Johnsonwu and ZD542. A reality check is always a good thing. An analysis of one's system to try to identify the weakest link is always a good approach. In general, I agree with what you said. IC's, power cords, and speaker cables were the last part of my system to be addressed, and in doing so, I have avoided products retailing at atmospheric prices.
If I spent the money on one of the Taras to replace what I currently have, would I be willing to take it back out of the system? I can't know the answer to that question without giving it a try. A year ago, I had a total of $700 invested in power cords. A friend lent me 4 of his VH Audio airlines for a week while he was on vacation. I knew within 5 minutes I couldn't live without these power cords. Now, I have $6200 invested in power cords and it was some of the best money I have ever spent. The money I spent on those power cords was just a bit more than I spent for my new preamp. The magnitude of improvement was on the same level for these two investments.
The next time my friend was away he lent me a Nordost baldur to compare with my Mogami IC. The Nordost was better, but not much. I am slow to dismiss the enthusiasm some have expressed recently for the Tara products, because I have not tried them. I may run the experiment some day with the Taras. That won't be today, but I'm not going to rain on someone else's parade either. My recent experience suggests keeping an open mind and running the experiment is the way to answer the question.
If I spent the money on one of the Taras to replace what I currently have, would I be willing to take it back out of the system? I can't know the answer to that question without giving it a try. A year ago, I had a total of $700 invested in power cords. A friend lent me 4 of his VH Audio airlines for a week while he was on vacation. I knew within 5 minutes I couldn't live without these power cords. Now, I have $6200 invested in power cords and it was some of the best money I have ever spent. The money I spent on those power cords was just a bit more than I spent for my new preamp. The magnitude of improvement was on the same level for these two investments.
The next time my friend was away he lent me a Nordost baldur to compare with my Mogami IC. The Nordost was better, but not much. I am slow to dismiss the enthusiasm some have expressed recently for the Tara products, because I have not tried them. I may run the experiment some day with the Taras. That won't be today, but I'm not going to rain on someone else's parade either. My recent experience suggests keeping an open mind and running the experiment is the way to answer the question.