i'm not sure that is true. and i'm not talking about my particular system.
i think occasionally you capture lightning in a bottle with the whole system balance and set-up and maybe never get there again. it's more about synergy than the popular choices for best gear.
how do you know you can re-live the passion it took the first time? i'm not sure i have it in me to do it again. and maybe that is the biggest reason i'm reluctant to sell. the knowledge of what it took to do it once.
and i see that passion as being the most valuable ingredient for ultimate performance assuming that the asset commitment is sufficient.
Mike, I think what we're saying isn't mutually exclusive. You can strive to "capture lightning in a bottle" which, btw may be different for you or me and I do believe it and have witnessed it with certain systems (and I'm happy for you as that's what this hobby is about for me). However, the overall quality bar getting closer and closer to the best possible reproduceable musical event marches on with new materials, new manufacturing processes, new designs, new tools and ever - climbing customer budgets to justify companies' R&D efforts.
For example, if you wanted to move up above and beyond your system and Evolution Acoustics developed an MM12 (next gen ceramic drivers, better quality woofers, better cabinet damping, etc., etc.) and you made the upgrade along with upgrading other gear, after significant tweaking to accommodate the MM12s you'd likely be saying the same thing about lightning in a bottle only more emphatically. There is no cap and there's always something better, more lightning in a bigger bottle. Happy listening as always!
Steve B.