I've done it over and over again with cables, amps and preamps. Aside from my TT setup, I've save over 70% of my original setup with better results after 3 years of gear changing.
Again, this is subjective view based on my system and my own findings.
Cables: DYI interconnects, power cords and speaker cables.
I used to own $$$$ cables until I was able to make my own with similar and some even better results. No need to mention brands here but I've tried over 50 different cables out there before I settled for the best combination. After that, I made my own cables which can produce similar results.
Amps: Vintage. Hidden treasures from the golden tube era. Blew most of today's high price amps away. However, speaker matching is required before one can decide if the amp is good or bad.
preamps: Vintage + mod. Again, hidden treasures from the golden tube era. It might required a little work to revive them to its original state. The end result is astonishing. It beats most of the preamps that's 2 to 10 times of its price.
I'm not able to do it with source.
CD player: IMHO, Cheap ones will never be better than a better one. Compared over and over again with all the CD players from $50 DVD players to $6000 CD players. However, once you get to certain price level, the differences become much less.
TT setup: The differences between my $600 setup vs my $10,000 setup is so big that I almost felt out of my chair.
The right combination with turntable, tonearm, cartridge, phono cables and phono stages and step up devices is very critical. I guess this is where I invested most. I don't think I can make a better tonearm or cartridge myself. I know I can still upgrade my turntable but the improvement will not be dramatic. I also don't see myself spending additional $5K+ on a TT by itself.
Tuner: This is also tough. I have yet to find a better sounding tuner under $1500 than my MR71. Maybe I'm not looking hard enough but I don't use it as often as the other sources so it is okay.
Again, this is subjective view based on my system and my own findings.
Cables: DYI interconnects, power cords and speaker cables.
I used to own $$$$ cables until I was able to make my own with similar and some even better results. No need to mention brands here but I've tried over 50 different cables out there before I settled for the best combination. After that, I made my own cables which can produce similar results.
Amps: Vintage. Hidden treasures from the golden tube era. Blew most of today's high price amps away. However, speaker matching is required before one can decide if the amp is good or bad.
preamps: Vintage + mod. Again, hidden treasures from the golden tube era. It might required a little work to revive them to its original state. The end result is astonishing. It beats most of the preamps that's 2 to 10 times of its price.
I'm not able to do it with source.
CD player: IMHO, Cheap ones will never be better than a better one. Compared over and over again with all the CD players from $50 DVD players to $6000 CD players. However, once you get to certain price level, the differences become much less.
TT setup: The differences between my $600 setup vs my $10,000 setup is so big that I almost felt out of my chair.
The right combination with turntable, tonearm, cartridge, phono cables and phono stages and step up devices is very critical. I guess this is where I invested most. I don't think I can make a better tonearm or cartridge myself. I know I can still upgrade my turntable but the improvement will not be dramatic. I also don't see myself spending additional $5K+ on a TT by itself.
Tuner: This is also tough. I have yet to find a better sounding tuner under $1500 than my MR71. Maybe I'm not looking hard enough but I don't use it as often as the other sources so it is okay.