Heard my friend's system, thinking of leaving hifi

i have an entire house full of speakers, amps, cdp's, tv's, and gadgets (plus a dozen guitars, a piano, a clarinet, and a dulcimer). i have more stuff crammed into various closets, including wire, wire, and more wire.
but due to my present physical limitations, i lie in bed at night after dinner and a nap, and listen to my tivoli radio with a stereo speaker and dual subs. this is the best investment in audio i have ever made. i get commercial free music from alternative, jazz, prog. rock, classical, blues, etc.
there are only two adjustments i can make on the radio- tuning, and volume. sometimes i need to switch from the internal to external antennas for a weaker station. still and in all i either have hypnotized myself into thinking this arrangement sound great, or it really does sound great.
if you can deal with some rolled off high frequencies, and don't ask it to play bach's tocatta and fugue in d-minor, it does everything else wonderfully well. small jazz ensembles are simply outstanding.
i add this comment because i have heard wilson alexandrias (although not the version-2's sorry to say) and i still think good sound can come in some unusual packages. never in a million years would i have thought i would be writing about a table-radio system after investing tens of thousands on high-end audio, which will of course kill my little radio with one flick of one of it's woofers. but i need to get some rest at the end of a long day and i do NOT want to get up to put on music for reasons i will not get into here. fortunately there are some superb radio shows during the week- 24 hours a day.
buy your "friend" some merlot (or whatever) and invite yourself over when you want to hear everything on your cd's in full glory. as for upgrading your stereo, it just takes alot of time and patience. monitors are SO good these days (so i hear) that you don't need to get a really large set-up anymore. except for the bach of course...

Lots of great advice, some dealing with one's character and others dealing with speakers and room treatments. I welcome both and am seriously pondering my next move!

Regarding speakers, it's going to take some time. Both in terms of listening and saving. I would probably be able to spend around $3k new or used without alerting the fiancee. Maybe $3.5k if I can unload the 6.2's.

With respect to speaker selection: The lower end Vandersteens (2ce) seem a bit too dark sounding for me. I loved the Quattros though; but, they'll never pass the Wife Acceptance Factor test (even if a could afford them). The same goes for the Harbeth, though I have heard they sound fantastic with plinius gear. They remind of the Jensens and Marantz receiver my parents had when I was growing up. Also, I have always (perhaps wrongly) associated Thiels with more "polite" music. There are times when I like to turn up some classic rock and 90's alternative. Though I do equally like to turn up jazz, acoustic and Spanish guitar, Vivaldi, Tchaikovsky, and Back.

For the musical purists: It is and has always been about the music. I play guitar (acoustic, classical and electric) as another pass time. For me, I want to replicate the "live" sound experience. Hearing this system was a real eye opener. It was active speaker arrangement but it was also non-fatiguing and slightly warm.

En essence, I think that I'm missing the full range of the sound spectrum. I'm reluctant to go the subwoofer route because it's my understanding that it's hard to pull off seemless interaction. Does anyone have any ideas regarding speakers that contain active woofers, like the Quattros?

01-15-08: Shadorne said:
"Yes Active Speakers can indeed surprise you that much!! No passive crossovers and dramatically reduced IMD distortion and huge dynamics is like having a veil removed from the sound compared to passive speakers."

With all due respect, I don't think that active speakers are the key to reducing IMD, increasing dynamics and removing veils. Instead, assuming a basically competent system, it's about the speaker placement and room interaction. If you get those right then it doesn't take mega-bucks to put together and incredibly transparent, dynamic and revealing system that's pleasant to listen for hour after hour.

Dave

I second Pdreher's recommendation of a REL Storm III sub. The single biggest improvement to my system was adding an active sub, especially the REL, which gets its signal from the amps, not the pre-amp, and a seamless blend with your speakers is easier to achieve.
Borrow one, demo one, or buy one on Audiogon (and sell it without a loss if it doesn't do it for you). It really fleshes out the sound of your system, and not just on bass-heavy material. Even acapella vocals benefit -- with the sub, you hear more of the 'room' the music was recorded in. A good, musical sub adds so much more than just lower octave information!
I know the exact difference in sound you're describing when you describe your friend's system vs. yours -- yours sounds anemic and as if certain frequency ranges sound good at the expense of others; his sounds full and well-balanced.
My advice: before replacing any of your components or speakers, try supplementing what you have with a REL sub, and see how you like the difference.
Good luck!