How Much Is TOO MUCH for a Analog front End?


Hello All
I have a question hopefully you can help me decide.After having had the "bug" (you all know what I mean) for much of my fomative years, I have reached a point in my evolution that I've got the urge to upgrade my front end to that last step.
What I am contemplating is a purchase I am almost afraid to make. Having read soo much about these killer tables from various "cottage" companies (Teres,Redpoint,Galibier,etc) I have really got the itch.Not that my current front end isn't giving me enjoyment.It consists of a VPI HW-19 mk III in between 3 and four status, twl modded OL Silver arm,with various carts, a 103,Dyna DV-20X etc.,
but what I'm getting hot and heavy about is a Galibier Gavia,Schroder mod 2 or maybe Redpoint Medel B with the same mod 2 arm?
but were talking roughly $9-10k not exactly lunch money.
So this brings us to the question How much is TOO much for a table/arm set up? (now thinking about it this maybe the wrong place to ask this question lol) should it be in proportion to my income?
give me some input.In all honesty, I won't be able to purchase it til maybe August If I start saving now.
Please give me some indication,as I am bordering on an Intervention!!

HELP ME!
braab
braab8
>12-31-07: Dcstep
Going from a quality $3000 front-end to a $10000 front-end is certain at the point of diminishing returns, IMHO.<

Totally disagree. The $10K buys an incredibly quieter turntable, a better tracking/quieter tonearm, and a much higher resolving cartridge.

It's imperative to have the downstream components as well but the difference between $3K and $10K is night and day.

Hardly diminishing returns to the serious listener.
ditto A'feil. Although it may seem counterintuitive, as the system gets better and better the differences show up more and more.
DC step, have you done many comparisons, or are you merely speculating? A $10k rig is much better, and it is the opposite,the differences become larger, not smaller.
My experience might help you and I'll pass along a couple insights along the way. For years, I had a Well-Tempered Turntable which served me, ah, well, fine. It had delicacy, enough nuance and openness that on my Crosby Quads, with a low powered ARC power amp and a serious cartridge (a Lyra Parnassus, back in the day), I was happy. I iced the system for ten years due to other interests and logistical complications, and about two years ago, when I decided to resume my hi-fi pursuits, I set up the system once again. It sounded great, surprisingly, but also suffered from the same limitations it had when i last heard it. (Limited dynamics, bass and dbs, largely due to the Quads). I decided to revamp the system, from front to back. I bought a Kuzma Reference with Triplanar, and installed the latest Lyra (Titan i). Much better bass, more dimensionality; granted the table was considerably more expensive than the WTT, so that should have been no surprise. I then got the opportunity to trade the Kuzma/Triplanar back to the dealer and take the Kuzma XL/Airline arm combo. It was a great deal, and this, a much more elaborate table/arm set-up, has amazing foundational bass and a quality like the proverbial mastertape. But, it is not easy to isolate, whereas the Kuzma Reference set-up, with its integral isolation system, was a set and forget proposition. It was also capable of being mounted on a wall shelf, unlike the bigger Kuzma, which is simply too heavy (at least for my walls). Moral of story: the less expensive table, on balance, may be better for some purposes, having less to do with the overall quality or potential of the table than with your ability to install and use it easily, and set it up in a way that gets the most performance out of the table without isolation or related problems. FWIW.