Does upgrading you system have to be on a logarithmic curve?

I have grown my system from a $350 affair in 1972 to it’s current state of around $150K. I have methodically and incrementally invested over the entire time. I have spent thousands of hours learning, experimenting with cables, cords, and components. I have spent thousands of hours traveling all over the world with every portable musical device / combination you can imagine.

Large investments components has brought me larger and greater jumps in sound quality along the way. The very largest differences were the most recent and the largest investment.

If, let’s say you measure the frequency response or something… sure diminishing returns.

But it is about the music…. and the ears / brain can be an astonishingly sensitive instrument. “Great sound quality”… is about peeling back layer after layer of what that means… an enormous onion… layer after layer of nuance to bring pleasure to the listener.

Of course, it is a matter of values. I really value high quality sound… that is musical, nuanced, incredibly accurate… like brass sounds like brass… not trebly distortion like most of us though cymbals sounded like when we were young. So, for me the gains have increased with investment.

Audiophilia is all about the real love of musical reproduction. Most people think we are crazy… why walk down this diminishing return return curve. But those of us that fell in love with really great musical reproduction as youth see the reward as accelerating return. That has absolutely been my experience. I am absolutely ecstatic with my current systems (see my UserID).

i can't comment, can't find my slide rule 😂

My system  runs about $40K, so I can’t comment about benefits that might accrue if I went into the level that some here have.  I do know that at my level any change that I make tends to be a lateral move.  At first the new component sounds like an improvement, but eventually I realize that it is just doing something in a different way, and I start to miss what has been lost with the change.  I suspect that I would have to leap into a bracket that I just don’t want to ascend into.

  I suspect the logarithmic view applies more to digital.  My bias is that well built digital is so good that not much more can be obtained by pumping more money into the source.  Analog however might repay greater expenditures, as more resources translate into overcoming the limitations of analog.  Overbuilt massive  turntables are bettor at suppressing vibrations for example.

Most of my equipment I've bought at deep discount, either new or ex-demo.

I built my first real hi-end system during the 1998 crash then built another during the 2008 crash.

EUR,GBP and JPY are at very low discounts to the USD now and anything you buy in Europe and the UK will have an additional 20% VAT deducted for export. Most gear can be easily re-configured for different voltages.

Cables don't wear out and popular brand names provide excellent value, even though they are expensive.

Find a dealer who'll treat you well and appreciate your repeat business and upgrades, they've always got demo gear they want to sell.