Words From the Wise

Be honest with yourself and know your limitations. If you have a odd or small room which must be shared with the family you may be limited as your setup might be less than optimal. We all make compromises daily, but with highly revealing gear setup and matching is key. I had a pair of rear firing bipolar speakers in the 90's and lived in a rental with plaster walls with little or no room treatment, what an echo chamber. To say the least it was awful, but it wasn't the gear but the application. Many say brand X or Y is the best or maybe they tried and it sucked. Honestly I don't think you can buy crappy gear as it all can shine if properly implemented. Ever hear a bad review, not very often because the reviewers know how to optimize IMO YMMV.

Tbg, I'm with ya, as I changed out my cdp and preamp last summer/fall and my heads still spinning. I even needed to reposition my speakers, further treat the room and outgrew my cabling, as crazy as it sounds! Before the changes my cheapo Monster power conditioner was adequate or unnecessary. Now with the much higher resolution gear all things were reassessed and a decent power conditioner was added. Then my room was further addressed. My cabling which was good, became another bottle neck and dealt with. The deeper I've delved into this, the more EVERYTHING MATTERS. If one area is weak all things can suffer. This is like algebra as one or more change can alter the whole equation.