Sorry Ivan but I'll take door #2,EVERYTHING behind door #3 WITHOUT the financial ruin.The more I experiment with the Chinese Boutique Brands the more I am convinced that in this day & age you do NOT have to settle for an unbalanced system.$500.00 Tube Integrated amps that outperform $10,000.00 amps from 5 years ago!$100.00 DACS that,in a blind listening test, stand toe to toe with anything under $2000.00.I could go on.The problem I see is that the guys who spend the big $ will NEVER in a zillion years admit to how good todays so called entry level gear sounds & the guys who write about the gear sure as hell aren't going to upset their gravytrain by telling the gods honest truth so the status quo remains.I wish Audiogon would sponsor a bunch of blind listening tests between so called entry level gear against the establishments mega $ paperweights,I'ld bet pinks there would be some VERY embarrassed big name manufacturers.
Which system would you rather have?
Which system would you like better? A system that offers one or two sonic attributes that are truly just "outstanding", but which comes at the expense of another sound category that is subpar, or a more balanced across the board system that may not rise above merely "excellent" in any category, but that does not really fall much below it anywhere either?
(Or would you rather take what's behind door number 3: truly "outstanding" in Every category and all the financial ruin that goes with it...)
I will go first. For myself, I believe the longer I've been at this game maybe the more I've come to appreciate a system that is well balanced across the board - even if nothing in particular is an overwhelming standout, and I may favor it especially so once all the sonic gremlins have been successfully tamed (no small thing that, sometimes). But, in my mind at least, maybe that comes the closest to anything I can point to as my "reference sound" anymore...or short of live music, anyway. Maybe the imbalance that I'm hearing in other systems these days is because most systems are simply "unfinished" and as such are in a state of flux. I'd say we can all appreciate how long it can sometimes take to consider a system truly finished. Maybe mine is unusual in that IS completed, I dunno, but I've now gravitated somehow toward more balanced, even if it must therefore be less spectacular in some particular regard. I find the better balance distracts me less when listening, when any shortcomings are not there to remind me that I'm listening to equipment rather than the performance...and even when no particular attribute, while it can certainly be wonderful to pay attention to in its own right, may actually be working to upstage the others, keeping all the musical facets from being on the same page. More of gestalt thing, perhaps. Or maybe it's just me. Anyone else feel like this??...or disagree??