Scaling down

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.

Good point , Courant,. As much as I would like to make things smaller and simpler, I don't want an inferior sounding system.
A friends system interests me, it's a Meridian system, a one box hard drive and two speakers, thats it, and unreal sound, very clean and clear, it's impressed everyone thats heard it.
In comparison when you look at all my riggins it's almost a joke.

does scaling down mean reducing the number of components in a stereo system , or reducing the cost of individual components in a stereo system, e.g., replacing an expensive component with a less expensive one ?

" 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."

Uh oh, the cat's out of the bag.....

I guess " scaling down " leaves a big gap for interpretation. My hopes were for a less imposing and less cluttered system. Cost is of little concern to me at this point in life. Don't take that the wrong way as I still insist on the best gear for the dollar.