Do you own the last amp you'll ever buy?

Yes.....but there's still my system at work to tinker with!!

I guess if you want to count all the years in between it was 20 years to get to where I'm delighted enough with the sound of my system to be able to say that. I could never say that with any amp before the current amps (300B SET monos). Amps and speakers seemed to change most frequently for me for some reason. I guess I found the solution from my front end more quickly than the downstream components. The speakers certainly have the most profound effect on the sonic signature of the system and also can dictate the need for a change in amplification (synergy & power). Average length of time....hmmm? The audio disease lay dormant in my system for some ten years at least....kind of like malaria. I just played my existing system and was happy as a clam in my ignorance. Then one day I was reminded of just how profoundly different and wonderful tubes can sound and the shakes and cold-sweats started all over again. During the next ten years I think I must have switched speakers and amps an average of once a year and sometimes more frequently. Now the shakes have stopped and I am good for at least the next ten years or more.........well, at least in the home system!

I would respectfully disagree with the comment regarding advances in technology. Unlike computers which have a absolute quantifiable measure of advance which is distinctly advantageous and readily usable to virtually all users, I don't think the advances on some fronts of the audio arena are necessarily a good thing in all cases. There are prodcuts designed and built decades ago that, arguably, will still hold their own against more modern designs and to some folks actually sound better than modern counterparts. Indeed there are no absolute terms in audio, and the charts, graphs and numbers seldom tell the whole story, nor do they always correspond directly to the aural experience of the component being measured. Certainly the digital front-end would be a possible exception with advances bringing it closer and closer to the sound of LP's.......er, ah, hey, wait a minute!!!

Marco