Is upgrading worth it?

There are mistakes a lot of people make during upgrades. When you buy something new, and it has a sonic characteristic that is really not liked, pass it on. Everything I bought new or used, if I didn't like it at first, I let it go. When I get something new and like it right out of the box, I know it's a keeper.

A lot of people get caught thinking it will improve with break-in. Then, they start getting accustomed to that sound that they didn't like. I do the opposite. It needs to make me happy right at the beginning. Then, if there are any changes, it seems to be for the better, after it builds up some hours. Result, I'm happy with everything in my system.

If you make a compromise with these new components, and worse yet several of them, that same characteristic you didn't like in the beginning can still be there, maybe not as much of it, but still there. If that happened with a lot of you components, it adds up more, and you probably have a whole system you don't like.

Keep the new items you enjoy out of the box. Then you may be really happy with the end result, especially if most of it turned out better (after hours were put on it) like I am.
I think this mistake is made too often. It takes more trial and error. But, in the end it's worth it, at least for me.

I'll admit that there are plenty of recordings out there that sound like crap on a high-resolution system. But the really good recordings sound wonderful too. You have to decide where you fall in the "true to the source material" camp.

In addition to what's been mentioned above, it's important to keep your system balanced from a resolution perspective. It's possible that some of what you're hearing is new components revealing weaknesses in older components, e.g., new preamp revealing problems with a source component or new speakers revealing problems with the preamp, amp or source.

As is also mentioned above it's possible to upgrade a system without making almost everything totally unlistenable. To do this you have to first identify the characteristics about the sound of your current system that are important TO YOU. Then, when upgrading, research the prospective components to determine if they have those characteristics. If you can't listen to prospective components in your system before you buy, then this process will carry the risk of being trial and error to some extent.

I expect the music of an era gets recorded with an eye towards the equipment of an era, which might account for the "vintage effect" described in the OP. I remember being shocked at how "right" Dylan's "Desire" sounded on some old speakers from the 70s, with their huge sloppy woofers.

That said, music played audiophile gear needn't sound like edgy etchings from hell, though it certainly can.

John

If you're continually upgrading and become less satisfied with the result you need to be "A" doing more research and"B"auditioning,providing of course you are residing in an urban environment.

you could not be MORE CORRECT regarding a LOT of music from past recordings/groups, ESPECIALLY rock albums, but many others as well. some time ago (1970's) i had a Fisher receiver, Fisher speakers, and a Garrard turntable.
the entire system set me back $350 (all the wire was included).
whether it was Gentle Giant, The Who, Simon and Garfunkel, etc. EVERYTHING sounded great. later i upgraded to a Thorens which was a far more elegant machine, but truthfully the Garrard worked fine even with all of the cheap plastic parts.
everything was fine even a couple of changes more down the road, UNTIL-
My "GREAT DOWNFALL" - THIS began with the purchase of B&W 801 speakers. now my classic-rock collection started to sound like the music was pieced together with spit and glue- tonal variations, pauses and timing errors in the mixing process, too much of this and too little of that, etc. started to make me gravitate to classical recordings, blue-note jazz, acoustic folk groups, female vocals, etc. Cream and C,S,N &Y didn't sound so good anymore. my beloved J.Taylor alblum (S.B. James) sounded constricted and artificial.
Anyway, I feel there is a good reason to advance to a certain level of Speaker Resolution and then hold off- AT LEAST until you understand what is certainly going to happen to your ability to relax and enjoy "those recordings i have alluded to". when you get a pair of super-speakers with kevlar, carbon fiber, beryllium, diamonds, and dense HEAVY cabinets, ELLA will send you into rapture, the NY Philharmonic will invite you INTO Lincoln Center for a concert,
T.Monk will save you a seat in a downtown club. but don't expect a sloppy production to sound good as well.