The Horror

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.

@audiodidact 

I couldn’t disagree with your premise more. You don’t mention anything about room treatments so I’m guessing that your room has more influence on your sound than your system. Maggies can be rather low bass shy so you may want to consider adding a decent sub like a Rythmik or SVS along with an active crossover. There are many ways to get a great sounding system without getting crazy expensive.

Old guy advice: Spend your money going to live performances. LA Phil, Hollywood Bowl. Your local dive bar that has musicians play. I'm sure your system is better than you think but at the end of the day, no matter how much you spend it is a "representation" of the actual music. Sometimes we think it is better than real because we can tailor it to what we like. I think I'll leave that up to Dudamel, he knows what he is doing.

@jji666 I agree.  I began my higher end audio system at 13 with a Sony TC366 tape recorder.  Through the years, I accumulated and replaced equipment without regard to room acoustics until my late 30s.  Then I decided to concentrate on at least making the listening room amenable to my speakers.  I then constructed a listening room at 37 using isolation first and then vibration control (big dedicated room 25X23X11.5 w/8X6 rear room closet equipment area.  At 63, I moved and spent $150K on a custom listening room using some concepts by J.Gordon Holt. I was so successful that my previous speaker's, though inadequate in a smaller room, still was quite acceptable for narrow listening.  I replaced my listening room speakers with a pair of Legacy Signature IIIs I purchased in 2003 for $1600.  They sounded excellent for all genres of music with lower powered tube amps and a nice tube pre-amp.  Buying quality older functioning equipment can render a smaller budget GREAT returns.  I was last using a Topping D70s DAC until I could afford my end game system (that is expensive). 

The reason for my dissatisfaction but still enjoying the music produced by my equipment is that I am both a part time singer, recording engineer and have a very good ear for sound.  I have been and am two composer's recorded music archivist.  Now, my audio system rivals live music, often in superior sound.  I still attend many live acoustic music performances as the live event can be exhilarating.  

I have heard many Maggie ribbon speakers.  They tend to sound best with smaller, less complex and dynamic music with a demand for high power amps.   There are alternative ribbon and planar speakers very superior but at a high cost such as Alysvox and Clarisys.  So, if you want a better sound, first look at your listening environment/speaker set-up, then to find matching equipment.  Cabling is an issue with much equipment benefitting from minimally expensive Blue Jeans/Belden cable.  First get the room and equipment coordinated, then ancillary equipment.