How does one get off the merry-go-round?

John, thanks for putting things in perspective, almost forgot this was a hobby.

Hobby indeed, which is why we care about it so much more than is merited (disproportionate) by the facts. The wine and beer fanatics don't have anything on us - actually I suspect a lot of overlap in membership:)

Some will find s Merry Go Round to be fun.

Others not.

High End Audio merry go rounds can be expensive though and send a lot of money down the drain. That's never a good thing. Inefficient at best!

Tbg, forget the bar analogy, my point was that there are many different threads here, if this one bothers you, simply leave. Hell, since what this thread is all about is clearly marked in the title, don't even walk into this thread in the first place. There are PLENTY of threads that encourage folks to spend MORE money and how to say "WEEEEEEE" while riding the merry-go-round....join them. Don't harass those who have had enough merry-go-round and are ready to puke.

Back to the bar analogy, if I wonder upon a bar called "Men's Buttcheeks" I, for one, would not even enter that bar(not that there's anything wrong with that). ;-)

For someone who cannot live with just a single system and its sound for whatever reason, another option is to set up multiple systems. Nothing wrong with variety.

A very practical and cost effective way to do this these days is wireless LAN access to a single music server from multiple systems/devices. WIth this approach, you can access all your music anywhere in teh house from a single location/server, and then tweak the gear in each room accordingly. Portable devices and high quality headphones and/or earbuds for good sound quality is another option.

I have implemented this solution to good effect with two full systems, a table radio in the bedroom, and multiple laptops and tablet/mobile devices. I am truly "Wired (and wireless) for Sound"!