Great thread--I never up-sized, so I can relate to the synergy concept, and totally agree with Mapman and CKorody. Room dynamics and speaker placement are areas for modification and are totally free! I wanted a Parasound Halo Universal disk player when my fully modded Samsung HD841 died, but settled for the Oppo 980H, and am quite satisfied (I listen to LPs mostly anyway). Many times I,ve felt, when listening to a well recorded record on my Clearaudio Emotion (with Soundsmith rebuilt Clearaudio Virtuoso cart.) through my modest Rotel receiver, that it sounds about as good as it can get--as good as I can imagine it to be.
What have you discovered while downsizing?
I am downsizing my rig to recoup some money. Although some of the downsizing hurts, I am also trying to still do the tweaking and listening and enjoying that I love, while I'm having to retreat a bit due to the economy. In the process of selling some of my gear, I have found that I am also discovering, by necessity, new combinations of gear and new synergies. I would love to hear how others are coping and keeping it fun at the same time.