Drubin. Ahh, (Camina Burana in the background) the eternal dilemna. Perhaps the answer for you will, in some form take, shape to that similar to my current solution: multiple systems. Right now I have two tube based systems and one larger solid state system, each with different sources, amps and speakers. The one commonality in all this is time and phase coherency of the speakers in the form of Meadowlark, Thiel and Vandersteen. This is one area I just refuse to compromise with. But having said that, each system offers something a bit different. I have also been much mre aware of the impact of the source having converted to the gospel that this is the most important part of any system. A poor source will make great speakers sound terrible but a great source can make even cheap speakers sound as good as they can. Also the fact that they are separate parts of the house and have their own separate acoustic space plays a great deal in the perception and experience.
I do wish one system would do it all. But we are flexible creatures when it comes to mood and preference, and I find that I like the solid state and tube systems equally. So it's either bend yourself around you environment or if you can mold your musical environment around you.
I do wish one system would do it all. But we are flexible creatures when it comes to mood and preference, and I find that I like the solid state and tube systems equally. So it's either bend yourself around you environment or if you can mold your musical environment around you.