Micah, I doubt that Ian feels significantly "restricted" in his design considerations. Over the years there've been several individuals who've suggested to him that he use "quality" components. One of the examples I recall where he gave a specific answer is found
here .
These thoughts appear to flow from an urge to tweak in an increasingly untweakable audio world and exhibit a(somewhat naive in my view)faith in the "you get what you pay for" nonsense that sellers of high-priced goods and services love to trot out when they lack objective support to justify themselves.
