I have to say that it was a real pleasure reading John Mark's column but I do have a few thoughts. According to the article the average Stereophile reader spends $12-$15K on a system. While that may not seem like a lot of money to some I can assure you that I believe it's a hell of a lot of money. Anyone that can spend that much is surely blessed! However one surely have a great system for a lot less. The Paradigm Studio 100 speakers that I have continue to astound me with their sound both range and depth. While my amp and preamp are not reviewed here in Stereophile I am very happy with their performance.
However Mr Marks overlooks one thing: there is nothing better that bringing home a new hi-fi component, opening the box and sitting back and listening to some of your favorite tunes. Sure there are a lot of people who want a system for "life" but come on isn't fun to upgrade once in awhile?
The total cost of my system is $6,800 including cables and interconnects and right now I am listening to some really nice Hank Crawford after a long day. It's not that I want to spend more or less it what I wanted based upon research and reviews and I am enjoying every minute of it. Someday maybe I'll maybe think of upgrading again but right now I am enjoying what I have more than ever. Sure buy it once and buy it right maybe nice for some people but I am sure that in the future I will want to tweak my system to see if I can get better sound and bring home that box that takes me further up the path to audio heaven...
I have to say that it was a real pleasure reading John Mark's column but I do have a few thoughts. According to the article the average Stereophile reader spends $12-$15K on a system. While that may not seem like a lot of money to some I can assure you that I believe it's a hell of a lot of money. Anyone that can spend that much is surely blessed! However one surely have a great system for a lot less. The Paradigm Studio 100 speakers that I have continue to astound me with their sound both range and depth. While my amp and preamp are not reviewed here in Stereophile I am very happy with their performance.
However Mr Marks overlooks one thing: there is nothing better that bringing home a new hi-fi component, opening the box and sitting back and listening to some of your favorite tunes. Sure there are a lot of people who want a system for "life" but come on isn't fun to upgrade once in awhile?
The total cost of my system is $6,800 including cables and interconnects and right now I am listening to some really nice Hank Crawford after a long day. It's not that I want to spend more or less it what I wanted based upon research and reviews and I am enjoying every minute of it. Someday maybe I'll maybe think of upgrading again but right now I am enjoying what I have more than ever. Sure buy it once and buy it right maybe nice for some people but I am sure that in the future I will want to tweak my system to see if I can get better sound and bring home that box that takes me further up the path to audio heaven...