Have I Hit The Point Of Diminishing Returns?

+1 Doug Schroeder.

Yes, you past the point of diminishing returns as soon as you go past your first boombox.

I disagree! Once one experience what's available, they will upgrade or change. Sometimes it's good NOT to know what's available.

The laws of diminishing returns hit early and hard, just as in any other hobby. A $10,000 watch is not 1000 times better than a $10 watch. Same goes for audio gear.

Nobody buy $10,000 watches to keep time but an accessory or enjoys collecting them. Same with cars ... The equivalent in audio is always on a journey and never reaching a destination ... enjoy cycling through gear.

Bottom line is if you are happy with you system, just enjoy the music and stop worrying about upgrading.

Joecasey, do you understand what the law of diminishing returns means? I never said that spending more money would not improve a system sonically, most times it does. However, it is not on a linear scale. A $20,000 system does not sound twice as good as a $10,000 system. It's more of a logarithmic scale, which would indicate that there is diminishing returns on money spent.

I have listened to many systems priced from $2,000 to $500,000. Yes, the $500,000 system was great, but it wasn't twice as good as the $2,000 system. It could have been....if the $2,000 system was defective, or poorly assembled. Obviously, YMMV.

Have you ever spent time with a good tube and analog system?

Jmcgrogan2, I guess I didn't clearly state my position.

I don't believe in point Of Diminishing Returns. It all depends on the individual component, system and how badly you want it. All subjective.

If I prefer the $500,000 over the $2,000 system, then it's worth it. Who knows and who cares if it's 2X, 20X, 100X ... superior. How do you measure it?

Take this advice for what it's worth-
i have a much bigger and more expensive system than you do, and it sounds
very very good. but... i still look around at new gear and would love to check it out anyway. but other than a nicer looking pair of speakers or some other aesthetically attractive component, there is no SONIC rationale for spending any more money. once you have a combination of "sweetness" and functionality, you're essentially done. OTOH, you "can" get a more "startling super-realistic" sound that sweeps you away, but it could also get tiring after awhile, or reveal
subtle flaws in source material you were better off not knowing about.
a system should help you relax and enjoy the sound. Funny, when i had a mid-fi
set-up years ago (SAE-2 electronics, a Thorens turntable, and ADS speakers, cheap wire) I was strangely happy. BTW, this was before those cursed CD's came
along and replaced vinyl in the record stores.