Leonidas crossover. Cross-over cables have been upgraded to Verastarr Illusion Copper Foil and critical cross-over components have been upgraded to Path Audio resistors and Clarity Capacitor CSA caps.
Simon Audio CD5 CD Transport/Player
Using this as a transport only to a DAC. My one and oly input - Redbook CDs.
Mapletree Audio Line 2A SE/ PS 2 Linestage Preamp
NOS 12SN7 Tung-Sol grey T plates; separate power supply; NOS Raytheon JAN-CRP 6X5WGT rectifier; Black Gate filter capacitor. Gains: 10dB, 10dB, and 18dB. Two outputs.
Whammerdyne DGA-1
4.3 Watts stereo amp sporting a pair of NOS Sylvania 2A3 tubes.
Harmonic Technology Pro-9 Plus Speaker Cables
Copper wire, spades.
VH Audio Flavor 4 Power Cords
With Furutech FI-25 Gold connectors for amp and preamp
Brick Wall (Zero Surge) PW8R15AUD
AC Protection & Filter: 15 amp; 8 isolated by duplex receptacles (6 switched, 2 unswitched) for CDP and pre, and also non-system gear (DVD, TV, cable box). Brick Wall is a "private label" customer of Zero Surge.
Star Sound Technologies Audio Points
Points under everything. Had I the scratch I'd set each component on a Sistrum Platform, but for now the Audio Points will do.
GIK Room Treatments
(4) 244 Bass Traps on side walls at first and second reflection points; (2) pairs (double-stacked) Tri-Traps front corners; (2) 6A Alpha Pro Series Bass Trap Diffusor/Absorbers 2D(a) on front wall; (3) Evolution PolyFusors on rear wall.
Silnote Audio Morpheus Reference Classic II Series II S/PDIF Cable and Interconnects
S/PDIF cable for CD transport to DAC, and interconnects for all the rest.
Furutech FPX (Cu) AC Outlet
20 amps - one for amp and one for the Brick Wall/Zero Surge
Advice for the worry wart please. I sometimes wonder if my amp is too puny - I do not want to wreck my speaker drivers. Reviews of the amp state things like "sizeable toroidal transformer" and "bags of headroom". The terms "sizeable" and "bags" are relative to the reviewer and his scope of comparisons. And I can't get any more info on the amp other than it is 90 wpc at 8 ohms, and damping factor > 500. No other data on its power. The speaker manufacturer states efficieny of 87 dB and nominal impedance 8 ohms, quite stable, but can drop to as low as 5.6 ohms. Also recommends the amp be a minimum of 80 watts, but depends on the "quality of current" generated. I like my amp, but I wish it had a clipping indicator since I don't know the "quality" of its current. It is not an issue when I play Nina Simone or Rory Block, but might be when I put on Motorhead. When I play loud I doubt it is at concert level (which is usually too loud for me and annoying), but I might be near that (since it appears to be too loud and annoying to the cat). Perhaps I've read too many consumer reviews which state that their 250 wpc amp clips on their speakers so they want to upgrade to more power. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Yeah, I really lucked out. I already decided to buy a different pair of "full-range" speakers when I happened upon these while browsing A'gon. Even though they were out of my price range I thought I'd give them a listen. They blew me away. They were awesome. The most musical speakers I'd ever heard (though I'm new to this level of audio). I gushed with enthusiasm - not a good buyer's tactic when bargaining. But the salesman (store owner) was cool. He explained that he was breaking ties with Eggleston and would give me a good deal, as these had been his store demos that nearly no one ever auditioned. I got these (world class?) speakers for about the same price I would have paid for the ones I was intending on buying (good, but not on the same level as the Eggys). I truley am blessed to have these. I cannot stop listening to them. They've turned me into a hi-fi junkie.
"I have found myself enjoying music I wouldn't otherwise listen to, just because it is so well recorded."
Rockadanny: That is a VERY good sign, in my opinion, ESPECIALLY if it's your first go at high end. A wonderful place to be. Congrats and enjoy the music.
No need to worry Arkprof. I meant even without the final piece yet - subwoofer - I love it. And enjoy it I do. I used to love to travel. Now it makes me sad to part from my system for more than one day. As a matter of fact, why am I sitting here writing a response without a CD playing? You sure are correct about differnet qualitiy of CD recordings. I have found myself enjoying music I wouldn't otherwise listen to, just because it is so well recorded. Thanks for the encouragement!
This thing about "so far I love my system" worries me, and I love to worry about stuff! Hey, you should be enjoying every second with the system you've got, as it can't help but sound wonderful! After many years and lots of everything, I've decided it's more rewarding to blame the source material ... and some CDs, in my case, are exquisite through my current audio system, while others are not. In fact, some of the music I have sounds much better in my damned Element, though the music I love most sounds best through my home audio system! So, enjoy what you've got, ignore the urge to purge, and seek the best recordings! Hey, Happy Listening ... not sure if it's PC or CD or LP, but just do it!
This is a great hobby and it's fun to see other people satisfied with their systems. Thanks for posting, complete with a photo. Looks like you've done some homework!
I agree with you that A'gon is an excellent site, and most of the members seem pretty reasonable. There are a lot of great people willing to help others, which has been helpful for me. The level of discussion seems to be on a fairly high level, with a lot of really smart people (or at least it seems that way to me).
{{{It's also fun to watch some of the members get just a wee bit cantankerous about their systems and get into heated arguments, although that's just a fringe benefit of reading the threads. :) }}}
