I'm happy but I want more, more, more

I posted earlier, but my post was deleted. It was deemed to be too harsh. Believe me, I did not mean it that way, if you by chance did read it.  In fact, my thoughts are and were very parallel to those of Atma-sphere.  I can only add one more idea: Instead of trying to follow all of the sometimes confusing and contradictory advice above Atma-sphere's, you might consider taking a step back.  Before you spend any money, travel around a little and listen to a wide variety of systems that are very different from yours. You might visit dealers and private homes as well. Determine for yourself whether any of these other versions of an audio system seem to get closer to ringing your bell.  It might take you a whole year to do this well, but in the long run you might also save a lot of money and avoid many blind alleys.  In my opinion, satisfaction in this hobby is more about honest introspection and epiphany than it is about fancy doodads.

QED

rlawry, Great post. That's exactly what I was trying to get across to the OP.  Not that his audio Nirvana will necessarily be the same as yours or mine.

Moonglum, I disagree that this is or is becoming a rich man's hobby. The thoughtful and introspective man who is a clever shopper and a little bit handy in a workshop (not necessarily a craftsman) can achieve as much or more satisfaction as anyone with purely money to blow away.  True, you have to have SOME money to spend.  But six figures, nah.