Rule of doubling!
My opinion is that a quantum leap in fidelity will result when you double the price (MSRP) of a piece of gear. As you can see, this is a geometric progression, and not a linear one ($500 to $1000 to 2000 to $4000 to $8000, etc.) Many people will run into "financial clipping" rather quickly!
This is by no means an absolute truth, but rather a crude rule of thumb. A product with a high value to price ratio (Maggie 1.6 speakers) will be a pretty tough challenge to my doubling rule. Of course, synergistic component matching within your system is critical. There are many different types of tonal signatures that various design philosophies of gear will impart upon the music. This is especially true of speakers. AUDIO REPRODUCTION IS NOT AN ABSOLUTE SCIENCE! I view it as more of a combination of science, art, and just plain luck. The music that you like, and the kind of reproduction that appeals to your own preferences is the important factor. It was interesting to note the responses on the thread "Best and worst rooms at the CES". Two different people could walk into a room; one hated it, another loved it. Sometimes, the music being played could influence a listener's opinion as well.
It's ironic that many people ignore a critical component of their system, ROOM ACOUSTICS!!! A megabucks system can sound like crap if the room acoustics and speaker placement are ignored. Also, certain tweaks that cost much less than an equipment upgrade can remarkably improve the fidelity of your system. I liken this to maxing out the performance of a drag racer within a particular bracket, rather than moving up into a higher performance bracket.
My opinion is that a quantum leap in fidelity will result when you double the price (MSRP) of a piece of gear. As you can see, this is a geometric progression, and not a linear one ($500 to $1000 to 2000 to $4000 to $8000, etc.) Many people will run into "financial clipping" rather quickly!
This is by no means an absolute truth, but rather a crude rule of thumb. A product with a high value to price ratio (Maggie 1.6 speakers) will be a pretty tough challenge to my doubling rule. Of course, synergistic component matching within your system is critical. There are many different types of tonal signatures that various design philosophies of gear will impart upon the music. This is especially true of speakers. AUDIO REPRODUCTION IS NOT AN ABSOLUTE SCIENCE! I view it as more of a combination of science, art, and just plain luck. The music that you like, and the kind of reproduction that appeals to your own preferences is the important factor. It was interesting to note the responses on the thread "Best and worst rooms at the CES". Two different people could walk into a room; one hated it, another loved it. Sometimes, the music being played could influence a listener's opinion as well.
It's ironic that many people ignore a critical component of their system, ROOM ACOUSTICS!!! A megabucks system can sound like crap if the room acoustics and speaker placement are ignored. Also, certain tweaks that cost much less than an equipment upgrade can remarkably improve the fidelity of your system. I liken this to maxing out the performance of a drag racer within a particular bracket, rather than moving up into a higher performance bracket.