I used to buy a lot of gear, listen, change components and then sell or keep. I had an ht, but no real space for a dedicated 2 channel. I drew my dream 2 channel on a piece of paper and I moved apartments and I had got to set it up. Beautiful! I realized I just wanted this set up and to have the space and time to listen. I’ve moved apartments again and I have the 2 channel but in less space than before and my beloved towers are in the storage space.
Remember your first pair of good speakers? You’re mind was blown right? 1000 usd can he endgame to certain people. Hell 1000 is better than 99.5% of systems out there.
I have more or less a 10k 2 channel system. Most purchased second hand at a much reduced cost. At this point to have something better would be thousands more. It’s not worth it to me. I like good sound and flavors. Some magnepan lrs would be amazing to try them out. Are they a downgrade to my va beethoven baby grands? Probably, but I’d like to try them.