My next system, and the one I keep

I have said that my next system will be the D'Agostino, for different reasons. In the same breath I said my McIntosh is a keeper. I meant both, and I still do.

The McIntosh side is easy to explain. I have told McIntosh publicly that I looked at their catalogue and there is nothing left to upgrade to. My C12000 and MC611s stay musical, airy and non-fatiguing for hours, and I challenged them to build something better than what I own.

The D'Agostino side is harder. I auditioned a flagship D'Agostino system with large Wilsons and a dCS Varese front end: spectacular, technically flawless, every audiophile checkbox ticked. And after 30 minutes I needed a break. My brain was frosted, not fatigued but overwhelmed by something surgical, analytical, too much of everything.

So why would that be my next system? I promised the reasons for another day, and I keep that promise. What I will say now is that wanting a different system is not the same as wanting to replace this one.

A keeper is not the last thing you buy. It is the thing you never sell.