It seems that this thread has brought out some important aspects about pursuing high end sound. Lots of things matter. The breath shows how everything matters… since individual experiences are so widely distributed. It also shows one of the reasons it is such an intriguing pursuit… you can continuously improve your system by working on the finer points. Speaker placement, room treatment, power cords, cable elevators… etc.
I completely upgraded my system about a two years ago. Just plunking down new components each created a “wow” moment. I enjoyed every minute as the component broke in. Then after some time, I would actively make a change… new interconnect or, power cord. One by one interconnects as the first confirmed my views. I was lazy. I didn’t get around to fiddling with speaker toe-in for over a year. My speakers were known to disappear… voila, they disappeared, soundstage increased greatly. Most other pursuits don’t offer such opportunity for improvement. While the character of my system has not changed a bit since I established the major components… the details of imaging, detail, soundstage… have improved dramatically.
