Patrick Dixon
Imagineer
There is certainly a negative aspect here too: There is now a huge gulf between the good, the average, and the bad. Far greater than Ive ever had before. Im really finding a lottery effect in playing records: some stuff sounds utterly stunning.
I'm not sure that's a result of the 301 as I don't notice that effect at all. I suspect that valves and Tannoys simply suit some types of music/recordings much better than others, and that skews the results.
Personally I've never wanted a system that doesn't do a good all round job. Alex S's valve/LV system was stunning with acoustic, jazz and classical stuff, but lacking elsewhere. That's fine if that's the kind of music you want to listen too, but it also tends to become self-fulfilling.