a rant

I have a $150 Fosi ZA3 and quite frankly, it sounds fantastic driving my Piega Coax 16s fed directly from my MSB Discrete DAC. Go figure...

I consider myself lucky to have been introduced to high end stereo in the 80's when there were brick and mortar stores aplenty in NYC. I got to listen to a wide variety of equipment and understand what I liked and didn't. Reviews didn't really have much impact upon me, I just knew what sounded good to me.

Fast forward to the 2010's when I finally had some money to spend, and knowing what I liked helped me obtain the system I always dreamed of (and buy it used).

Bob

I chased gear the first few years I was in the game in the early to later 80s...lots of amps, speakers, TTs, etc, but by 1989 I had acquired the same speakers, amps, and preamp I use now. It’s really been a matter of refinement since then...tube rolling, bi-amping, mods, configuration changes, etc. I don’t read reviews, don’t go into audio stores, and have a much slower, calculated approach to my next move than the early days. I also think the system sounds better than ever. It gets enjoyed more than ever too, but maybe the listener isn’t as picky as he used to be (though I doubt it! )

Luckily I never had your problem (with a mortgage, 3 kids, their college loans and a sick mother who is the cheapest of all (only a few grand a month) I can afford to chase 30 year old $30 amps on shopgoodwill) 

I reached the point in my audiophile journey that you are in right now about four years ago.  At age 65 and now retired, I put my retirement system together then, and now, I'm content for the duration.  I've got a great system, I'm tire of dumping money into the hobby endlessly, and I'm just tired of chasing the cat!!!  Life's good. Happy listening