Dream Amps I Could Not Afford 20 Years Ago Now Undesirable

The converse of this oft-experienced scenario is lusting after "this year's model". 9.9 times out of 10, "this year's model" will become the old has-been you can not believe you once lusted over. Krell was once CH Precision. CH Precision will become the next Krell. And on it goes. 

The solution is simple-stick with the classics-the audio equivalent of Brooks Brothers/Armani-and unless you have more money than you can burn and no desire to support others, avoid audio-nervosa. 

Being a jaded audiophile is not particularly fun but it does provide a sense of secure, confident wisdom. 

Ask anyone with a pair of ML No.33's and let them tell you how much those recaps costed! Amazing amps in their day however expensive to repair and they do require repairs fairly often compared to other amps. 

After hearing one, I lusted after the Classe DR3 VHC for some years.  Eventually, over time I acquired three of them (that's just over 2% of the total production).  I have them in two systems, but run a tube amp in my main system.

When I lived in the UK I lusted after a Krell KAV300i. It was popular in the audio press and I really, really wanted one. It was 3500 GBP back then and I couldn't justify the cost. 

When I moved to the USA a few years later I found an open box 300i at HiFi Heaven in Green Bay WI and snagged it off Jim for $1700. With the exchange rate, it came in at less than a third of what I would've paid back in blighty.

The amp was a POC and I couldn't wait to dump it. Be careful what you wish for and lust after ;)

When I was a college student in the late 1980s I dreamed of a pair of Apogee Caliper or Celestion SL600, and Martin Logan CLS. I also dreamed of a Linn LP12/Ittok/Koetsu Rosewood. I was a part time salesperson in college in an audio store and the Onkyo M508 and Perreaux amplifiers always called to me. 

Now I am 57 and I have had the chance to acquire some of these pieces but chose not to. Some cannot be serviced and restored to their glory. Some of the gear has voicing that I think can be improved upon with modern gear. 

However I have acquired some vintage pieces or their modern equivilent and thoroughly enjoy it. 

Martin Logan CLX ART speakers, they are a dream come true. 

SOTA Cosmos Eclipse with SME V arm. Always dreamed of the SOTA since the first Star Sapphire, and same with the SME. 

Ortofon MC2000 cartridge with T2000 transformer. Recieved a new diamond last year and a tune up, and the magic is there

Kiseki Blackheart. I am so fortunate to find one in OEM condition, and the magic is indeed there. Not the most neutral of cartridges, but it's a treat to experience. 

In some ways the past has been a road map for my current audio travels. Yet in other ways modern gear like my Classe Omega monoblocks and Trinov Amethyst preamp are unique experiences.