I just saw this thread. OP, you definitely seem to know a lot about music, and probably a lot about how acoustic music sounds. I suspect defer to your judgement on acoustic instruments reproduction more than I would for the majority of posters here, including myself. I think your observations would be valuable here.
I think that you are justified in asking if you belong here. Clearly the emphasis in Audiogon is about individuals that like to experiment with changing equipment, and as you note, most individual components cost more than your system. I am not being pejorative here, merely stating an observation. There is also a smattering of people with modest systems, some of whom make claims that their low priced systems have reached the limits of music reproduction and can’t be bettered.
I guess you have to decide whether it’s worth your time being in the big tent with the different viewpoints. I know many people who read car magazines who are lucky to be able to afford a 20 year old Honda Civic with 200K miles
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