Scaling down

I have found the primary focus should always be my enjoyment of the music. Big or small, humble or great. Then even smaller systems can be enjoyable. But for myself as long as I have the space, my big system will always be tops. Life demands sometimes dictate a change in listening habits, but it is hard to go backwards when one has tasted a better apple. Sometimes the sweetest apple is not always the biggest however.

I've had a blast downsizing. My wife decided we needed to move to a smaller house near the beach so I was forced to downsize. After moving from the big room almost five years ago I went through three integrated amps and three sets of speakers before I got the new one right. It took a long time to adjust my listening expectations in the smaller "venue" but now my system/room has strengths that I never had before. I do miss the stadium rock concert effect of the large room sometimes but overall enjoyment of music hasn't suffered at all.

Dump it all except for a TT, int. amp and some nice speakers.

After a certain dollar point, or just being an audiophile for a few decades, the idea of scaling up or downward loses its meaning. I think most people eventually realize they can truly enjoy listening to music on a wide range of equipment. Particularly if attention is paid to setup and speaker/room interactions.

I have to slightly disagree with Elizabeth. I think that if you plan carefully, you can simplify your system, and scale-back while still improving the sound. In my case, I went from a mid-fi 5.1 Home Theater setup to a much simpler 2-channel setup. I started out with a Denon 2807 with NHT Classic 3 Fronts & Center with Paradigm Studio 20/5s for the surround. I moved the Denon to the bedroom, sold the NHTs for a moderate loss, and gave the Paradigms back to my dealer for full value on a better pair of speakers for my "primary" living room system. The loss I took on the NHTs was then "recouped" value-wise on a very clean floor demo Ayre integrated from the dealer. I had earlier picked up a pair of Linn Kan demos from the same dealer, which had been in the bedroom, which I then combined with the Ayre for my "scaled down" Media Room system. The Kans are physically smaller and less expensive than either the NHTs or the Paradigms, and work surprisingly well with the Ayre. In the end, I scaled down from 6 pieces of gear to 3 in the media room, and have much better sound, for about $1000 extra cost compared to my original 6-piece mid-fi Media Room system. The Denon, which I still have, is more than adequate for the bedroom system.