Throwing 2 High End brands together will not automatically equal success. Thoughts?

@calvinj the answer is of course not. Unfortunately learning this by trial and error is quite expensive.

In my experience of constant dissatisfaction for my system, when i decided to tackle the system/room problem instead of buying a new upgrade, i experimented with acoustics with more fun, no money invested (homemade) and after 2 years i was in ectasy...

I did not need to upgrade since save to replace deficient parts or create better synergy(low cost upgrade)...

The race for upgrade is mostly created by acoustics basics knowledge ignorance entertained by marketing strategy about gear piece...

Guess why many dont like to hear that ?

The most important part of audio is not buying a piece of gear, never mind his price, but knowing or learning how to make it work at his best  possible peak acoustics working level ...

My best to you ...

@mahgister I have just moved and my new listening area is much better theoretically than the previous space and out of the gate the system sounds better, but the new room has its own / new problems acoustically.

I know it is not the gear. And I have you to thank to some extent for constantly driving this point home.

I will not spent a penny on new gear - I’ve got to get the room right to get to next level.

What exactly does a company do to the components to make them “work together “ 

Surely it is unrealistic to think that any one manufacturer can be good at everything?

One that did come close is Quad, who started making valve and solid state amplifiers after WW2, then added world-class electrostatic loudspeakers (still heavily based on electronics).  When they moved towards the source components, the best they could do was modify a Philips CD transport.  Never touched turntables.

Under their new owners, they have gone very down-market in my opinion with dynamic speakers and some very 'ordinary' amplifiers in the range.

Staying British, KEF makes class-leading speakers in several categories, but has never made separate amplifiers or source components.  Their active speakers do have internal amplification but that's where it stops, at least for now.

Then I thought of Linn, who kicked off with a turntable, added speakers and who used to be frequently partnered with Naim amplification.  After years of decrying digital, they include CD players and streamers.  I have just discovered they now also make power amplifiers and sell cables so they could be a one-stop shop after all.

One thing I am sure of - no one dealer has ever stocked all the components I use!

@ronboco I think in my case.  They design by placing priority on low noise floors and limiting distortion but remaining musical. Typically companies will use their own products when testing their products and equipment.  You make sure the handoff of all the information running throughout the system is seamless.  You just make sure that what you are building works together well and you are prioritizing certain things.  My system sounds like live music in my environment and thats what the company was shooting for.