Component(s) of your audio system that are "end game" and you don't have the urge to upgrade?

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by TheVinylAddict, Mar 15, 2019.

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  1. cubicub

    cubicub Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Chicago suburbs
    My belles aria integrated amp.
    It’s a keeper.
     
    timind likes this.
  2. George P

    George P Notable Member

    Location:
    NYC
    Never was an upgrader, had the same system for about ten years:

    Polk Audio Monitor 40
    Yamaha AX497
    Yamaha Natural Sound 6 CD Changer
    Monster Speaker Cable
    Radio Shack Gold Series Interconnect

    Then, a few years ago I got a better job and started upgrading. First got B&W 704 S2 speakers, then Yamaha A-S801 amp, Nordost speaker wires and Nordost Interconnect, Monster Power Conditioner and a Hubbell hospital grade outlet. I had bought a Yamaha CD-S300 4 years ago and it's still going strong.

    In my current system, I'd say my amp, speaker cables and interconnects are end game. I like my speakers, but I've yet to truly fall in love with their sound. I keep hoping that I will, in time. I'd like to upgrade my CD-S300, but each time I try to, I either find that its replacement doesn't sound as good or is defective. I'm also limited in options, as my rack is only 11.75" deep. I took my CD player to a high end shop this week to compare it side by side with a player (Moon 260D) that cost 10 times more! Boy was I surprised (and pleased) to see how well it stood up against the competition. I brought a dozen CDs I know well. I'd say half of them sounded better on my player, the other half sounded better on the Moon 260D player. I packed up my player and went home.
     
  3. Dougr33

    Dougr33 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Twin Cities, MN
    After 40 years, I'm very happy where I'm at, and could easily enjoy this system until I win the lottery. <$6k including cables and headphones. (but easier to do if you stick to just digital).
     
  4. classicrocker

    classicrocker Life is good!

    Location:
    Worcester, MA, USA
    Probably my Technics 1200GR which sounds excellent IMO but in all honesty, once my daughters are finished with college, and I retire and hopefully have some discretionary income, I hope to finally invest in better-associated components so this opinion may change later once I have time to go auditioning and maybe upgrade the audio chain.
     
    Don Parkhurst likes this.
  5. timind

    timind phorum rezident

    The only piece of my system I have no intention of changing out is my Resolution Audio Opus 21. I use it mainly as a DAC at this point, but also use it's phono stage when playing records. It basically functions as my preamp with its excellent volume control.

    Owned it for quite a while now, and will listen to it as long as it lives.
     
    ayrehead and Eigenvector like this.
  6. Doug Walton

    Doug Walton Forum Resident

    Location:
    United States
    I’m very satisfied with my Benchmark HPA4 and dual AHB2 amps.

    For now.
     
  7. bradleyc

    bradleyc Forum Resident

    Location:
    Midwest
    Stick a fork in me, I’m almost done. Thinking about a Marantz Reference SA-KI Ruby SACD/CD player for my B-rig, other than that it’s game over :sigh:
     
  8. Josquin des Prez

    Josquin des Prez I have spoken!

    Location:
    U.S.
    My Herron VTPH-2a phonostage...and it represents only ~5% of the retail cost of my system.
     
    SandAndGlass, ayrehead and timind like this.
  9. samurai

    samurai Step right up! See the glory, of the royal scam.

    Location:
    MINNESOTA
    Aesthetix Romulus Eclipse w/optional volume control.

    This company is a bit under the radar but they build great stuff in the USA.

    PS: There are always other DACs I would like to try but
    not because I'm dissatisfied with the Romulus.
    Call it wanderlust.
     
    Last edited: Mar 15, 2019
  10. allied333

    allied333 Audiophile

    Location:
    nowhere
    My ears likely can not hear better than my equipment. Ears are 69 years old. Not bad ears, but limited to 10kHz.
    Upgraded with best tubes Allied 333 amp. Mullard 12AX7 MC1 & Siemens 6BM8. Incredible sounding amp.
    Revel M22 speakers. Excellent.
    Luxman PD272 TT. Good enough.
    VM540ML and I believe I will hear refinement in a MP-500 cartridge. MP-500 likely my last upgrade.
     
    ayrehead, timind, Charlie-2 and 2 others like this.
  11. Vinny123

    Vinny123 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Florida
    Other than replacing broken stuff, I’m at my financial endpoint.
     
    Rickchick, ayrehead, bradleyc and 3 others like this.
  12. auralden

    auralden Forum Resident

    Location:
    Singapore
    After 10 intense years of upgrading, I can finally say that I am very happy with my setup. With the flexibility of tube rolling, I believe I’m all set for the long run: KEF LS50, Leben CS600, Astin Trew 3500+, Reproformance signal & power cables (from Sky Audio) and Torus TOT AVR.
     
    ayrehead and timind like this.
  13. trickness

    trickness Gotta painful yellow headache

    Location:
    Manhattan
    Primaluna Dialogue Premium HP Integrsted amp - sounds beautiful, just love it to bits. Schiit Yggdrasil DAC, and Meze Empyrean cans.
     
  14. bever70

    bever70 Let No-one Live Rent Free in Your Head!

    Location:
    Belgium
    Speakers (Fausto magnetostats), check.
    Turntable (Thorens Td160), check.
    Interconnect cables (Mogami 2549/2497), check.
    All these (except for the ic's) I have had for +30 years, enjoyed mostly every day and never felt the need to upgrade them. I only got the Mogami's last week but as they kicked the hell out of some more expensive boutique cables in my setup, I just have no need and I really don't feel like going into that cable ****hole.
    Listening to other setups I felt I was only lacking in the dynamics dpt. but that has been solved big time with the Mogamis (low cap).

    BUT as I only have used the usual/plain speaker cable so far (12awg), I might wanna try out the Mogami 3103, being cheap as it is...

    And so it goes :D.
     
    ayrehead, timind and Brando4905 like this.
  15. Nascimento Brasil

    Nascimento Brasil Forum Resident

    Location:
    Sao Paulo/Brasil
    It had a complete Mark Lenvison Ref system, but after Harman was acquired by Sansung, I started reading about the lack of boards and other maintenance components, so I decided to dowgrade, I sold everything, but I did not sell the loudspeakers!
    Luckily I discovered that it was not a dowgrade, but a sidegrade!
    In addition to an ear tired by the constant noise (30 years working as a helicopter pilot) today I have: Kuzma XL + Pré Reymio CAT 777 + Airtight ATM300 + Tannoy Westminster Royal HE.
    I believe this is enough for the rest of my ears!
    Not to mention that at 61 years of age I find myself in love again, fortunately my wife does not feel jealous, my new passion is the 300B
     
    Last edited: Mar 16, 2019
    IanL, jonwoody, Bill Hart and 4 others like this.
  16. Jim0830

    Jim0830 Forum Resident

    The convergence of several major events in my life in 2016/2017 gave me the means and incentive to upgrade my entire system and renovate a room into my small home theater/listening room. Over the last year and half I have upgraded all of my equipment with the exception of my Nakamichi BX-2. While I returned to vinyl, I am not going to return to cassettes.

    I got to spend more money on this endeavor than I normally would have. So I was able to dip my toes in the waters of the low end of high end audio. My dealer helped me get a well matched, great sounding system which gave me great performance for the price. It is several levels better than what it replaced. The most important thing is I truly enjoy listening to music and watching movies on it. For me that is what it is all about. I think I would have to throw significant amounts of money at my system to get a significant improvement. I am not looking for new gear, I am looking for new music to enjoy on this system.

    So I really don't see me upgrading anything. Replace yes, upgrade no. The only thing I could see is possibly new speakers way down the road: 5-10 years. I would need to see how my hearing is at that time.
     
    Last edited: Mar 16, 2019
    ayrehead, Ezd and Nascimento Brasil like this.
  17. 5-String

    5-String μηδὲν ἄγαν

    Location:
    Sunshine State
    Ypsilon VPS-100 phonostage, Jadis JA 200 Monoblocks, and Stirling LS 3/6 speakers are not going anywhere anytime soon.
     
    Last edited: Mar 16, 2019
  18. Marshall_SLX

    Marshall_SLX Rega P9/RB2000

    Knowing me nothing is sacred but im content with the following:
    Rega P9 with RB2000 arm
    Rega Cursa 3 pre
    Rega Aria phono
    Consonance Cyber 800 mono blocks

    To upgrade is:
    Rega Apheta 1 cart
    Rega RS5 speakers
    Rel T5i subwoofer pair

    Upgrading to:
    Rega Apheta 2 or a fancy boron cantilever retip of the Apheta 1
    Rega RS7, RX5, R9 or RS10 (yea right) speakers.... or Sonus Faber Cremona M
    Rythmik F12SE subwoofer pair
     
    bhazen likes this.
  19. RandyHat

    RandyHat Senior Member

    Location:
    Denton, Texas
    Probably my speakers are keepers for the duration. (Vandersteen Quatro CT). Also likely to hang around forever is my VPI Aries Turntable and Dynavector XX2V2 cartridge.
     
  20. Up until a year, year-and-a-half or so I thought I was done, but I've had to downgrade as life sometimes throws you curveballs. Having to part with my Marantz Reference PM-KI Pearl integrated amplifier wasn't easy, but you do what you have to. Anyway, I replaced the Pearl with a Marantz PM-8006 integrated for now and until such time as I can afford the new Marantz Reference PM-KI Ruby. My dealer told me it lists for CAD$5,200, plus 5% tax for a total of CAD$5,460. This ain't chicken scratch for me, so it'll be a while before I can once again say that I'm done.
     
  21. Barnabas Collins

    Barnabas Collins Senior Member

    Location:
    NH
    I'm good with my speakers and electronics. Some day, I would like to upgrade my turntable and digital front end but I'm in no hurry.
     
    Kristofa likes this.
  22. No Static

    No Static Gain Rider

    Location:
    Heart of Dixie
    I love to upgrade/change out things. Always have. But the one constant for the past 15 years has been my Totem Model 1/Storm sub speaker combination. And I'm now zeroing in on Rogue amplification as an end game, too.

    At 65 the bug doesn't bite as much as it once did. But as I've mentioned before "real audiophiles don't want to know what something sounds like. They want to know what something ELSE sounds like."
     
    LeBud, timind, ayrehead and 4 others like this.
  23. Done A Ton

    Done A Ton Birdbrain

    Location:
    Rural Kansas
    My house. Everything else is fair game.
     
    mreeter, WapatoWolf, Kristofa and 2 others like this.
  24. Soundlabs

    Soundlabs Reference Townshend Audio Dealer.

    Location:
    Welling kent
    HI everyone, First i would like to make it clear that i am a Townshend Audio dealer, I became one after i auditioned the Seismic Podiums under my Soundlab Dynastats, Before i placed my Soundlabs on the Podiums i could not get them to sound right the Soundlabs are far to big for my narrow room. After placing my Soundlabs on the Podiums they came alive, opened right up with big soundstage and 3D imaging. I now consider the Podiums as an of end game purchase, I would of sold my beloved Soundslabs if i not auditioned the Podiums.
     
    Nascimento Brasil and timind like this.
  25. ukrules

    ukrules Forum Resident

    Location:
    Kentucky
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