Lak: Thank you very much!
Dave: Very much appreciate that and I agree the irony and humor of that last phrase are priceless. I’m sure we all know the feeling when whatever we like, be it a couple great bikes, a boat (or 2), golf clubs/pricey golf member dues, etc....all get called into question. I have 1 hobby (that costs, the rest like hiking, camping, etc...don’t),...music. This is no different I suppose from any of those other Men are from Mars things (no disrespect to the ladies who love this hobby as much as we all do).
You know what they say; death, taxes and CHANGE are the only constants in the universe :-)
John: Thank you very much! I hear the old joke playing in my head; "You want some cheese with that whine???<LOL>!!!" Definitely not a poor me story at all; just love my old setup as well!
What the R1s outline is just how damned amazing the AERIS+HDPlex+Wavelet was at 1/3 the price. The R1s do many wonderful things but they highlight just how far you have to go to get what the AERIS combo I had bring to the table; and, the R1s are missing 1/2 an octave of bass at the bottom-end (AERIS went down to 16Hz flat in my room). There are many things that the R1s do differently in the total frequency spectrum that I love to hear and respect but they are a different approach to the same musical goals I easily achieved with the AERIS and now with a lot more hard work, the R1s.
Ironically enough, this is a downsize from a system size and complexity point of view....
Oh well...back to great tunes!