@smurfstain
I am so sorry for my earlier rambling post that caught the wrong kind of attention. What I had meant to say, in response to your very specific original questions, was that learning how to listen is the only way to answer your questions, and no, you cannot just target top-notch equipment to get there - attempting to do so would be the equivalent of heading straight for a college degree without the preparatory foundation of all the lower levels of education before that - you will neither understand nor appreciate what you hear, never mind the fact that top-notch means different things at a variety and range of price points. Education with listening must involve equipment, it is the only means to understand the nuance of music, the time domain. As such, improving listening ability as an audiophile will involve spending money - how much of that, however, will be entirely up to you to decide. And when I refer to an audiophile listening education, I do so in relation to equipment, as there is no other way to achieve this. The thing is, we all know there is a difference between how different equipment sounds - and unfortunately, based on my listening tests with equipment of very different price points, circuit typologies, and makes, there is general but direct proportional correlation between cost and performance.
The thing is, as another audiogoner had mentioned (funny how we are all goners in this hobby : ) there are no shortcuts, and no refunds for this education in audiophile listening. But there are no mistakes either, contrary to what some of us believe, as learning from a mistake commonly provides the biggest jump in our journey of listening.
Finally, for you and the many others who participate in this forum, I would like to share knowledge that although there is a general direct correlation between cost and benefit in hifi equipment, and exceptions by way of giant killers (smurfstain’s equivalent of topnotch, in a sense) are very very rare in our hobby, they nonetheless do exist. The one that springs immediately to mind which I, and quite a few others here, consider the single greatest value for dollar investment in any system, will cost all of USD399, fully refundable, and it is called the Swiss digital fuse box. It takes the safety function of the fuse out of your equipment and into a small digitally calibrated container that shuts the power down in event of a surge, based on the power rating of the related piece of equipment it is used on. A solid piece of metal called a sluggo replaces the fuse, taking out the bottleneck fuses have been suspected of for a long time now. They offer a super sounding rhodium plated tellurium sluggo at similarly super cost, but the stock sluggo that comes with the fuse box will get you most of the way there. The digital fuse box will need to be connected between your existing cable and related piece of equipment, and a basic non-audiophile c13 female to nema 5-15p male direct adaptor will do the job - https://www.amazon.com/CGTime-Standard-Computer-XH-A03-1-60320-C13/dp/B07HRJKGFD
The impact of the solid sluggo in lieu of the bottleneck fusion is so great, it renders the additional adaptor interface less consequential to final sonic outcome.
Now, most will apply this digital fuse box on their amplifier, in belief that that’s where the greatest current flow and thus improved sound quality, would be most felt. Wrong. The greatest impact is putting one of these (with the correct rating, of course) to your server, streamer, or DAC, or if you have the funds, all three. The effect of adding this device upstream is so profound, it will be heard by the laziest of listeners, and it will fundamentally change everything disbelieved about power, cables and fuses. The Swiss digital fuse makes a joke of audiophile fuses, at a fraction of the cost, while simultaneously putting to rest any false science behind why fuses shouldn’t affect sound quality.
I share this purely as an audiophile, so that you and others too may come to hear the realism possible with whatever equipment might be at hand, and also in hope that other conflicted and similarly less experienced audiophiles may come to understand that not everything at the highest performing audiophile levels is unaffordable, should time and less skill with DIY be of issue.
In particular, this digital fuse is one I have come to realise is not just a tweak the cost of which you will have no need to justify; i believe it will spearhead the sort of technology that will change traditional fuse protection forever. Its basic idea will become a fundamental part of any system in time to come.
I am not a dealer, nor do I earn any kickbacks or favours from verafi audio, the primary distribution source for the digital fuse box. I merely want you and as many wondering audiophiles to hear and understand this one rare ‘affordable’ and giant killing improvement to sound realism.
In friendship - kevin