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AUDIO FORUMS >> General Discussion and Support >> Upgrading
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Message started by Stoplitz on 02/04/26 at 23:18:18

Title: Upgrading
Post by Stoplitz on 02/04/26 at 23:18:18

When someone says they are upgrading a product it usually means getting a more expensive one. Although in my audio journey I’ve found this to be true of cartridges, with each more expensive upgrade bringing a greater performance. However last spring I decided to upgrade my handmade British solid state integrated amp with the latest greatest model. I got in before the tariffs at 6.4k and after 6 months the amp jumped to 9.3 k. Then the old guitar player in me wanted to try a tube amp. Ended up with the UFO2.1 and after comparing the two amps I boxed up the solid state and listed it on AudioMart. I couldn’t listen to it after the Decware. I took a chance sight unseen and even with my TAD speakers with an efficiency of 85 I never run the volume past 1 o’clock. I was then intrigued by the open baffle speakers so I purchased the pair advertised here that were from the Weiss estate. They too are fantastic and give a different sound signature than the TADs. But considering the open baffles were $700 vs 18k for the TADs it is a better value. Lesson learned you don’t need to spend more to get better.

Title: Re: Upgrading
Post by CAJames on 02/05/26 at 01:01:39

Quote:

Posted by: Stoplitz Posted on: Today at 15:18:18

...Lesson learned you don’t need to spend more to get better.

Preach it my brother!

Before Decware I had a fully Stereophile approved system with Audio Research, Pass Labs and Totem speakers. I bought them all used, but it was still a lot of dough, and I though it was pretty much the last word in detail, transparency and liquid tone. The amps and speakers were getting tired and no longer serviceable and long story short I decided to go with a pair of Decware UFOs and Omega speakers, hoping they would be close to what I had at a fraction of the cost of replacing my system. Needless to say I was shocked, SHOCKED, when they blew the old system out of the water. More transparency, detail and dynamics, and way way more sound stage. So good I got back on the waiting list and now my Pass monoblocs are stands for my UFO25s. I'm thankful everyday that I found Steve and Decware.

For me, for some things I really do need to pay more to get better, other times there are low cost alternatives that are just as good or better. The hard part is knowing which is which.