A mistake spending too much on amplification?

frankly I would make sure you have the best wire before proceeding, you can gain quite a bit with quality cables that match your components....

if you have not done this already of course.......

:^)

Everyone has their own opinion. I've found mine to be that speakers matter most. Nothing will change the sound of your system like speakers.

Are you tired of your speakers and ready for new ones?

Speakers will change the sound of your system, but speakers that have "outpaced" your electronics are, IMO, a poor investment. OTOH, good electronics can make average speakers sound better. Just my $0.02.

Guess pretty much has been covered and you've got some good responses. You have to ask yourself what 'improvements' are you after before deciding on your next step. In my opinion, you have realized that you have outpaced your speakers in the selection of amps, and that may be well true. You have to realize that even after getting a substantially better pair of speakers, it is very likely you may still find your current amp lacking, and you then need to go searching for a matching amp again. As you have known, this is a never-ending process in the quest of audio nirvana. Now you can consider getting some new speakers.

Electromechanical components (cartridges and speakers) will always have the greatest effect on sound. And of those two, speakers, having to also transduce between mechanical motion and air motion (plus the unknown room interactions) have the biggest variability in sound reproduction.

Simple thought experiment.

Which will sound better:

1) $1000 integrated amp + $10,000 speakers

OR

2) $10,000 integrated amp + $1000 speakers

If you think #2, then you have been brainwashed by the audio mags.

Always spend your money on speakers first. Buy the best you can afford. When time and money permits, you can try ‘better’ electronics. You may be able to the tell the difference or not, and you can then make an informed decision whether or not you should make the upgrade. If your speakers aren’t ‘good enough’, then you will have no idea if swapping out the electronics or front end components is worthwhile.

For car racing, you can talk about suspension and motor and brakes, blah, blah, blah. In the end, it’s ALL about the tires.

For audio, it’s ALL about the speakers.