My new speakers

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.

kirkwallace, thank you for your kind words. I believe the book will save you and anyone else who applies the Audiophile Laws a great deal of money by removing guesswork from system building. In the book I discuss SIB (System Improvement Bias), which can keep a person from optimizing the new speakers or component. Follow my advice regarding introducing a new product such as a DAC, and you likely will improve its sound further. 

A great many audiophiles are occupied with marginal improvements and do not realize that they have slowed system advancement to a crawl by using the received wisdom of the industry and community. I help people make much more significant improvements in a timely fashion, leading to higher satisfaction. 

kirkwallace,

I owned an Aeris DAC several years ago.