When's enough, enough?

It is natural to never be satisfied with the sound we achieve with our systems. Inherently we know that it does not match the "live/real" sound we tend to aspire to. Since it is impossible to achieve the sound of a "live/real" performance I submit that many of us will continually attempt to make changes large and small to our systems until we lose interest or the money runs out.

Remember though that after all is said and done it is a hobby and the appreciation of music should be foremost in your upgrade path. Each individual will have their own limit as to when enough is enough. Enjoy the ride!

I had a good lesson one time while listening to a friends stereo which had ATC Active 50 speakers, which are very good, and we always enjoyed them but this time I had recently been in a room with a solo violin. After hearing the violin I could not believe how muted the speakers sounded in the high end and how much dynamic range they lacked compared to the real thing.

It was a good lesson and brings to mind Ivor's (from Linn) statement that stereos offer only 15% of the live music experience (several years ago) 15% seems about right in this instance and I am not talking about chopped liver with the ATCs they were very good and I stopped searching so much for the perfect sound but, instead, look for things that matter to me in stereo like dynamic range and tone and an open quality.

Bottom line is if it makes you smile it is a good stereo and yes I have been OCD (it seems) over the years.

Hi my name is Phil and I have been sober approx. 5 years...

:^)

Ha, now we all know what Elizabeth is running!

It is not natural to be disatified with your system. That disatifaction is a learned behavior encouraged by magazines and other forms of marketing.