Private Thoughts Made Public

I haven’t quite given up on the idea of upgrading my home cinema speakers. I’ve managed to find a different set, which are apparently better respected than the Bose ones I was thinking about earlier in the week. However these (and the Bose speakers) have an active (powered) subwoofer, and the amp I’m using at the moment doesn’t have an output for an active sub. So if I were to get the best out of the new speakers – and there’s no point buying them if I’m not going to use them properly – I’d have to upgrade the amp as well. Which of course bumps the price up.
I bought my original hi-fi 15 years ago. It consisted of an amplifier, cd player, cassette deck and a pair of speakers. The cd player gave up the ghost a few years ago and was replaced, but I’m still using the original cassette deck and speakers on my main system, and the amplifier in my bedroom system. Ten years ago I upgraded the amplifier to a home cinema model and bought a passive subwoofer, a centre speaker and a pair of rear speakers. So everything I have is at least ten years old, and to be fair, it’s all still going strong. It’s just a bit big and bulky now.
I don’t think the system I have at the moment sounds as good as it could for the following reasons: I have a passive sub, not an active one, and I can’t really tell that it’s there. I can’t feel the low bass rumble it’s supposed to produce, and never have felt it really. The front and rear speakers are from different manufacturers, so the sound they produce is not tonally balanced. The amplifier is Dolby Pro-Logic, so I’m only listening to that and not listening to a proper 5.1 surround system.
Basically I’m just trying to justify the expense to myself. Each year I seem to be able to make one big purchase. In 2002 I bought a tv and dvd player. In 2003 I bought a camcorder. In 2004 I bought a digital camera and upgraded the PC. This looks like a good candidate for 2005′s major electronic purchase! Plus, the hi-fi shop I’ve found offer 12 months interest free credit……. so why shouldn’t I do it?
There’s nothing wrong with upgrading part of a hi-fi system every ten years, is there?