Have I Hit The Point Of Diminishing Returns?

Interesting views. My power amp is 225 wpc dual mono, so I THINK it's powerful enough, but I could be wrong. Love how the B&Ws and Cardas sound in this system, although I agree that they may not work in some other systems. Essentially, there seem to be two opposing points of view: (a) marginally "different" sound can be had for a significant price, but it may not be "better" sound or worth the money; and (b) it is possible to achieve 100% improved sound for a reasonable cost, but is component/system synergy dependent. Confusing, no doubt. BTW, my new listening room is a sucky 12x12x8, but I have treated it with GIK Acoustics products which have helped tremendously.

Al - I sold the Velodyne and am running the B&Ws full range. Sounds much better ... I will revise my system description.

John - Thanks for that. I was just curious as to how much
better it could get versus cost. Perhaps I've got
"upgradeitis." However, to pay a significant amount
for a de minimis improvement or difference in sound, makes
little sense to me. It just may be time to get off the roller
coaster and focus on the music rather than the gear; being a
gear geek, that's not so easy.

Charles - yes, I think you're right. I was curious as to price/performance ratio after one gets to a certain point in the "journey." Perhaps I have a case of "upgrade-itis," but it is dissipating quickly. After asking myself the question you posed, I couldn't come up with a rational answer. I think that, in and of itself, speaks volumes.

Bombaywalla - Here are the specs from the manual:

225 wpc into 8 ohms

THD @ 100watts, 1 kHz < 0.005%

Frequency response - 10Hz- 20 kHz +/- 0.1dB
10Hz -100 kHz +/-1.5dB

Channel separation - Immeasurable - below noise floor

Input sensitivity - 1400mV for 225 watts output

Input impedance - 31 kOhm

S/N ratio ref. 225 watts output - > 110dB unweighted
> 120dB 'A' weighted

Power consumption - 1150W Max

Your help on this would be most appreciated. Thanks.

Bombaywalla - Thank you so much for your effort and advice. It is appreciated greatly.