When not to buy separates

I spent an extra $40,000 moving from my MA9500 to the C12000 and the MC611 monoblocks, and I do not regret a dollar of it. So it may surprise you that most people who ask me about the same move get a no.

How can I put it? Do not do it if your speakers cost under $20,000; the MA9500 or the MA12000 is more than enough for them. Do not do it if you are happy with your system, if you lack the physical space for separates, or if a $40,000-plus difference matters to your finances. Any one of those is reason enough to stop.

Consider it only when you own a highly revealing speaker line, Wilson, Focal Utopia or similar, and your front end and cables are already maxed out. You must understand that you are chasing percentages and micro elements, not a new system. And you must be able to pay without financial stress and stay committed to that system for years.

I wrote that list after doing it, not before. I had zero complaints about my integrated, and I still could not see why I should go so many tens of thousands out of pocket. Only the Wilsons forced the question, and nothing else in my system would have.

Separates are the last rung of the ladder, not the next one. If you still need to ask whether you need them, you do not.