I notice that many of the components listed are of the higher budget category, so here's something a little bit different. I've tried what might be more in the "mid-fi" end of things. Emotiva, Adcom, Parasound, Nad, and older components by Harman Kardon and Onkyo.
Still unsatisfied, although the experience was fun. I also went through over a dozen pairs of speakers from Paradigm, Pioneer, Polk, Tannoy, Totem Acoustic, Infinity and Mission(everything mostly used, under 1500 except the Paradigm Signature S6 v2). The Tannoys and Totems imaged the best and sounded more like live music to me.
And what complimented them well were components from Schiit Audio, The Freya+ is simply the best preamp I've owned, and people rave about it. I didn't realize it but mid-fi typically has too many compromises and affects/degrades the signal before it ever gets to your speakers. Not the Freya+. It's a true industry disrupter(saw another guy use that phrase and it really fits), so transparent and engaging and far better than anything I had before.
The Schiit Vidar also performs far above its asking price, and their Aegir amp is on Stereophile's A list. I've stopped looking for real, and started enjoying the music more.
