At times along the journey and even now I wonder if we change for sake of change or for a real sonic improvement (or a different sonic experience).
Apart from various interconnects and speaker cables, the wardrobe is cluttered with the items that were part of the journey and for what ever reason have been put to one side.
These include a Theta Basic Basic CD transport, Wadia 12 DAC, a pair of the original Quad 11L speakers and a Rega Planar 3, with speed control, upgraded bearing, sub-platter, delrin platter and sports a Nagaoka MP-200.
Ok, valid reasons to move on from the CD transport, whilst still functioning, it can be sensitive to CDs with tracking and if the plastic pulley wheel teeth break again, replacements will be hard to find as if I remember correctly it has a Philips CDM-9 mechanism. The Wadia 12 is now just a bit too smooth for my taste and the Roksan CD players built in DAC is more modern and more dynamic.
From time to time I test out the record players and speakers. Differences between the modified Rega Planar 3 and the Michell Orbe are small to say the least, the main reason for the change was really down to the easier isolation of the deck from its surroundings and a tap test does confirm that, but was the £4-5000 spent over the Planar 3 a big upgrade, no.
As for the Quad 11L speakers, I no longer have my stands, but even today they do sound pretty dam good and if these were the only speakers I had, I could easily be happy with them, considering the later improvements I made to the front end of the system. I wonder what you would have to pay in todays money for speakers this well made.
Probably the biggest sonic upgrade, was surprising to me, the change to the pre-amplifier.
So whilst my Journey has ended, I have this real itch for a change of speakers and I don't know why, which brings me back to the question, would this change just be for the sake of a change.