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I always found that the best milfage can be found in the back of their minivan/SUV. ;)

It really has to do with quality of components more than anything else. Here are the guts of a relatively inexpensive Elite VSX91 (In the Elite line this was a low powered entry level receiver). IIRC they retailed for ~$900. Here we have a ton of processing, pre-amp, and power amp all in one. Believe me, these are beauties. I have a VSX45 that sits about 3 tiers above this. They have killer Burr-Brown DAC, a super powerful phono stage, and more. Compare the feature set with a $900 car audio amplifier. The car amp does jack shit. When we step up into higher end home amps we see even more high quality components. Just look at the transformers on my tube amp! They are monsterous, you will never see components like this in a car amp. Dynamics, range, depth, image, extension, air... These are things that a car audio buff can't understand the depths of. Sure, car audio can be exceptional, but the constraints of the passenger compartment, power on hand, and noise can only allow one to achieve a certain level of these nuances. Manufacturers realize this and really only put so much effort into them. I have been fortunate to be in the presence of some amazing home systems, and I have heard some serious car systems. I heard some Valve Amplification Company amps powering a set of Tidal Contriva. The set up was very detailed, clinical, and filled the room in ways that are beyond my ability to put into words. You could feel the instruments in the room with you. You knew where the high hat sat in the room relative to the snare. You knew where the piano say, where the acoustic guitarist sat, where the bassist was, and how he liked to move around the room while playing. You could almost feel Norah Jones breathing out her lyrics on your face. You heard, what I like to say was, her lips brushing the pop filter. They certainly showed off every weakness in the material we listened to. But the way they did it was indescribably beautiful. There was a depth, an emotion, an intimacy that was conveyed that I have never even heard in a live show. While I like to show it off and talk about how good my system sounds, it had nothing on the Tidal/VAC system I heard. Yet I have never heard a car system as good as my wanna be audiophile system. Not even close.

My standard are high....this KILLED all other museums I've been to. Was painful

For anyone on the fence, this is a great guy to do business with. J