My new speakers

Congrats on your new speakers and I hope they continue to satisfy

ricred1, a thoughtful response, which I appreciate. 

Newer speakers keep revealing their  lovely attributes for quite some time, as long as it takes go go through one's demo play list or listen to most of the collection. One of the wonderful aspects of the hobby is the refreshing performances, the newness of each song, as ownership lengthens. 

I didn't look closely to notice if you are keeping the Monitor speakers. If you are not strapped for money and have the space, it would be nice to have both pair. In my book I suggest that if possible, the audiophile should take steps to facilitate easy changing of speakers, i.e., using casters if necessary or furniture sliders to move about speakers to have additional experiences. When a person gets stuck on the idea that the only proper setup is spikes, then it tends to kill the thrill of easy changing of speakers to have different experiences. 

I conducted comparisons between spikes, casters, and rubber hockey pucks, and the spikes did not pass my Law of Efficacy. In other words, I can safely ignore the received wisdom that spikes are required to have the best sound. I have speakers on stands, casters, footers - all kinds of bases. But the key is that I can switch them out at will without a headache. The ability to have variety in experiences is paramount. 

Galen Gareis of Iconoclast Cable was one of the editors of my book. He has two speaker systems, and one was sitting. I told him to ignore the received wisdom of the necessity of spikes and to get the speakers mobile. He has had a wonderful time swapping the speakers. He also found out, as I suggested, that his preference would switch back and forth as each speaker was optimized. You might find a similar experience if you continue to use both speakers. Any given collection of gear in a particular setup of the speakers might captivate you. Speakers can achieve a wide range of performance, and most owners never take them to their limit but only relatively best performance. 

That is not to say the one is not better than the other. But there is a scary/potentially unnerving phenomenon in audiophilia, when a "lesser" speaker in certain conditions seemingly is better than a much more expensive speaker. It can happen. However, it is usually only under limited conditions, i.e., one set of components. Most of the time, that one set of components is not realized. It could take 10 or more systems to find it, and most people don't have that much money or time to do so. But when the more capable speaker is given the same treatment, it distances itself from the other once again. 

douglas_schroeder,

"That is not to say the one is not better than the other. But there is a scary/potentially unnerving phenomenon in audiophilia, when a "lesser" speaker in certain conditions seemingly is better than a much more expensive speaker."

I honestly enjoy your thoughtful response.

I don't believe in purchasing anything simply because it costs more money. I'm fortunate to be able to directly compare the speakers in my own system/room without an obligation to purchase. My initial thoughts were a little skewed...my equipment was off for several days and it takes a day or two to stabilize and sound open again. Now that it's been on for several days, it's very easy to hear the differences between the two speakers. I've listened to several more expensive DACs, amplifiers, and preamps in my system. I didn't purchase anything, because I didn't think the sonics justify the additional cost. Audio has been a journey for me. I started years ago while in the Air Force living in Okinawa, Japan. I continued to buy and sale to get to the level where I am today. My point is, I'm not wealthy enough to just purchase for the sake of purchasing. I think far too many people think everyone in the high-end audio hobby is super rich and that's a mistake. I really think about why and what I'm doing. I can honestly say, "I'm done" with the exception of possibly changing my DAC. The YG Acoustics Sonja 3.3 speakers are truly outstanding to my ears, but I know there are no absolutes in audio, only preferences.  

@ricred1 on the DAC front, and not in the super expensive end, given your preamp and monoblocks, have you considered the Rowland Aeris?  I just (as in last week) got a barely used <2 year old one to try out at home and it blew me away. Part of that, I think is the synergy with the CORUS preamp and the Power Storage Unit which can power the Aeris as well.  Have you tried the JRDG Power Storage Unit with your CORUS?  It made a huge improvement with mine — the noise floor just drops to about zero and all the music just sounds clearer, more effortless and more beautiful, and you have better amps than my (very fine and very happy making) 625 S2.  Jeff no longer makes the PSU, but they come up used every now and then.

I had just finished breaking in a brand new Mojo Mystique Z Quantum, which is superb and will be moving to my dining room system to make sure the Joseph Audio Perspectives have an excellent analog converter, but the sound coming out of the Aeris - CORUS- 625 S2 chain is nothing short of amazing to me.  Given your electronics and those new, big Sonja 3.3s, I bet you’d find it more pleasing that the Chord. Not to say something like the Merason 2 (or the Mountain if you wanna go up the chain) or a Aries Cerat wouldn’t maybe be even better, but in the 10-12K range for a used Power Storage Unit and Aeris might be worth hunting around for.  

@douglas_schroeder , BTW, i just got a copy of your book and i like the way you write. I am only a little ways in, but your Law of Efficacy was in mind as I hooked up  this new (to me) Aeris DAC.  About 90 seconds in, the superiority of the sound it produces, in all respects, in my system in my room, was toe-tappingly, grin-inducingly obvious: LoE Test passed with flying colors.