The Horror

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. 

There have been a couple of references to Vandersteens being at T.H.E. Show this year but there were none on display. Maybe you are confusing them for another brand. I know Alma had the Boenicke in one room and YG Acoustics in the room next door.

Coming up on 10 years now......not a single rig or anything at any show has blown my stuff out of the water. In fact, I start laughing at the flaccidity of how million dollar rigs have sounded.

It is your rigid belief systems (purity, depriving yourself of necessary tools, brand fanboyism, spending up the wrong tree, etc) that will keep you disgruntled forever. Ya gotta have a malleable, adaptive mind.

@deep_333 

He never said that he was a fanboy of any particular brand.