Well I have an old NAC72/NAP140 and CDII with Epos ES14 speakers and have added an ND5 XS a few years ago. Had had this setup for the last 35 years (apart from the streamer of course). Whenever I have felt the urge to upgrade I just lie down and play some music until the urge goes away!
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Coming from a slightly different angle we have just had the most frustrating 24 hours of power outage we have ever Experienced. Other half rang from home at 10am to say power off talked her through system shut down and unplug mains. Due back on at 11am then 2pm got home at 5pm turn all black boxes back on go for shower power cuts off and comes back on run isolate system again. Back on 1 hour later put system back on now beginning to worry over possible damage etc. Now transformers buzzing like a mad thing and house lights flickering. Switch off again now getting paranoid! Other half suggesting that something less complicated and disposable maybe worthwhile! Different view I suppose to downgrading.
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Ouch, hope things settle down.
Thanks for the empathy. Day off today and have just turned back on again all functioning OK and music flows just a bit early for a celebration glass of vino try later. Have invited other half tonite to listen to her latest Paul Draper cd so I am sure yesterday’s suggestion will fade away. I’ll play the waiter with the vino.
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This begs the question (although I can almost certainly guess the answer), what about a UPS?
Where I live (Cambridgeshire Fens) the power is notoriously flakey, especially during periods of high wind (very common out here).
My system isn’t built yet, but I used to shut down my old system when not in use for this very reason.
Presumably, even the best UPS would introduce loads of noise etc…
We are rural in darkest West Wales no pun intended and we have just found out from a local farmer that the power outage was caused by a neighbouring farmer bringing the overhead lines down! Ouch! Good point on UPS we have a stand by generator for our stable in case of the same issues. Fingers crossed and pleased no one was hurt in the incident.
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Something similar happened at my parents place in Scotland some years ago, only the culprit was a VERY large Highland Bull and against a very old power line pole.
Fortunately even the Bull came out unscathed, but the power was out for over a day😂
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That story sounds like a load of bull… 
Had it been a cow I could have said ‘pull the udder one’. I’ll get my coat.
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Just about to try something bonkers - basically because it’s easy!
I have regularly enjoyed the journey of building my system and then starting over, though in the last few weeks I have gone back to basics in a pretty extreme way and am pondering where to go next.
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I can relate. I prefer 82 over 282. Actually had both serviced and compared and got rid of 282.
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One possible answer why upgrades may sound “not as good”.
2 years ago, I bought a NDX2 then a Chord Hugo M Scaler and TT2 and then a Gryphon Diablo 300 amp - to go with my faithful B&W 802 D2 speakers and REL sub which I added later. One thing reviewers said is that this amplifier can really show the weakness of other components and recordings and make some music annoying that was previously good - this was seen as a mark of how great this amp was. Initially, I agreed, but I now have a very different view and I think the reviewer write-ups were just following a snobbish trend that is not helpful to ordinary buyers. Straight wire with gain - pah!
What I now conclude was that the amplifier (and components) was simply capable of bringing out the very best from the whole chain and was actually showing the weakness of my speaker placement. That, after 50 hours+ of fiddling with placement and measuring software …and using a really good book and reference disc. Now even most highly compressed and poorly recorded music that was lousy even on a Muso or Amazon Echo sounds listenable and most are actually enjoyable.
Oh…and the NDX2 is a very special streamer …nothing in this price range or quite a bit above beats it so far.
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Blimey, that is crazy, that really shouldn’t have sounded so much better but it does.
It’s probably not what you’d assume either.
Please ignore temporary tacky support for the CD 3.5 and assorted mess.
Spill the beans. What did you try?
I really couldn’t face fiddling with all the signal and power connections to revert to passive after a few glasses last night but wanted to see how the Epos ES14s might sound by comparison.
I said it was ‘quick’.
Stuck one Epos speaker to the right of each SBL to avoid having to move them.
I said it was bonkers.
Quick simply meant hooking the LF NACA5 pair to the Epos speakers.
Result - A hybrid active speaker with offset tweeters.
Suddenly everything was more sonorous, mellifluous engaging vocals, at least an octave better bass extension. Harshness gone, just enjoyable.
So I think it must be something to do with the SBLs which is what I feared.
I’m clearly not suggesting this arrangement as a long term solution 
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Yep!!
Just hope it’s not imaginary, but a few albums I loved years ago just haven’t sounded right and they seem more as I recall them with this daft arrangement.
Current thoughts are:
SBLs were never quite right for the room.
Need to check mid/bass driver screw torque.
Need to ensure gaskets aren’t compromised.
Hoping mid/bass drivers aren’t damaged.
Consider SBL position and room acoustics.
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It’s always good to find a direction to start looking at.
I did and don’t regret it for a minute. 
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