Revelation

Seems to me that Shardorne has correctly described the brain/reality correlation as the crux of Autodexr's "revelation". It goes to state of mind while comparing what you have sweated to build and poured your love into while listening in your own space versus listening to what you probably can't have in a space that you cannot control.

Add to this:

System synergy for those that take the time to improve sound through component matching (expensive or not). Dealers build systems from the lines they sell which may or may not be ideal.

Room acoustics which again at a dealer may or may not be ideal.

Intoxicants.

we're forgetting the dictum "if it sounds good, it is good". evaluation of stereo systems is subjective. so, if someone says system a is better than system b, it is to that person. since there are no absolutes no system is better than another. rather one system is preferred to another.

using the example of a modest lower priced stereo system compared to a higher priced stereo system auditioned at a dealer, there will be differences of opinion as to which is better. until someone sets up objective criteria one can never say that stereo system a is better than stereo system b. one can state facts that one stereo system seems to be more resolving or more extended , or has certain attributes that another does not have, stating that such a stereo system is superior to another is arbitrary.

the word "better" is so personal, when each one of us has an idiosyncratic preference(s) regarding stereo system performance, that it may be irrelevant. if you like the sound of a stereo system, nothing else matters.

remember the addage, place 10 audiophiles in a room and you will get 11 opinions. the majority opinion is neither right or wrong, true or false.

My experience has been the opposite. When I hear megabuck systems I usually am very disappoinred in the sound. When I hear modest sytems I'm blown away by how good they sound.
Sure I have heard a few megabuck systems that were mind blowing but for the most part they haven't been. I was in a store about 2 months ago having my cartridge replaced. While I waited the owner put on a system that cost over 300k. I was with my wife at the time and she said she liked our system better at home than the 300k system. Our system cost 10% of what that did. I really believe it's more about the room and component matching than it is about price.

I've heard 100K+ systems set up improperly, or in a lousy room, that sounded terrible. Then again; there are many people that can't stand the sound of live music, prefer transistor radio caliber reproduction, or will choose the very back row of the hall(Mrtennis?). If the poster actually has played the mentioned album "many, many times" on his "modest" system; it may not have enough left in the grooves to sound worth a damn. Lots of variables, preferences and opinions out there. As long as you're happy........

If you want that last bit of performance you cannot beat a properly set up highend system. The problem is the further down the road you go the more complex the set up is to get all the devices to sing and balance preferences to make the hifi disappear. There is more for you to get wrong so to speak.

There are very expensive systems which could probably be out performed by a cheaper and cleverer design. Just look at Formula 1 racing at the moment for an examples of this. There is a cut off point though. You have to spend in curtain areas though.

I have heard many good sounding mid fi systems which gloss over the deep details but are basically musical, but once you have had the details and the musicality it is impossible to go back.

I do believe that the middle ground components have got closer to the higher ones recently. Digital has evened the performance stakes somewhat.

I guess the question is how far are you willing to go and just how obsessed are you?