I'm sure hi end hifi attracts the same sort of mapies as car enthusiasts, and they will chop and change regularly.
Me, still on my first maser and the stereo is ancient. Most of it purchaced more than 30 years ago and my turntable I bought almost 40 years ago when I was at school.
Eb
I'm all for Eb's approach. First Maser and I love it. Same turntable that I was soundly advised to buy when I left school (AR XAU10) pretty much rumble free, tracking up there with SME, I think. My lovely TDL speakers were bought new for next to nothing 20 years ago when the TDL company, sadly, went bump. It all sounds good, but I know that if I spent a fortune I could get a slightly better sound.
That Naim stack does look lovely......
And there's nothing wrong with that. As
@Ebenezer points out there are probably people that flip regularly. I will point out that (as with cars) there have been
enormous advances in audio re-production over the years. Even if there hadn't been, what you have now
will be performing rather differently that it did when you bought it. Bearings wear, magnets lose guass. Springs and suspensions stiffen (or loosen) with age.
As with comparing a 4200 with an MC20 there are still pros to the 4200 but unless you actually drive the MC20, you can't really say that you
prefer the 4200. Just that you're happy with it.....
...which is good, but what are you missing out by not trying the MC20?
Having said all that, the law of diminishing returns applies in spades. My earlier HiFi journey was far more frequently punctuated with upgrade than now. These days there's far less pressure and when I
do upgrade, paradoxically, it's rather less of a step change since the investment holds its value.
C