[Beet Farmer]

After posting in this thread last night, I thought about other events that have a major impact of the sound quality,and which promoted the ability to see more in recordings than previously experienced, both via LP and CD.
One year ago my system was average good. I had it for years, and the only real 'up' upgrades were some high quality interconnects a few years ago.
Then I moved up from Magnepan 3.6 to 20.7 (and the first item in place to be able to hear anything 'more'.)
The second item was a Marantz SA-10 which, for the first time, allowed me to really hear differences in CD mastering the way I could hear them in LPs (The Marantz is not just a SACD player, it has a wonderful DAC which really does do more for CDs) A few newer slightly better powercords..
Then finally the thing that transformed the sound, Though to do it, all the other parts had to be ready, or it would have been a waste of time! and that was changing all the Duplex to Furutech. Suddenly with Lp I could easily hear the differences in how worn an LP was. With CD I could hear superdiscs, rather like the super LP list of Harry Pearson, Some CDs just had far more to offer, and some had the same sound I heard before with no extras..
So BOTH CD and LP had new layers of information opened up.
But I have to say without the foundation, without a steady upgrading of products, the blossoming would never had happened.
I also know there are areas awaiting upgrades, and perhaps new Worlds of insight into the performances in my system.
But both the LP playback and CD playback have attained new heights (and it is clear some recordings fail to measure up!) though if they have great performances, they are still worth listening to. And the joy is seen right through the mediocre sound. (Like listening recently to an opera recorded 1956, clearly a radio broadcast, sounding like it was played from a AM tube radio of the day. Yet the joy of the performance and the feel of the Milan, La Scala opera house was palpable. With Calas, and Gobbi...) On the other hand listening to a recording by Tori Amos where it became clear the producer had added something akin to a fuzzbox to her voice, so not amount of equipment could undo the harm, destroying any enjoyment for me. (where prior, before recent upgrades, it never was noticed by me, and did not seem like anything wrong)
So the comment I would add is the equipment one owns, upgrades, or lets stagnate, changes the amount one can hear from a recording.. of any type.