The Horror

Thank you Ghasley.  I was just about to respond with something very similar. There is so much great gear out there now at varying price points and with different sounds/synergies.  I just think that we should not give folks the impression that they only have a very narrow set of options from which to choose. Listen to that sound in your "mind's ear" that you're trying to obtain, and then go out and listen, listen, listen to various components and setups.  Just keep moving toward that sound.  You'll probably never get there, but you can get close!  :)

I for one have never gone to one of the big audio shows, probably for the same reason as the poster, I’m sure mt system would be woefully inadequate after hearing the megabuck systems put together by experts.

@k600r I look at it quite differently.  Years ago I was at a show and heard a Wilson Audio setup with pricey BAT electronics that sounded really excellent with one of David Wilson’s chosen demo songs (and I wasn’t even a big fan of Wilson speakers back then).  Using that as a sonic benchmark I immediately bought a copy of the same CD to see if my system retained what I heard at that show, and very thankfully it did to a surprising degree.  BUT, if it didn’t I wanted to know that and would’ve immediately started to explore what I needed to address to get closer to that benchmark rather than just settling for what I had.  To be clear, my entire system at the time only cost one third the price of just the Wilson speakers alone I heard that day so the potential solution wouldn’t have required throwing big $$$ at the issue but rather making better individual equipment choices.  My point is that hearing megabuck systems doesn’t need to be self defeating and can be highly instructive in improving your own system within any budget level, it may well just require making some different/better equipment choices.  
 

And while I totally agree that room treatment is very important to getting the best out of any system, in this case I don’t think it’s the fix the OP is looking for.  In the above example the demo system’s room was carefully treated and mine was untreated and I was still able to hear that my system was in well within the ballpark of what I heard with the Wilson system.  Despite whatever room/setup limitations may exist in the OP’s system, the vast difference he’s hearing needs to be addressed largely through different equipment choices to get more what he’s looking for.  Not that treating the room or some repositioning can’t help significantly, but it won’t get him to the promised land in this situation IMO because the differences are just too fundamental and severe.  Even without room treatments and optimal positioning the OP still should be hearing many, if not most, of the positive aspects of the show demo systems if his system was more geared to what he now knows he’s shooting for.  And again, and to avoid potential flames being thrown, I’m not downplaying at all the importance of dealing with room/placement issues, but I highly doubt it’s the solution in this case.  Just my take on it. 

Try comparing what you hear to a live performance in a concert hall or an opera house. You may find it closer to your system than many more expensive systems. 

I heard $50 K speakers that sounded more like an outdoor amplified festival than acoustic music. 

The automotive equivalent of what happens on Audiogon:

Person A: I have a beater Chevy pickup truck, it hauls alot of stuff in the back and does so easily. All I have to do is put gas and oil in it, don’t worry about scratches...it the perfect vehicle. I once tried to haul a bunch of stuff in a $150k Porsche 911 and it just couldn’t do it. The beater Chevy pickup is a better vehicle.

Person B: I have a friend and his cousin’s ex-wife’s sister in law says that her Chevy pickup embarrassed and just laid waste to a $150k Porsche 911. Anyone who spends $150k on a car is wasting every penny they pay above the cost of the Chevy pickup.

Person C: Yeah, I drove a $150k Porsche once on this well graded dirt and rock road and it handled like shyte.

Person D (Amir from ASR): Yep, we measured the Chevy Pickup and indeed it measures bigger and sturdier in all ways vs the $150k Porsche. In addition, everyone on my site has piled on the Porsche owner, which indicates as well that the Porsche owner values the wrong things.

Person E (who happens to apply context, understanding and use cases to the topic): I’m glad you are each happy with your choices.

I'm not one to generally champion room treatments as the panacea of audio appreciation, but about a year ago I put these little things up in the corners and it has truly made a difference in just how much more clear the sound is. Don't know how they work, but they work.