thanks sa advice, av_phile & levi... i didnt notice my shortlist was all british until u pointed it out. that may be because i haven't seen that many american brands below 20k. i heard a psb image floorstander w/c sounded good but it was too expensive for me.
Not your fault. Just so happens most brands on the local market and those rellished by many members here including me are british or european
i shouldn't have said it "doesn't matter if its the most expensive as long as its the most improvement". truth is im still very much budget conscious, w/c is why i reluctantly want to upgrade. what i should have said was: i may be willing to spend 20-30k as long as the improvement is proportional to the cost. hmmm... maybe thats whats keeping me from upgrading - its hard to put a value on sound quality. is the b&w 2x better than mordaunt? is mission 3x better?
Not really. Remember that speakers, and audio gears in general, have various charateristic traits, whether measureable or not. One brand may excel on one of these but not all. Another might be very good in one or even two but fail on another. Price difference among these could be yawning. I can say that a brand's 10% improvement could cost 3x over the lower brand. And even that is very subjective. You could hear an improvement that another may not. And what i say is just 10% could be 200% to another. It all boils down to the listener's value judgement. If getting a wider soundstage is important to him and feels justified spending 10x more, that's his call. Perhaps to someone else, soundstage expanse doesn't matter and will not feel justified spending a single cent any more over another brand's narrower soundstage. I don't know what you value in a speaker, you just have to listen to many brands and know what you really want. Then go for it. (Almost like getting a spouse. In your case, it's like getting a new and better spouse, hehe
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even if it is, my electronics may not be up to the task. which begets an amp upgrade. yikes, magastos talaga ito, so im being very careful.
To be in this hobby, i have the feeling that it's an all or nothing proposition. Even if i start with a P10M system, i'm sure i can still find a reason to upgrade. I could be HAPPY with it, but i certainly wouldn't mind being HAPPIER.
Being careful is a good trait. And being careful with your hard-earned dough is the prudent way to go. (hmm, it rhymes!!) Just don't expect every price increase to be commensurate to the benefits. (I, too was like that, and learned differently.) Othewrise, you might end up buying nothing, and miss so much that this uncommensurate world offers. Good for the bank, but not for this soul-enriching hobby.
Just my 3 cents.