How close are you to being to your endgame? My system outline and I'm almost there.

I think the idea of "endgame" is like trying to reach the horizon. 

The next chapter may not be about sound quality. It can be multi-channel, or video, or having a vinyl collection sufficient to compete with the variety that streaming offers.  

Personally, I'm like the mythical shark that cannot just float still in the water.  I gotta be swimming towards something.  

That said, I have no immediate desires to upgrade sound. I'm on a vinyl hunting streak right now. Sending some support to the artists instead of the server farms. 

My end game came went I spent over $30K. Wishing everyone luck to find what they want. Cheers

Back in the 80's, I worked for a small chain of mid-fi stores in Syracuse, NY called "Sounds Great!"

We carried lines such as Kenwood, Onkyo, Technics, Sanyo, Audio Technica, Mitsubishi and Samsung VCR's etc. Employee discounts were pretty good at the time. I bought one of the first Technics CD players for about $400. I don't remember the model, but it was a beauty! It had pitch control, and you could watch the disc spin through a window. Along with an Audio Technica AT-160ML cartridge for $40. (employee discount), that was about all I bought from our store as there was a place just down the street called Clark Music. They carried McIntosh electronics and B&W speakers. I remember looking at the B&W 801's thinking, wow, those are awesome but cost about $6000.00 a pair. My budget at the time was about 10% of that so I bought a pair of 3 way bookshelf B&W DM 23's for $600.00 I still have them today. Fast forwarding to today, my system consists of a Technics SP 10 MK2A turntable with a Lyra Etna Lambda SL cartridge, a pair of Pass Labs XA-160.5 monoblocks, a Pass Labs XS preamp, an Audio Research Ref 10 phono amp, a Luxman DX-10 disc player and a pair of GamuT L7 speakers.

Am I done? Yes, for now. My GamuT L7speakers cost me only $4,000. MSRP was about $17k. They sound great to me. Someday I may try something different although I can't imagine anything sounding better for less than $40k - $50k.

@jji666 stated " I'm on a vinyl hunting streak right now. Sending some support to the artists instead of the server farms. "

Hats off to you on this one, I have steadily been collecting Crowd Funded and Merchandise Vinyl LP's from new artists, with the intention to ensure there is a fair remuneration for their work returned.

I have reported before on the Monopolisation of Record Company / Streaming Service, which is substantially loaded as a business in a way that is not favourable to the Artist.

I'm a bit long in the tooth to return feed back on the content of the Album to new artists, even though some content is very very listenable from the initial experiencing. What I do send feed back on is the quality of the medium and recording quality.

To date, using this adopted purchasing method,  I've only received Vinyl that performs to a very high level and is very well recorded.

Quite different to experiences had with Amazon where the  New Artists being purchased have had their medium supplied via this shopping service, which is very noisy and the recording quality sucks, leaving return of item as the only option.

Amazon always wins on the ease of returning goods purchased.

This is the end my friend. I'm 73..have bought and bought and bought and I still have lots of stuff to do changes to KY 3 systems....nite nite.

Congrats on getting there! I’m 99% finished and don’t think it really can get much better. I’ve thought that somewhere out there it could be better and often think so when I go to AXPONA and hear the megabuck systems but slowly and surely I have upgraded things. Recently heard the Magico M9 speakers with roughly $1M of supporting equipment and they were breathtaking. My dad is a trained classical pianist and always goes to the shows with me. He always says, “It sounds great but I don’t think it’s better than yours.” I left the show this time, all the best songs I liked on these systems saved in SoundHound, and came straight home with no music playing in the car. I heard more subtleties that were missing in the Magicos including missing notes playing down the register to the 16Hz or lower organ notes.  I will say this large hotel suite was not an ideal room even though it is larger than my apartment by a wide margin, there could have been room nodes. I have all the power, accuracy, imaging, etc that I heard in a $2M system (unobtainable) while a system like mine anyone could have over time. We get all tied up in the glamor of it all and how much better it could be. I’m really happy where I’m at and want to add only one thing BACCH. Good luck to everyone as they work towards audio perfection. I expect what we have is objectively better than you think!  

@aj1735 

Hello, looks like you have been listening to Mikey at 11 stereo, a great honest guy with a wealth of knowledge in this hobby. I love my New Ontech Dac07…a great buy for $2500… .if anyone needs to sort out their rig he is the guy who can do it..

A great rig you have…congrats!!

I only change things out when they fail in some way.  My last system I purchased in the mid-eighties, I kept with maybe one or two changes since then, until I had a major meltdown, where my amp, preamp, and speakers imploded.  The CD player failed a few months earlier, which I later found was an easy fix(I didn't know back then).  Outside of many MCs and a few interesting MMs,  that was it until, I don't know, maybe seven years ago.   I bought a few recent pieces of gear, but after owning them a bit, I realized I wanted what I wanted.  I purchased all new gear(still have the original purchases), and am very happy with them.  Now in my elder years, I like to tinker with assembling my own cables and just finished making two Ground boxes, aka, sort of Mike Powell(OCD Guy) inspired design in Cigar boxes.  I will let the community know which cigar box sounds the best( kidding, of course?).

I could easily stop now . . . but if I gave in to upgrade-itis, I would change my Rega P6 for a Brinkmann Bardo TT (lower noise floor), my Ortofon 2M w/ shibata stylus cart for a DS Audio optical cart/preamp system, which can also have a shibata stylus (again, for a FAR lower noise floor).

I might also upgrade my Sonus Faber Cremonas to a pair of KEF Blade or Blade 2 - this would take me from a holographic presentation to one just a holographic but with flatter frequency response.

I'm keeping my near-50 year old McIntosh amp & preamp.

I'll be done when I'm dead.  :) 

I have a music and movie system I'm very happy with but as a builder and DIYer being done is like being dead.  Even if it's a project every couple of years the passion to try something else will always be with me. 

Also, even if you aren't a builder, I imagine a system can be like a hair cut, or listening to just 1 artist all the time.  For those of us who have been able to listen and enjoy a variety of systems we may always want to tinker with our setup.  The trick IMHO is not to buy the most expensive, but spread the money around.  Instead of buying THE single most expensive preamp, buy 2 really good one's that sound different enough you want to swap them in.  Same with speakers. 

@erik_squires stated " Instead of buying THE single most expensive preamp, buy 2 really good one's that sound different enough you want to swap them in.  Same with speakers. "

I agree with this sentiment exactly, limiting oneself to One End Sound Only is a form of Monogamy in audio, where one is Wed to one system and don't quite know how to separate due to past convincing of purchases made, conviction made for the value of the choices. A faux fidelity is made to a material item or assembly of material items. Is the same expressed when one has pulled the trigger on resolving a transportation need, 'no' the eye is usually already on the replacement tool after a short period of using the new transport that has been selected. 

Polygamy for the End Sound to be produced, is much much more liberating.

Not wasting time or energies on defending choices made, and wasting valuable time expressing conviction to choices being made or considered.

Being free to be flexible and build on musical encounters and increase experiences of how much enjoyed music can be shaped in different forms by introducing upstream / downstream devices to create other influences, is a stimulation and generates new enthusiasm. 

Polygamy expressed toward the End Sound, what is not to like? It keep ones ear to the ground and keep one on their Toes.

I wonder how many Monogamy towards the End Sound Marriages shown by users of an Audio System, are actually now in the current time a well established Zombie Marriage?? 

I've been lying to myself, this time for over a year. While my purchases/changes have drastically dropped off in recent years, I now somehow seem to be the owner of Audio Note Quest 300B monoblocks. And I'm already in planning stages of bringing it up to silver level via diy upgrades with top of line or near top of line AN parts, this should be fun!

@sns  One immediate change that I feel confident will prove very much to ones liking and not require invasive changes is to work the 6sn7 Tube Option.

Early 50's RCA Grey Glass or Brimar Grey Plates with Orange Text are both able to make a Power Amp' present like a new piece of equipment.

In the current Market how lucky you are that only 2 X Valves are needed.

@aj1735 If you would like to sell your Wiim Ultra, I am at least tentatively interested. Can we talk about it?

I am no where near end game at this point. If I live long enough I expect to get there within the next couple of years. And while I appreciate that many folks have a single system they have carefully crafted to a sound signature they find satisfying enough they have stopped seeking out further improvements. If as an audio lover I am required to spend time with just one system and be married to it, I am sadly unable to do that. Many combinations of equipment can produce pleasing sound quality. In my current living conditions, I have a desktop system that is by every measure one can apply modest, it nevertheless is something I listen to every day and find its presentation quite satisfying. Its not end game but good enough I don't find its limitations so glaringly apparent that its frustrating to live with. It is somewhat bandwidth limited, with no serious bass below 30 hz, and it has a definite lack of dynamic range due to speakers and low powered amplifier. All of those deficiencies don't really impact my enjoyment much as long as I don't dwell on them. Because of where I live I really can't crank up the music to concert hall levels and most of the music I listen to doesn't have a lot of content below 30 hz. So because of the way its used, it meets the need for where I live. When I move back home, this system goes in the kitchen where it will continue to serve as capable background music for that room. Once there, it will likely get an amplifier upgrade which should improve the dynamic range considerably. Looking forward to seeing how it performs in that space.  

Since we had more time during the pandemic, I began my rabbit hole journey to upgrading my system. After a couple of years of trial and errors, and yes with the help of Chat GPT as well for second opinions, I finally can say I am blissfully happy with my sound quality.My final setup of my system working coherently and synergistically perfect consists of the following order.

Shindo Masetto pre 

Shindo Montille 20 W amp

Shindo Mr.T power conditioner

Weiss 501 MK2 DAC

Aqua LinQ transporter

Syner Research Ethernet Switch 

Wand Master 14.4 Turntable 

Hana Umami Red cartridge 

Fleetwood Deville SQ speakers 

2x Rel  510s subs

Luna Red SUT

All cables and AC power cables Luna Red.

This setup was many hours of work, research and tryouts but totally worth it as I can finally say this is my endgame system and I am completely hooked and satisfied. Cheers to all!

@pindac I agree 6sn7 tubes can have relatively large impact on sound quality, have a stash of NOS from when I was running push pull amps. Have RCA black and grey plates, have to look into the Brimar.