Are there other people like me ? Amazed by their low cost system :)

"And BTW, who is this Jay guy you are referring to?"

@yogiboy I think he must be referring to a reviewer on YT who posts videos as Jay's Iyagi. For example:

Someone who was certain they were satisfied might not be tempted to ask this question.

To be an audiophile, one doesn’t need to have Elon Musk type resources.  You just have to appreciate good sound.  It’s more of a challenge to achieve this with limited resources.  Yes, system matching, synergies, etc matter, but honestly if one spends megabucks on each component the odds are that it will sound good, if not perhaps realizing the full potential of the resources expended.  And while there is a lot of really good sounding mid Fi gear available compared to decades of yore, here it becomes more of a challenge to match components, etc.  The budget audiophiles get sneared at a lot, and there are some eccentrics who play in that corner of the sandbox.  However there are many who really know what they are doing 

So, I love my curated, a.k.a. hodgepodge system. It’s not expensive by high end standards, but I love listening to all genres on it. It’s far from perfect.  I get to hear a lot of high dollar systems through my local audio club, and rarely do I feel any regrets about my own system. Does the 6 figure system feeding a pair of Magicos sound better than my rig? Of course it does. But I can listen to that system, go home, fire up my rig, and still enjoy the music. And that’s why I got into the hobby; because I love music. Sure, I drool over expensive gear and have my Lottery winner’s system all picked out. But when I hear a well recorded tune on my system, I really couldn’t wish for more. I am sure my acoustics aren’t ideal, although my room and a/c power are pretty quiet. Others have heard my system. Some liked it, some didn’t. I couldn’t care less.

I am pretty amazed by how much music can come out of vintage and/or inexpensive gear when you get things out of the way (inside) that make them sound worse.

I am also amazed how inexpensive gear can fulfill an intended purpose: musical wallpaper, surround yourself with something(s) familiar, share a tune, provide a musical upgrade over cheap earbuds, etc.  A rough facsimile of a performance is better than no performance in the "right" situation, provided enough rough burrs are filed off.