Cal good post and reflects my POV. There is a point of diminishing returns. Not to say the super expensive players are not woth the "bang for the buck". If I were spending over $5K I'd look for a used Jadis DAC. But as you say if you can get 90% of the sound quality from a lower cost unit , then why not, especially if you have a tight budget. I had a Rotel and a NAD cdp. Then I went with a Cayin 15. Blew out the water the NDA and Rotel. Here we can't compare on a % ratio, the Rotel and NAD were not even in the same league.
Then I went with a Cayin 17, which can be compared to the Cayin 15, both in the same league. The 17 offered 10% improved sound quality. 10% doesn't seem like alot but in audio terms 10% is a nice gain, IOW a justified upgrade. If another tube player comes along that I feel can best the 17, I may go for it. As long as its areasonable asking price. I pd $1K for the 17 so am willing to fork out $2K if I can get another 10% better resolution. But that 10% gain is doubtful, 5% may be more like it, and that may not be enough to justify spending another $2K.
Does the Audio Aero Capitole present a 8X's(800%) better musical image vs the Cayin 17? All I know its 8X's the price.
Then I went with a Cayin 17, which can be compared to the Cayin 15, both in the same league. The 17 offered 10% improved sound quality. 10% doesn't seem like alot but in audio terms 10% is a nice gain, IOW a justified upgrade. If another tube player comes along that I feel can best the 17, I may go for it. As long as its areasonable asking price. I pd $1K for the 17 so am willing to fork out $2K if I can get another 10% better resolution. But that 10% gain is doubtful, 5% may be more like it, and that may not be enough to justify spending another $2K.
Does the Audio Aero Capitole present a 8X's(800%) better musical image vs the Cayin 17? All I know its 8X's the price.