I've been selling heavier gear for lighter gear

I’m all about lighter weight gear, I’ve had 120lb Sonic Frontier tube amp, big heavy Brystons, Odyssey... Then I found Channel Islands Audio, my current setup is a

E-200 stereo amp that weighs about 15-20 pounds and it’s great I changed all the fuses to those Synergistic Orange fuses, have a Acoustic Zen Krakatoa power cord on it and Golden Sound cones under it and it's the best sounding amp I've ever had with the tweaks, my Schiit Yggdrasil DAC weighs way more like close to 30 pounds and is bigger.

I doubt I’ll ever go back to heavy big power amps again. Also the Channel Islands doesn’t heat the whole room, it does run pretty warm but nothing like a huge tube amp. My next amp might be those Atma Sphere class D mono blocks which are like 15 pounds each.

I will be 65 soon.  I have back and heart problems.  My speakers are B&W 803-D that my (now defunct) dealer delivered and placed in my upstairs listening room almost 20 years ago.  It took two strong guys then.  I want new speakers but we are also contemplating moving, hopefully to a single level, so no point in doing it until that happens.

Yet another reason to explore the excellent offerings from AGD and Atmasphere.  Now you can have your cake and lift it.

This is a trend recognized by a few manufacturers who are as a result putting effort into engineering speakers and components that have a smaller footprint and lighter weight while still offering premium sound. Borresen / Aavik, Raidho, and T+A (not the HV Series) are falling into this camp. 

With speakers particularly, there’s the ability to use 3D machining to more accurately sculpt the cabinet and design for bracing such that it enables better airflow and less cabinet resonance. As an example, look at the T+A Talis S 300, whose cabinet is machined out of solid aluminum. It has a very narrow footprint and weighs 72lbs, but it goes down to 25Hz and sounds huge. Borresen speakers, similarly can fill huge rooms. I know at Axpona this past year they demonstrated how their monitors could fill a 60x30 space. 

Class D amps are advancing this way as well, though I haven’t hopped on that bandwagon yet. I do have the T+A A 200 on my floor, and I found it outperforms the Primaluna Evo 400 amp at 1/3rd of the weight and similar price point.

As it becomes harder to make gear that sounds better, focus will be placed on its form factor and space requirements to make them better integrate into your home/room. So many manufacturers are behind on this, though. 

Use a floor dolly. That’s what I’ve done with my 114lb McIntosh amp. Works great.