I think I've come up with the perfect solution for armor upgrades to keep everyone happy. Make the imbued sets upgrade able but make the stats slightly less than the new elite 46 gear.

Then people can have their upgrades and new gear will still be worth farming. If any old gear is upgraded and has better stats than the new 46 say goodbye to economy recovery.

I honestly don't think any armor should ever be upgraded but if it has to be done this is the only way it will work. If old upgraded gear is worse in stats than new elite gear.