Has anyone made the jump to $uper High end and were disappointed?

With respect to FIDELITY, there certainly IS a glass ceiling, and it is the recording. One may be able to improve the sound of a recording, to make it sound better than it really is, but it is logically impossible to be more faithful to a recording than the recording itself. Thus, with respect to FIDELITY, mind you, the asymptote metaphor is undeniable.

sqlsavior
With respect to FIDELITY, there certainly IS a glass ceiling, and it is the recording. One may be able to improve the sound of a recording, to make it sound better than it really is, but it is logically impossible to be more faithful to a recording than the recording itself.

>>>>>Sorry, but the recording is not (rpt not) part of the system. Super expensive high end systems includes the speakers, electronics and cabling, only. The recording is simply the MEANS to ascertain the SQ of the given system. Of course, you don’t want to play a BAD recording if you wish to show off what your system can do or judge the SQ. Give me a break!! Even the OP doesn’t include the recording in his definition of $uper high end systems. It’s why reviewers and many of us use recordings we’re familiar with to judge the effectiveness of a new cable, new interconnects, new tweak or the entire system. The recording is obviously INDEPENDENT of the system. The recording is actually just a TOOL for judging the SQ of a system or part of the system.

What I’m obviously referring to when I say THERE’S NO GLASS CEILING are those things you generally don’t see at shows - system burn-in for ALL electronics, speakers and cable, vibration isolation, room acoustics solutions, cryogenics, treatment of CDs, and the myriad of, you know, devices, tweaks and all the clever ideas that audiophiles are so fond of, that audiophiles ORIGINATED. Cables in the right direction, fuses in the right direction, suspended cables, Mpingo discs, Intelligent Chips, what have you. So, in fact the quest for Audio Nirvana is never ending. Unless you run out of ideas.

geoff kait
machina dynamica
advanced audio concepts

I agree that there is much more to achieving good SQ than spending more money, on "better" equipment. I just don't think SQ can keep getting better and better, without limit.

I am from the future. So you can trust me, the SQ gets better and better, without end. Amen. There is not enough time left in the world for ANYONE to get to the final destination. Assuming there was one. Which there isn’t. The trick is to stop 🛑 obsessing about the equipment. I am going back to the future, now.