consultant however my experience is not limited to selling HIFI audio equipment. I am an audio equipment installer and I have designed sound rooms and installed switching equipment in many sound rooms in the NYC metro area and around the nation and I want you all to know that I speak with more experience than most of you out there.
I will sum it up for you.
For great sound quality you must buy great equipment !
You need to audition many different types and brands of connections to and from your equipment, IE you can sum up the quality of the sound by the connections you chose to connect everything together and by designing a good a acoustical room with great acoustics.
So keep this in your mind before you belittle your fellow AUDIOPHILES here because they may have paid more attention then you did to the sum totals that make for a wonderful listening experience then you did or have the experience to do on your own.
These guys that are professional audio retailers probably know what they are doing and have the experience and are a lot more knowledgeable about the quality of the connections then you are because like me have listened to thousands of different types of connections then you have because this is what we do to feed our families and keep the roofs over our heads.
The button line is and I believe always will be room acoustics, equipment quality and I have discovered over many years that you can sum up the quality of the sound by the connections you made and this also includes speaker cable, interconnect cables optical links power cords and power and conditioner's are the sum total of the products sound quality.
I would love to hear from you!
Thanks for reading my post !