Perhaps we should stick with midfi...

A few questions.

Since the exact equipment of the high end system hasn't been stated, how are so many people able to claim it's mismatched?

Getting more detailed, there's only so many logical ways the brands can be assembled. We're only given the specifics on the speaker. The Sony could be a SCD-1 or SCD-777. The McIntosh could be a tuner. Which leaves the Krell/Audio Research combo. Are there no combination of Krell/Audio Research preamp to amps that would sound good when linked to the B&Ws?

Then again could be the Audio Research is a crossover and all the amplification is Krell? Or could the Krell be a D/A and the amp/preamp are Audio Research? Or vice versa?

How do you people know so much when so little info has been given?

"(for the most part we agree for instance that Bose is crap),"

Ok, audiophiles agree Bose is crap, but who has actually set up a system with Bose speakers the way they would with a popular audiophile brand? Who has selected just the right amp and preamp to make a pair of Bose speakers sing? Who selected the right CD played, turntable and cartridge to get the most sound out of Bose speakers? What about interconnects and speaker cables? Who set up their system with the right equipment and then, with the advice of a so called acoustical expert, treated their room to get the best sound from a pair of Bose speakers?

Has anyone here ever done any of these things? Probably not. Yet everyone agrees Bose is crap.

That's actually a good post, Rrog. I misspoke. Bose is sort of the John Tesh of speakers. Kind of an inside joke amongst the insiders. Yugo; Gallo; Red Lobster. They try so hard to be all things to all people that they become caricature-ized. The funny thing is, I was at the local Krispy Kreme today, and was blown away by the fact that they'd put a pretty expensive Bose setup in the ceiling, and you know what? It didn't sound bad! Of course, my expectations weren't too high!
So I should have said Bose is a joke, not crap.
**My wife is a designer for a local builder, and sells Bose. She however is NOT an audiophile, and will never read this!**

I'm sure if everyone of us went out and spent 60k on a system, NONE of us would have the same exact components. OP bought someone elses "ears". In that case, odds are not good for happiness no matter what the price. Odds are better that most of us could spend half that and end up with a better system because it would be based on our "ears". Hard lesson learned.