Are there other people like me ? Amazed by their low cost system :)

Chasing the HiFi rabbit takes away from the audiophile experience. I’ve cut back on listening to gear that is the latest/greatest or beyond my grasp and it has allowed me to better enjoy what I have. 

Great strategy

...But we must use acoustics basic knowledge  tactic to improve the S.Q.  and some mechanical and electrical controls... Then what we live with is no more a stopgap ...

Chasing the HiFi rabbit takes away from the audiophile experience. I’ve cut back on listening to gear that is the latest/greatest or beyond my grasp and it has allowed me to better enjoy what I have. 

Nope. Some songs hit the mark, even beat out any system at any price, but most are a disappointment as far as full-range audiophile sound quality goes.

With regards to this particular post:

This weekend I had some spare time on my hands so I stopped in one of the local audiophile stores to buy a couple of new albums.  While there, I asked if I could listen to their very best system, in their highest-end listening room.  The system featured over $300,000 in equipment.  The cables in the room cost more than my whole system.  I was prepared for a jaw-dropping example of what I want my system to sound like 10 years from now.   Well..... I listened to three tracks from my very favorite albums that I listen to all the time (songs that I know very, very well).  I was very happy to find that my system at home sounded better than their system which cost 10X as much as mine.  It was not surprising, as I have had similar experiences at three other high-end stores in the area.

It really shows you that sound quality and music room quality is not always directly related to the amount of money spent.  It also shows you that everyone has a different idea of what the "best" sound is, and you can never rely totally on someone else's review of which speaker is best, etc.

My system features almost entirely second-hand equipment that I have purchased over the years.  Each piece was purchased from prior owners who used the equipment very sparingly, so each piece was in like-new condition for about half price.   I have spent hundreds of hours in my room optimizing the exact location of the speakers and adding home-made acoustic treatments that have made a huge improvement to the room's sound quality.

I love this hobby.

Thanks for your interesting testimony...