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I'm interested in hearing what "the best" systems sound like, where to go?

I have my system sounding pretty good now with a wide sound stage and good depth and imaging. I hear faint details that I have never heard in songs before. It took me three amps, two CD players, two sets of speakers and room treatments to get where I am. But the rabbit hole being what it is....I can't help but wonder....do I have the best it can be? I've been to brick and mortar, high end audio stores, but they don't really have listening rooms. Do any of you know of a place that has a good selection in stock that also has a good listening room to try them out? I would like to hear what is considered "the best". I would like a yard stick to use to determine if I'm getting everything out of the recordings that I can get. Even if it is thousands of dollars outside of my budget, I would like to know what I'm chasing.
128x128baclagg
kingsleuy
173 posts
 
Oooohhh boy.  Is the thousand dollars you mention happen to be hundreds of thousand?  If you are more or less satisfied with your system don't even go there.   If by chance you come upon it, great.  If you seek to experience "The Very Best", find it and you like it.  It could ruin your life.   Speakers = House Mortgage.  A fair sized house to fit the speakers.  Electronics = New top end Mercedes?
Then the new upgraded versions comes.

infection's avatar
infection
805 posts
 
@mikelavigne  that's the first time I've seen your system & I now have to get a plane ticket to Seattle. A walk around the area looks like it will be nice too...
zyphryx's avatar
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zyphryx
128 posts
 
@mike_in_nc 

Don't know what part of NC you are in but there is a great place called Liquid Hi Fi outside Charlotte, NC. Ron has a great listening room set up in his home that you could spend hours in, playing around with different components and permutations.
winnardt
169 posts
 
Try Genesis Audio Limited in Gahanna, OH, a suburb of Columbus. 
oldguide
11 posts
 
I second the idea of hearing the best. Years ago I had the good fortune to spend some time at Goodwin's High End near Boston. At one point in the conversation I asked the owner what was the best system he had. To put it mildly, I was impressed. That system has since become my reference point. I will never be able to afford it, but I now know what is possible with really good components.
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