Curiosity is Dangerous

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The primary reason for posting this is, frankly, to get it out of my system. I doubt it works, but maybe it'll help. I do wonder if anyone else goes through things like this, though.

In recent days, the cumulative effect of exposure to audio (and to a lesser extent video) through AA and other sources has set off a firestorm of curiosity; in a few cases curiosity is moving toward interest. It's not new, but the intensity is different. I've been struck with the following all at once. In no particular order:

Tuner. Replace my Magnum Dynalab MD 90 with a McIntosh MR88. Glenlee's great-looking MR88 photo in his FS thread pushed me near the edge on this. I have no complaint about the MD 90's sound, but the idea of having such a cool-looking component as the MR88 is appealing, plus I'd regain AM capability, something I lost when the MD replaced a Denon TU-800. HD radio would be in play, too. There's also a thought of trading up to the MD 105, MD's current top SS tuner. From time to time I've grumbled slightly at having to get up to change the station (the MD 90 is manual, of course) or missed AM capability. Not enough to do anything about it yet, but the curiosity's been there. Maybe either tuner will pull in a few more stations.

Power Cords. No real complaints about the WW cords I'm using, but the curiosity about Kimber PK10s has been around a long time. I was sorry the jacket colors changed to all black, but I wonder how much of a difference they might make, being 10AWG versus the WW's 12AWG. I certainly like the 12TC speaker cables and the Hero interconnects, although I did replace the Hero with AQ King Cobra a few months ago (curiosity again) because I thought it might have better bass performance based upon a direct comparison in my pre/power connection. A quite possible move is to replace the Aurora 5.2 cord on the preamp with an Electra 7 (still don't really like the Aurora jacket color). There is also curiosity around the Shunyata Venom HC, also 10AWG, for my 501s.

Interconnects. Replace them all with Transparent MusicLink Plus. I have a pair in my pre/power connection because I thought they were slightly better than the AQ in the bass. That comparison was a long time ago and it wasn't night and day. I'm curious as to what would happen if I switched the MLP with the KC on one component. To mitigate the cost I could go down one notch to regular MusicLink ($230 vs. $440 for 1.5m).

Turntable. All the raves and photos about the VPI Classic 3 stirred this up. I don't play records much these days, so it would seem to make no good sense to replace my HW-19MkIV (even at 22 years old). But there was a "whoa" factor when I saw a piano black one in a recent thread. And it would be a nice match with my speakers, which are piano black. The unipivot arm wand is detachable to make cartridge-swapping easier, which is essential. Any TT which will accommodate a SME 309 (with its detachable headshell) is another option. But again, I don't play records that much so the Classic 1 makes more sense if I did anything.

Speakers. This is beyond curiosity. There's a philosophical/theoretical angle to this one. My Mirage speakers are 21.5 years old and I've been debating pros and cons of replacing them before retirement, figuring that would be the biggest expense and the one I could least afford if they died very close to or during retirement. McIntosh XR200s are simply too expensive, but there are other options such as the Bryston Model T, Legacy Signature SE, Mirage OMD-28, and now Def Tech Mythos ST-L and Golden Ear Triton One. I don't like having to plug in my speakers, so the last two have a strike against them. But the form factors, especially with the Mythos, are a plus.

Preamp. This one isn't as strong as some of the others but is persistent. The C2300 was deemed a long-term experiment, as I'm a solid-state person essentially. I like what the C2300 does, but there is one thing I miss, which is the power factor. It doesn't, to my ears, have the same low-end weight as its SS predecessor or play as loudly. Fortunately, there are tone controls, and the bass is set to +3 on all sources. This helps. I've had flashes of replacing the 2300 with a C48, which some would consider a downgrade; but it would give me something important, and the reports from MORTIS on his C48 thread are encouraging.

Phono Preamp. The C2300 is considered to have a pretty good phono stage. Having an Aragon 47k already in the system, I continued to use it until recently when, as a clutter reduction move, I took it out of the system. But I have long been curious as to whether the Parasound JC 3 (now 3+) would be better than either, or how much better. I came thisclose to buying a JC 3 and then the 3+ came out. I balked at the extra $600 cost then, but have begun to reconsider it. Maybe it would re-stoke my record playing.

TV. The one unassailable piece of equipment in here was always the Pioneer Elite PRO-111FD plasma. Only in the last year did anything approach it. But I went to the Value Electronics flat-panel shootout last weekend and got my first look at OLED sets from Samsung and LG (Samsung's model was from last year; it isn't making any OLEDs now). There are still issues to work out, but the promise of OLED is incredible (infinite contrast ratio!). LG is working on 4K OLED, which will probably be bigger and more expensive than I can handle, but I've become a bit curious (uh oh) to see what happens. The PRO-111 is in no danger still, but might that change if the TV industry gets its act together?

The mitigating factor on all of this is my wallet, of course. I'm not rich, and retirement is too close (10 years, Lord willing) to go into real debt or deplete my resources on things that aren't very important in the ultimate sense. There is also the possibility of relocating, which wouldn't be cheap. Still, some of these things are doable; others are doable but will mitigate/eliminate others. If I moved from curiosity to interest to decision and, say, replaced the TT and tuner, I'd have to give up the speaker idea or eliminate the higher-priced possibilities (Model T). VPI, Transparent and Legacy are scheduled to be represented at the NY Audio Show next month; maybe I dare go check them out.

The easy thing might be to not expose myself to audio and video for a day or two; if subsequent re-engagement isn't as intense, then good. All of this may be a case of appetite, not hunger. I hope.