Is it possible to get Hi-end sound ??

Talent will out.

The answer is yes. Ebay and Audiogon are your friends. And it is true that this hobby is the "land of unquantifiable experiences" where opinions come to die. Perky huh? I'm a musician, I have an acoustic piano in my listening room, I play guitar for money, I'm old-ish, and none of that matters when it comes to my personal taste in gear and its reproduction, as well it shouldn't. The good news is the fact that GREAT stuff is available for not a lot of money in both used and new gear, and if you're lucky like me (and Elizabeth...weirdly female name for an audiophile by the way) you'll actually listen to some music and REALLY enjoy it.

I listened to a system recently that consisted of Magico Q5s, Boulder amps, and wire that cost more than a car. It sounded REAL GOOD...I got home and listened to my cobbled together budget system and it sounded REAL GOOD too. I can only assume that my taste in carefully selected used items has paid off. That, or I'm an idiot.

Realhifi...you missed my point. I don't mean to imply my stuff sounds as refined as 200K worth of gear, just that a MUCH more modest system can sound amazing in one's own home if properly set up, thereby providing some serious enjoyment. My listening room isn't big enough for Q5s to open up anyway, thus saving me 50 grand! Also...I doubt seriously that people with mega buck systems are having more fun than those of us who prefer to assemble a well thought out system within fiscal boundaries, as the laws of "diminishing returns" seem to rule in audio. I bet if I won millions in the lottery I would be too antsy to enjoy any system much, as it seems that among those with stupid luck the first thing to leave them are previously valued simple pleasures (I read that somewhere).

Unlike some other commodities, used hifi stuff can be bought and sold with NO loss so it's all good. Unlike cars or musical instruments for example, lots of well made gear just barely wears out over time, and in some cases wasn't used/abused much anyway.

Here's the test: In my listening room let me listen to something familiar on my system while $150,000 worth of other stuff has been warming up next door. After a while a crew of 15 serious union stagehands runs in, sweeps away my gear, and sets up the 100K system playing the same music at the same level...repeat a few times. I will then offer my opinion regarding the differences between the systems, and buy pizza for the stagehands. Does a Magico/Boulder system in a 1500 square foot treated soundroom sound like my system in my house? Does it matter?

An insult to musicians everywhere. Remember the 10,000 hour rule.