Do you own the last amp you'll ever buy?


What is the average lenghth of time a component will stay in your system before you upgrade? Are certain components less apt to be replaced than others? Do speakers tend to stay in a system longer than amps or preamps? If you've finally found the Holy Grail, how many years and changes did it take until you found it? Just curious.
128x128mitch4t
With the advance of newer technology, how could one ever be completely satisfied. Is any one still hanging on to that 10 year old computer? As this is a hobby, most here are never static.
Cheers,
Gregg
I fully expect that my Atma-Sphere M-60 amps will be the last amps I will ever own, given the fact that I don't expect to ever move away from my Köchel K300 speakers either.

Of course things can change, but it would take some pretty spectacular performance to change my mind.

I will probably always be on the lookout for "tweaks", but my system is complete except for some accessories and perhaps a digital transport. Acoustic treatment, isolation devices, power conditioning and a record cleaning machine are some of the accessories still in the works.

It took me about three years to research and purchase what I have now. I had been an avid audiophile many years ago so I had a pretty good idea what I wanted to accomplish this time around. The Lord has been good to me.

I'm pretty sure the author of this post doesn't refer to the "Holy Grail" in absolute terms. IME the "Holy Grail" is a moving target that is impossible to acquire in an absolute sense.
I would respectfully disagree with the comment regarding advances in technology. Unlike computers which have a absolute quantifiable measure of advance which is distinctly advantageous and readily usable to virtually all users, I don't think the advances on some fronts of the audio arena are necessarily a good thing in all cases. There are prodcuts designed and built decades ago that, arguably, will still hold their own against more modern designs and to some folks actually sound better than modern counterparts. Indeed there are no absolute terms in audio, and the charts, graphs and numbers seldom tell the whole story, nor do they always correspond directly to the aural experience of the component being measured. Certainly the digital front-end would be a possible exception with advances bringing it closer and closer to the sound of LP's.......er, ah, hey, wait a minute!!!

Marco
Absolutely. Until the next last amp I'll ever buy.

But seriously, I moved a few amps in and out of my system and I am really happy with Levinson 436 Mono's. They are
a perfect fit with my system and taste in music, [which is a wide, wide range, actually]. There may be a better amp
out there for me and my system, but I am so happy right now,
I don't have any motivation to leave my listening position
and go look. Or, uh...listen. You know what I mean.