HOW DID YOU END UP WITH YOUR DREAM SYSTEM?

music is my medication.  Keeps me calm. Allows me to think clearly. Takes the stress of practicing law away. It allows me to reflect. It allows me to put life in perspective. It’s not just gear and songs. It’s an escape.

@Calvinj, you hit the nail right on the head.  I too am a trial lawyer, very busy practice, lots of stress, lots of hours, good disposable income . . .  My dedicated music room is right next to my office in the house, and I often start my day by putting on some jazz and relaxing before starting the day, and listening to some tunes at the end of the day as well. I relax, think clearly, and reflect on a difficult case or two.  One of my cats sits on my lap and purrs.  My music room is definitely an escape.

How did I get to that point?  Just upgrading equipment as I made more money, until I had everything that I liked.  I am not sure if I will ever be convinced that this is my "end game" system and there is nothing left to improve, but I am close.  All my cables are upgraded to Shunyata Sigma's, ARC REF 6, Pass 250.8, and an MSB Discrete DAC with a Premier Power Base, REL s/510 sub, Wilson Audio Sabrina X's. My system has never sounded closer to that ideal sound that I have in my head!  Surprisingly, and I have said this in other posts, I finally broke down and bought a Shunyata Everest power conditioner, which I thought would be a ridiculous expense, but I settled a good size case and figured that I would splurge.  Honestly, that singlehandly added a new dimension to my sound, making the soundstage deeper, and the instruments better placed against a black background.  So, through evolution, I have a system that to my ears, sounds really good.  If I get a bigger dedicated music room, I will think about getting Wilson Sasha DAW's but for now, very pleased!

Fifty years of passionate pursuit, including constant reading, major multiple year upgrade cycles every five to ten years, an increasingly successful career and ten years of season tickets to the symphony and lots of acoustic jazz concerts. During the time, an extended period to study interconnects of hundreds of hour, and similar comparisons of speaker cables and power cords. In the last twenty years it got much easier to the point I mentally decided what I wanted and finally able to pick the exact components to achieve it.

@bassbuyer well said. Hans is as ocd about sound as I am. A match made in heaven. I listen as much as I can to my system. But I stopped listening in morning because it was making me late to work. lol. I’m excited to be a part of company that brought me to the best sound I have ever had in my life. It’s a beautiful thing. Going to audio shows are nit work for me. They are vacation listening sessions. I spend time now trying to find music.  Tweaking a little and just happy listening to my favorite stuff 

@ghdprentice same kind of thing with me.  I wanted an organic sound but with loads of detail, great dimensionality and excellent image placement. Also I like silky like vapor type airy treble. All of these things in one system can be hard be hard to do and still have balance.  I have managed to achieve this. 

It started back in 1985, Okinawa, Japan. I purchased a pair of JBL 4312s(I think). I  continued to trade/buy components. I'm happy with my system,  because I have learned that no component is perfect, trust my wife’s ears, and trust my own ears.