Does an upgrade make sense?

Ha! Me too! But I may have the cure for you. Change the way you listen; change something in the room, change the positioning of your equipment. Change before you buy anything. Read "Get Better Sound" and see if there’s anything in there that might trigger an idea. Call the author; he answers the phone.

I got this epiphany from my auto mechanic (side story at end). But the fact is if you listen differently, at a new time or without glasses and reading material or iphone/ipad present, you might hear differently and hear more. Same for other minor changes.

Its a human factor that the familiar becomes mundane. We must work to appreciate what’s in front of us (not going down the marriage tunnel).

Side story: I was speaking with my auto mechanic and he told me that most of the upgrades he does really never fully satisfy the customer prone to upgrading; just makes them want more. After a month they want another 5% and spend big chasing it.

His advice was don’t drive your car as much or drive differently. I was unable to drive my car for a month because of an injury. When I got back in I was surprised at how fast it felt, the handling better than I remember. This also works if I change the way I drive; no radio, windows down, no AC (at night). It just feels different; more engaging, less mundane / less familiar.

All of the above intended kindly, please forgive my humor if you don’t agree.

Lol. For critical listening I have thrown blankets over the tv. Very slight difference but it makes me feel like I’m doing something. 

+1 @socalml528 

I have an original 1917 Victrola sitting on top of one of my speakers.

Any time I feel as though my rig is not performing up to par, I check temps with an infrared gun.  Visually inspect.  Turn it all off.

Go away and come back next day and put a 78 on the 'ol Victrola.  Damn this thing plays loud.  Listen to a side, goes by quick.  Having warmed up the rig for an hour or so.  I play something I'm very fond of. OMG this rig sounds fabulous!!

Go down to Goodwill or some other "store" of the same ilk and purchase a POS cassette "boom-box"  the smaller and cheaper the better, get a cassette to go with it.  Maybe some nice shrill bag-pipe music is in order here.  Listen to it for a nice little session.  You get the drift.

You'll forget about upgrading.  The mind is a very strange place to live. You're welcome.

Regards,

barts

If you like the DALI house sound, it's very possible that upgrading your speakers may scratch your upgrade itch. I have the Epicon 6's and love them. Even so, I use a pair of Rythmik 12" sealed subs to get the very low end. It makes a difference, and I fully agree with @soix regarding the improvements in soundstage and imaging. But echoing others, the point of diminishing returns is a deeply personal one. 

+1 @socalml528 as well... just listening with eyes closed vs. open, light levels, etc., make a huge difference; by removing some senses from the listening experience, you improve the sense of hearing.

just listening with eyes closed vs. open, light levels, etc., make a huge difference

@sfgak +1. A long time ago I saw a Wilson Audio demo with BAT electronics at a show where David Wilson played a Sting song with full band live in concert, and he turned the lights down and it made a huge difference and was pretty incredible — and I didn’t even like Wilson speakers back then (it was some Watt Puppy version BTW). As soon as I got home I ordered the CD and I still never listen to that song with the lights on ever because it’s just a totally different experience. I find live recordings in general benefit more from low lighting than studio recordings, at least in my experience. BTW, if anyone’s interested in the track I’m talking about it’s “Fragile” from Sting’s Still be Love in the World CD released in 2001. In my system the entire stage and performers like four feet above my speakers and crowd noise like individual whistles and screams come from all around and way outside the speakers, and it really produces the feeling and experience of being in a stadium at a live concert. Really fun. FWIW.