Hi Dan; While I agree with Sean in principle, my experience is most like that of Perfectimage (above). I am an audiophile, and therefore somewhat obsessive. As to your proposition #1, I think audiophiles will always try to improve their systems, and yes it is a risk. Proposition #2, I think with careful auditioning and component selection, you can have both high enjoyment and excellent music-- it just may not be the same music. That said, in support of my case, I absolutely HAD to do the following:
I recently upgraded(?) from Vandersteen 3Asigs ($3500.) to Vandersteen 5 ($11,500.) speakers, and even after break-in found myself often disappointed with the music quality/character of some of my favorite CDs that I was very used to with the 3As. So, for 2-3 weeks I tried to make the V5s sound rich, warm, and forgiving like the 3As did. No luck though, the 5s have exceptional clarity in the mids and "center of the earth" solid bass-- and I would call them very revealing speakers compared to the 3As. Don't let anyone tell you that the 5s have a similar sonic signature to the 3As-- the 5s are much more neutral/accurate and revealing of source material. The rest of my system is fully the equal of the V5s quality.
So I backed off on trying to make the 5s sound like something they aren't, and I just relaxed and started listening to music the way it is presented by the 5s. What I've found now is that with well recorded CDs, the 5s really are a completely different and very special speaker-- special in a good way . Fortunate for me, Cowboy Junkies music is mostly fairly well recorded as it's some of my favorite, and it sounds great with the 5s. I can now actually understand the words of many of the songs Margo Timmins sings-- couldn't do that with the 3As. And bass on the Enigma CDs-- all 5 of them-- is practically orgasmic.
I have a long way to go to work my way through 1000 CDs, but what I'm now sure of is that some will display a new found outstanding quality, and will become "new" favorites because of the 5s capabilities, but on others, I will miss the richness and warmth of the 3As.
So was this up-grade worth it? Long term, I think the answer will definitey be yes. Thanks for the thought provoking thread, and Cheers. Craig
I recently upgraded(?) from Vandersteen 3Asigs ($3500.) to Vandersteen 5 ($11,500.) speakers, and even after break-in found myself often disappointed with the music quality/character of some of my favorite CDs that I was very used to with the 3As. So, for 2-3 weeks I tried to make the V5s sound rich, warm, and forgiving like the 3As did. No luck though, the 5s have exceptional clarity in the mids and "center of the earth" solid bass-- and I would call them very revealing speakers compared to the 3As. Don't let anyone tell you that the 5s have a similar sonic signature to the 3As-- the 5s are much more neutral/accurate and revealing of source material. The rest of my system is fully the equal of the V5s quality.
So I backed off on trying to make the 5s sound like something they aren't, and I just relaxed and started listening to music the way it is presented by the 5s. What I've found now is that with well recorded CDs, the 5s really are a completely different and very special speaker-- special in a good way . Fortunate for me, Cowboy Junkies music is mostly fairly well recorded as it's some of my favorite, and it sounds great with the 5s. I can now actually understand the words of many of the songs Margo Timmins sings-- couldn't do that with the 3As. And bass on the Enigma CDs-- all 5 of them-- is practically orgasmic.
I have a long way to go to work my way through 1000 CDs, but what I'm now sure of is that some will display a new found outstanding quality, and will become "new" favorites because of the 5s capabilities, but on others, I will miss the richness and warmth of the 3As.
So was this up-grade worth it? Long term, I think the answer will definitey be yes. Thanks for the thought provoking thread, and Cheers. Craig