As with everything else in this hobby, as well as other hobbies, the law of diminishing returns hits hard and early.
Modern High end vs. old receiver
So I recently sent in my Aesthetix Janus in for a capacitor upgrade, which leaves me without a pre-amp. In desperation for a little music, I brought in my the Kenwood Kr-3090 that I inherited from my grandmother and have been enjoying in the garage. 25W, made 1978-1981 or so. Damn thing sounds almost as good my Aesthetix Janus and Audio Research VT-100 MkII. Now don't get me wrong, there's a difference, but I can happily sit and listen and fully lose myself in the music.
I am using Acoustic Zen Adagio speakers, which work well with low-powered electronics, as evidenced by Robert Lee's matching them with Triode corporation tubes at the shows. I'm also using my standard front end - Oppo BDP-83 with Brystond BDA-1 and Acoustic Zen Absolute cables. Still.... jeez, it's unreal how much better it sounds than some of the other high-end gear I've had in here.
My learning from this is that the source matters, and you should not look askance at equipment just because it is old or inexpensive.
I am using Acoustic Zen Adagio speakers, which work well with low-powered electronics, as evidenced by Robert Lee's matching them with Triode corporation tubes at the shows. I'm also using my standard front end - Oppo BDP-83 with Brystond BDA-1 and Acoustic Zen Absolute cables. Still.... jeez, it's unreal how much better it sounds than some of the other high-end gear I've had in here.
My learning from this is that the source matters, and you should not look askance at equipment just because it is old or inexpensive.