Vote

martin logan sl3, krell 300i, california audio labs cl-15, mit's new 750h biwire and 330i (very sweet cables), unbeleavable clarity and dynamics at very low volume-only drawback is the size of speaker

What can I say? The audioquest is just that, the search for the grail. You never actually find the damn thing, the glory is in the seeking.

Okay, I'm very happy. But of course, if I won the lottery, on my list of priorities would be a top-end system, cost no object.

Which one?

I voted "quite happy" because it does nothing wrong and everything important to me at least good. I'd give her a B-.

I got suckered into the Bose hype. Been crying ever since: No lows, No highs. just Bose sound.

Every time we sit down listen, it sounds so good! ARC CD3 MkII, ARC LS 22, ARC VT 100 MK III, REL Storm, and Dunlavy SM-1s The most fun for the money I can imagine.

There's always room for changes. But the biggest change for me would to change rooms.

Extremely happy! Got phono, CD, DVD, SACD, FM. Lots of musical gratification for a manageable expense.

I don't get to listen to it enough.

Mightily satisfied, thanks very much for asking. The hardest thing in this hobby for us obsessives is to relax and enjoy the enjoyable tools of relaxation. Mine's not the best, but it's mine and I really enjoy it.

It's doing its job quite well. The speakers are kind of ugly, and the electronics could use an improvement in the look-and-feel department, but improvements in sound, if any, would be quite small at this point.

I am finally to the point where every time I sit down to listen the system sounds good and puts a smile on my face....not looking for anything as I'm getting older, my ears aren't getting better, and I think I can live with what I have for a long, long time.

I was very satisfied with my system and my main speakers (Verity Fidelio Encores) until a year ago when I heard the Verity Parsifals on a very familar Anne Sofie Mutter recording. The presentation of a tympani played very softly was a revealation. But not as much of a revealation a the NY Philamonic playing Mahler 1st last year.

My system had reached a very nice plateau, sounding great astride a seriously DIY modded but possibly overloaded (250lb+) Target rack. From fear of collapse, from vanity, and for a lower profile and greater WAF I bought two costly and shorter higher end racks. The sound is okay, but I am now back to changing and listening, changing and listening with support tweaks to get my glorious sound back. I am "quite happy" with my system but know it can deliver "extremely happy" if I can just rig it correctly. The higher the res the more EVERYTHING makes a difference. The diversity of commercially available supports is impressive to see, but the diversity means that designers and listeners are pursuing a moving target (no pun inteanded). Too bad there isn't a clearly superior affordable standard in stands, a Vandersteen of stands, we might have better sound all around (and more valid discussions).

Would anyone be reading Stereophile if we were happy with our audio systems?

My system works 100% correctly 100% of the time and even my worst recordings are listenable. I hope to own an even better system in the future, but for now I enjoy music every day. I'd give that a quite happy, with very and extremely in my (distant) future.

Seems like I could always tweak a better sound if I had the money and knew what and where to tweak. It's a desease for which there is no cure.

Most audiophiles would not give my system a second thought. Its components come from well-known manufacturers such as Arcam, but the entire system cost me less than many individual components regarded as "entry level" by the audio press. What it does do is play music extremely well. Good music playback need not cost a fortune.

Buy what works together and happy, happy, joy, joy. Buy because the price is right and it's just a big toy.

Being that I have three of 'em, they are all acceptable but they could benefit from some tweaking. Epspecially the living room surround system.

Just a quirk here and there. I think I got the best system I could afford given the technology and options at the time of purchase. Looking forward to upgrading to pick up some of the latest cutting edge features, but also to take a leap up in speaker performance—but that needs to wait until I can afford a big bump in my budget.

My system consists of garage sale components totaling $200, and it sounds comparable to my buddy's $5000 set-up. That's almost as sweet as the sound.

I've finally gotten to a place where timing, pitch, and micro-dynamics play a role. That's quite a thrill to realize what these guys are talking about in my own system.

Mid-fi but, I love it—I can dream about future upgrades while listening to music that sounds quite good to my ears.

The real test of a stereo is are you smiling when you have Miles on and a glass of red wine in your hand. If the answer is yes, you're happy.

Out of nowhere, a little teensy buzz has cropped up when I turn on my Jolida 502B amp. That drives me crazy. And I want a new turntable. And the CD player is a. . . oh, nevermind. Yeah, it's fine.

I am so happy, I just can't stop listening to it!

I was very happy last week, but the preamp has developed a fault over the weekend. I will be very happy with it again when I can get it fixed.

Thanks guys there at Stereophile for taking the trouble to aim one at us simpletons with this week's vote question. In truth there is always going to be room for improvement but on the other hand focusing on that fact to the exclusion of enjoying what you already have can lead to a vicious cycle of never being able to really enjoy any system no matter the cost. Guess I’ll never be one of those consumers who help keep the economy pumped up like an over inflated balloon.