DAVID ROBINSON'S SYSTEM

LOUDSPEAKERS
Evolution Audio MM2 loudspeakers; Nova Rendition II loudspeakers outfitted with Walker Audio Reference HDLs on the upper and lower bi-wires, and Townshend Audio Super Tweeters, all contacts treated with Walker Audio Extreme SST Contact Enhancer.

ELECTRONICS
darTZeel NHB-458 prototype monoblocks; darTZeel NHB-18NS reference preamplifier with dual MC phono sections;  LAMM L2 reference preamplifier; LAMM M1.2 hybrid monoblock amplifiers; Walker Audio Reference Phono Amplifier with mods (as of 11/06/11).

SOURCES
Digital: Playback Designs MPS-5 SACD/CD player and DAC (latest firmware) with USB-X interface for DSD and PCM files via USB, and Toshiba L755 i3 notebook (Windows 7) with external 2 TB Western Digital HD; Oppo BDP-95 Universal Player (optimized for audio); Oppo BDP-83 Special Edition Blu Ray/Universal Player; Alesis ML-9600 Master Disk Recorder; Panasonic SV-3900 DAT player; Furutech Esprit 192kHz/24 converter/preamp.

DAVE AND CAROL CLARK'S SYSTEM

LOUDSPEAKERS
Reimer Speaker Systems Tetons (with the Hi-Vi Isodynamic Planar tweeters and series crossovers) heavily treated with Marigo VTS Dots, with Townshend Audio super-tweeters.

ELECTRONICS
Clayton Audio M200 monoblock amplifiers (with Hi-Fi Tuning and Furutech fuses), Heed Quasar phonostage, and a Cary Audio SLP-05 preamplifier w/Pope 6SN7s (with Hi-Fi Tuning fuses).

SOURCES
Digital: Playback Design MPS-5 player (with a Furutech fuse).
Analog: Transrotor 25/25/60 Leonardo turntable with a Shelter 901 MC cartridge w/Marigo dot. Sennheiser HD540 headphones and Heed Audio headphone amplifier.
Computer Based System (main system): MacBook (Snow Leopard, Intel 2 Core Duo 2.4/4GB ram with iTunes 10, Pure Music 1.6, or Amarra 3203) to a Sonicweld Diverter HR via either the Locus Design Nucleus or Cynosure V2, Cardas Clear, or Furutech USB cables (or direct to the DAC via a van den Hul Optocoupler II Toslink cable). Purist Audio Contego S/PDIF RCA or AES/EBU, von Gaylord Chinchilla AES/EBU, Locus Design Core S/PDIF RCA or AES/EBU, or DH Labs D-75 AES/EBU digital cables feeding the digital inputs on the Playback MPS-5. Drobo FS with three WD Green 1TB drives. Shakti Stones and Onlines. Cat 6 and Netgear gigabit switch.

CABLES
Locus Design Vision, Kubala-Sosna Emotion, Purist Audio Proteus Provectus Revised, and/or Soundstring interconnects. Kubala-Sosna Emotion or Purist Audio Proteus Provectus Revised speaker cables. Kubala-Sosna Emotion, Kaplan GS MKll, Dynamic Design Spirit-C Digital (CD player), Tel-Wire, and Luminous Audio Power Lynx Mega (amps and preamps) AC cords.

ACCESSORIES
Stein H2 Harmonizers, Nordost Qv2, Qx2, and Qx4, Bybee Power Purifier v 2.0 AC Conditioner, Nanotec Nespa #1, Furutech RD-2 demagnitizer, Acoustic Revive RR-77 with KingRex DC power supply, Golden Goddess Super Effect Speaker Bullets, Blue Circle BC86 Noise Hound (office system) and Audio Prism QuietLines (throughout the house). Dedicated 20 (amplifiers) and 15 amp (everything else) AC circuits. Tons of Shakti Stones and On-Lines, and Original Cable Jackets (frig's AC and telephone line). Various Marigo VTS Dots used extensively throughout the system and room (window behind listening seat). EchoBuster acoustical treatments and Shakti Hallographs. Black Raviolis under Bybee, Heed, Mac, Playback, Cary, and Claytons, (1, 2, and 3 versions). BDR cones and board (turntable), BDR cones and Jumbos (under speakers), and even more BDR cones and Composite discs under whatever else is left. Mondo racks and stands. Walker Audio Ultimate High Definition Links, Talisman, and SST, and Furutech Nano Liquid. Clever Little Clock. Various hard woods placed here and there along with numerous Peter Belt treatments. audioexcellence az AudioDharma Cable Cooker for all cables.

Our listening room is about 18' long x 14' wide and has 9' coved ceilings. All walls are lathe and plaster with suspended wood floors (construction is 1928 Spanish) which have been reinforced directly under the speakers with concrete pillars. While this is our living room, it has become dedicated more to audio than to casual conversation. As such we have employed a fair amount of room treatments (EchoBuster, Marigo, and Shakti products), as well as two dedicated AC lines. Speakers and equipment have been painstakingly measured and set up to offer the best presentation possible. Our musical tastes are pretty much all over the map, but we do prefer music that is more slanted and "alternative" to the accepted norm—regardless of the genre. I should add that in my room, the Reimer Tetons are pretty much flat to 21Hz.

When we listen to music, Carol and I prefer a full-range sound that places the performers out into the room. We like a more "in-your-face" sound as opposed one where the soundstage sits well behind the speakers. Additionally, we like our music with a bit more "syrup" than most so our current system is slanted towards the richer and warmer side of things. Another thing we do like is detail and imaging. Yes, a well-defined soundfield that offers a well-lit stage is what we are after—though one that stresses musicality over sterile neutrality. Not lush mind you, but a bit perhaps a touch darker than most.

Secondary System

LOUDSPEAKERS
Chario Hyper Reference 2000.

ELECTRONICS
Kora Explorer 90 SI integrated.

SOURCES
EAD T-1000 transport and DSP-1000 II DAC.

CABLES
Interconnects are DH Labs Revelations, Audience, or Kubala-Sosna. Speaker cables are JPS Ultraconductors.

ACCESSORIES
Blue Circle BC86 Noise Hound, dedicated 20 amp circuit, and Vibrapods.

Computer Based System (home office)

• Dell W7 Desktops (audio is direct out via USB).
• iTunes, FooBar, JRiver, etc.
• Benchmark DAC 1, DAC 1 Pre (USB), and Centrance DacPort,.
• Audioengine P4 and N22 amplifier.
• Audioengine 2 loudspeakers.
• Drobo FS with three 1TB WD Green drives.
• Shakti Stones and Onlines.
• Zu interconnects.
• Kimber, Cardas, Furutech, Wireworld USB cables.
• DH Labs Power Plus AC cord.
• Cat 6 and Netgear gigabit switch.

Home Theater System

LOUDSPEAKERS
Paradigm LCR350 fronts and center, 250 surrounds, and a Velodyne DSP12 subwoofer.

ELECTRONICS
Pioneer VSX-90TXV receiver.

SOURCES
Sony Grand Wega 42" LCD HDTV television, Oppo BD95, and a Hitachi Hi-Fi VCR.

CABLES
Luminous Audio speaker cables, Cardas S-video cable, Cardas component video cables, Silver Sonic HDMI 1.3 cable, and DH Labs Deluxe Toslink cables. Bybee Golden Goddess TV Enhancer AC tail, Kubala-Sosna, DH Labs Red Wave, Luminous, and JPS AC cords.

ACCESSORIES
Equi-Tech 1.5Q balanced power, Gingko Cloud 10 platform, Shakti Stones and On-lines, and an Electra-Clear EAU-1 parallel AC unit.

MYLES B. ASTOR'S SYSTEM

LOUDSPEAKERS
Martin-Logan Summit X.

ELECTRONICS
Conrad-Johnson ART amplifier, conrad-johnson GAT preamplifier, TEAL 1bc phono section, PASS Labs Xono phonostage, Avid HIFI Pulsare phonostage and Allnic 3000V phonostage, Bottlehead Repro tape preamplifier (with Telefunken ECC88 and EF806 tubes) and King/Cello tape preamplifier.

SOURCES
Digital: Altis Audio CDT-III transport and 24/96 Reference DAC (with Telefunken ECC82 tubes) and Sony SCD-1 SACD player. Analog: VPI Reference Superscoutmaster turntable with 10.5 inch arm, rim drive and SDS, ZYX Omega S Gold LO, Lyra Titan i, and Haniwa cartridges; Reel to reel: J-corder and Bottlehead modded Technics RS-1500US reel to reel tape machine.

CABLES
Audioquest Amazon interconnects (Bill Low Signatures), K2, and Everest speaker cables, Cable Research Labs Gold interconnect, bi-wired Gold speaker cable and Mk. II AC cords, Phoenix Gold Arx 300 Series Bronze Level interconnects, Transparent Audio Reference MM2 speaker, Reference MM2 interconnect cables, and AES/EBU digital interconnect cable, MIT Oracle interconnect cables and phono cable, Cardas Golden Reference interconnects, Asterope interconnect cables, Dynastrand interconnect cables, ESP Reference Essence AC cords, and Kubala-Sosna Emotion IC, speaker and AC power cords, Kubala-Sosna Elation AC power cord.

ACCESSORIES
VPI 16.5 record cleaning machine, Sound Application AC outlets, Goldmund cones, Silent Running Audio VR Series IsoBases under amplifiers, phono section and turntable, Silent Running Audio Craz equipment stand, Symposium Acoustics Isis Stand for Technics reel to reel, Audio Physics cartridge demagnetizer, Thor Audio Phono burn-in, audiodharma cable burn-in, Lyra SPT, Kontak, AudioIntelligent RCF, MoFi Super Vinyl wash and Super Deep Cleaner, MoFi Stylus cleaning fluid, Marigo Labs Window damping dots, Dedicated Audio Cable Towers, Darklab hubs, Cathedral Sound panels and Hi-Fi Tuning fuses (for cj amplifiers).

Room: Although my new city listening room is similar in size to my long time Bronx digs, (18 x 12 x 8 vs the old 19 x 13 x 8 ft.), the speakers now fire along the long instead of short wall resulting in a significantly different presentation. Instead of the verrrryyy…. wide soundstage and musically rich sound of yesteryear, my new listening room remains musical but significantly less colored and more transparent with a narrower but deeper soundstage. And I'm not finished experimenting with and tuning the room's acoustics, so I expect even better things out of the frequency extremes (not to mention that the new VPI HRX should shore up other areas!).

Software: My musical library currently numbers approximately 8000 LPs (considerably thinned out before last summer's move) and 700 SACDs, DVDs and CDs. Musically this breaks down into roughly 85% classical (Consisting of the original Mercury, RCA, Lyrita, Harmonia Mundi, EMI, Decca/London, Argo and many other wonderful labels), 5% jazz, 5% rock and 5% assorted (world music, soundtracks, country, etc.).

Select Stereo Spectaculars

• Yasukaza Amemiya: Summer Prayer RCA RVC-2154
• Malcolm Arnold: Sarabande and Polka EMI ASD 3823
• Benjamin Britten: Rejoice in the Lamb Argo ZRG 5440
• Kimio Eto: Art of the Koto Elektra EKS-734
• Bill Evans Trio at Shelly's Manne-Hole OJC 263
• Gil Evans: Out of the Cool Impulse Stereo A4 (or Alto Edition)
• Picaflor: Latin American Music for Guitar and Mandolin Titanic Mn-5
• Rashomon Carlton Deluxe Stereo STLPX 5000
• Songs from the Fayrfax Manuscript Musical Heritage Society MHS 4649
• Mel Torme: I Dig the Duke, I Dig the Count Verve V6 8491
• Edgar Varese: Arcana, Integrales, Ionisation Decca SXL 6550
• Sarah Vaughn: Send in the Clowns Pablo 2312-130
• Charles Wuorinen: Percussion Symphony Nonesuch H-71353

Listening habits: In a nutshell, the system must first and foremost, sound musical, not mechanical. The system should in those oh-so-rare rare, but precious moments, transcend the mechanical and recreate the illusion of the real event. At the same time, this musicality shouldn't result from gross colorations or distortions, such as that displayed by bad single-ended amplifier designs.

Though I can appreciate the diversity of approaches and paths to attaining audio nirvana, I absolutely loathe upper midrange aberrations. Specifically, that upper midrange brightness (note that what many think is a rising top end is in actuality traceable to problems in the upper midrange area as defined by HP). This upper midrange brightness results in part from non-linearity, not the frequency domain distortions (for more on this, see the early seminal papers on capacitor design by Curl and Marsh.) Another reason for this upper midrange distortion(s), although far less common in current equipment, is the presence of ferromagnetic leads/material in the signal path.

Other than that, I'm highly partial to systems that create a realistic soundstage (in other words, a quartet sounds like a quartet and not a symphony or vice versa) and imaging (I've never heard an orchestra sound, even in the worst musical venue, err Avery Fisher Hall, sound like amorphous, ill-defined blobs of sound), a wide frequency response, and musically consonant, not over-etched, low-level resolution.

That said, I'm probably a bit more tolerant than some to a slight loss of macrodynamics (the type one might have to sacrifice with the best electrostatic, though not anemic like early Quad speakers, that despite all their attributes, just couldn't overcome one of their most significant weaknesses). Maybe I'd be less tolerant of this flaw if large symphonic works were a listening staple in the Astor musical repertoire. Or possibly it's because I place more value on microdynamics (damn those tradeoffs!), or what musicians term dynamic shadings. Dynamics shading, along with the unspoken element, musical silence, are probably two of the most important components of music that receive little or no attention from many audiophiles.

Listening Panel: Tiger (a 2½ year old, male Tawny Spotted Bengal cat) and Sweet Pea (a 1 year old, female, Snow Bengal cat).

DR. SARDONICUS' SYSTEM

LOUDSPEAKERS
Piega P-10, VMPS, and ACI Sapphire XL w\subs

ELECTRONICS
BAT VK-600-SE power amplifier, BAT VK-P-10 SE tube phonostage and a BAT VK-51-SE (modified) tube line stage.

SOURCES
EMM Labs CDSA SE. Custom made Jena Labs/Technics SP-10 turntable with SME-10 arm, and a Cardas Heart MC Cartridge.

CABLES
Mostly Jena Labs Pathfinder, Dream Dancer, and Valkyrie level interconnect, speaker, and AC cables.

ACCESSORIES
Critical Mass Racks, Critical Mass Grand Master, Reference and Amplifier Filters (update review pending), Billy Bags Pro 23 Amplifier Stands (under review), and Jena Labs Ez One, and The One, power conditioners.

GREG WEAVER'S SYSTEM

LOUDSPEAKERS
>Von Schweikert Audio VR-5 Anniversary, Escalante Designs Fremont, Von Schweikert Audio Vortex VR-33, Buggtussel Somu, Buggtussel Circa.

ELECTRONICS
ModWright SL 100 Tube Preamplifier (rolled out with a vintage f32 Mullard GZ34 and a matched pair of 6SN7GT CBS/Hytron dual triodes), Channel Islands Audio PLC●1 MkII passive preamplifier with VAC●1 power supply. Channel Islands Audio D●200 MkII Monoblocks (Putzeys based Class D), Channel Islands Audio VMB●1 Monoblocks (gain-clone), DSA Phono ONE phono preamplifier.

SOURCES
Redpoint Audio Design Model D, Tri-Planar Mk VII Precision tonearm, Transfiguration Temper V MC Cartridge, Clearaudio Virtuoso Mk II Moving Magnet Cartridge, Denon 103- (with vdHul Mods) MC Cartridge, McCormack UDP-1 Beyond Deluxe (many more mods – over and above those offered by the factory).

CABLES
Von Schweikert Master Built Signature biwires, Audience Au24 biwires, Stealth Hybrid MLT, Acoustic Zen Hologram II, SoundString Gen II Platinum Edition Biwire speaker cables. Stealth Śakra , Stealth Indra, Stealth Nanofiber, Stealth PGS, Audience Au24e interconnects, Acoustic Zen Absolute, and Acoustic Zen Silver Reverence II interconnects. Acoustic Zen Absolute and Gargantua II power cables, Audience Au 24 powerChords, Audience powerChords, SoundString High-Output 30 amp Gen II power cables.

ACCESSORIES
Grand Prix Audio Monaco Modular Isolation System equipment stand (with Apex Footers and Formula Shelves), a pair of Grand Prix Audio Monaco Amp stands, Audience adeptResponse aR-12-TS with Audience Au 24 powerChord, Furutech eTP-80, Monster Cable HTS 800, a pair of Quantum Products, Inc. Symphony Pro's, and a liberal application of HiFi-Tuning Supreme³ fuses. Magico QPods, Grand Prix Audio Apex Footers, Aurios 1.2 MIB, VPI HQ-16.5, Nitty Gritty Mini-Pro, Audio Intelligent Vinyl Solutions, Buggtussel Vinyl-Zime, the full gamut of LAST record care products, Disc Dr. Miracle Record Cleaner and Quick Wash, Audio Dharma Cable Cooker 2.5 EFS, KAB Channel Balancer, KAB Speed Strobe, Mint LP Solutions Best Tractor, Onzow ZeroDust, AudioQuest DM-100 demagnetizer, CornerTunes, Shakti Hallographs, Furutech RD-2 demagnetizer (now branded Acoustic-Revive), Digital Systems & Solutions UltraBit Platinum-Plus™, Digital Systems & Solutions TruVoice Dampers™, Audience Auric Illuminator optical disc treatments.

My music room occupies a dedicated 11' 9" X 23' 9" x 7' 4" space. The walls are block and have been sealed, insulation, then dry walled, and the floor is a poured slab. The ceiling is suspended acoustic tile hung under the sub-flooring and HVAC ducting above it. The center of the ScanSpeak Revelator in my Von Schweikert Audio VR-5 Anniversary is 79" from the rear walls and 24" from their respective side walls, positioning them some 7' 8" apart, tweeter center to tweeter center. My listening seat is centered between and roughly 10' back from the plane of the tweeters.

Room taming is achieved through the use RoomTunes Corner Tunes and the stunningly effective Shakti Innovations Hallographs. I also have employed two very large plants behind the speakers to afford a very effective diffraction/diffusion field in those rear corners. Further, the floor-to-ceiling shelving housing all LPs and optical media situated along the right wall of the room provides a diffraction/diffusion field along that wall to balance the openness native to the left side of the room. The left side boundary of the room is not a solid wall; it is a hanging room divider comprised of hundreds of thin strips, hung together in blind fashion, suspended from the ceiling.

Power to components in the listening room is fully dedicated, with a pair of 20 amps runs for amplification (one for each monoblock), and another separate single 15 amp circuit for the source components. All other items (lights, printers, computers, etc.) are powered from yet another entirely separate circuit. All circuits have been tested for proper ground and polarity, and grounding for this room has been dedicated.

Those who know me or have read my work over the years know that my system MUST be tonally accurate, strikingly neutral, stunningly transparent, and jubilantly musical. However, open, detailed, and layered soundstaging, combined with realistically sized and spatially accurate images, are every bit as important to me as truthful timbre and musical bloom. With the right recording, this system whisks you back to the venue or hall of the original performance for a spooky-real recreation of that event in the here and now.

I have had any number of audiophile and musician visitors' remark on the power of the listening experience as witnessed from my chair. Musicians from any number of genres of music, from Salsa to Rock ‘n' Roll to Classical, have actually wept after a listening session. Audiophiles of many years have remarked things like, "What more could you ask for," and "I've never heard a rig sound ANY BETTER than this."

While that is encouraging to hear and indicates I'm doing the right things with component and cable selection and room set up, it must be seen as an ongoing project. Every once in a while, the addition of some new piece, be it a source, a cable, or an accessory, allows me to move just a little closer to that actual musical event. The journey continues…

Multi-channel music and Home Theatre system

Housed in a separate dedicated 12' x 22" by 7' 4" space, the theater has two dedicated rows of seating, with the second row elevated. For times when I really need more than 5 or 6 seats, as there is some 12 plus feet of open space behind the second row of seats, extra temporary seating is easily added.

MONITORS
Mitsubishi WD-62527 1080p/720p 62" hi-def monitor.

LOUDSPEAKERS
Von Schweikert Vortex VR-33, Mirage MC-3 center, Optimus LX-4 rears, Mirage FRx-S10 subwoofer.

ELECTRONICS
Emotiva LMC-1 7 channel preamp/processor, Emotiva LPA-1 seven-channel amplifier.

SOURCES
McCormack UDP-1 Beyond Deluxe Universal player, Samsung BD-P1590 BluRay Player, DirecTV R-10 HD receiver, Hughes HDVR2 DirecTV TiVo Digital Receiver, JVC HR-S3600U S-VHS.

CABLES
Audience Au24 speaker cables, Audience Au24e interconnects, SoundString Gen II Platinum Edition HDMI v1.4 cables.

ACCESSORIES
DIY Equipment Stands, Monster Cable HTS 800, Quantum Symphony Pro, Aurios 1.2 MIB, Furutech RD-2 demagnetizer (now branded Acoustic-Revive), Digital Systems & Solutions UltraBit Platinum-Plus™, Digital Systems & Solutions TruVoice Dampers™, Audience Auric Illuminator optical disc treatments.

CHIP STERN'S SYSTEM

LOUDSPEAKERS
Dynaudio Confidence C1, Acoustic Zen Adagio, Meadowlark Swallows, Epos ELS-3, Alon/Nola Li'l Rascals, Audioengine 2.

ELECTRONICS
VTL 5.5 Vacuum Tube Preamp, Rogue Audio M180 Vacuum Tube Monoblocks, Manley Massive Passive Vacuum Tube Parametric Equalizer, Rogue Audio Stealth Phono Preamp, Rogue Audio Cronus Magnum Integrated Amp, Luxman G-120A Graphic Frequency Equalizer, Music Hall Trio CD Receiver, Furutech GT40 24Bit/96KHz USB Audio Interface.

SOURCES
Oppo BDP-95 Blu-Ray Universal, Lexicon RT-20 Universal Player, Upscale Audio Ah! Njoe Tjoeb 4000 Vacuum Tube CD Player (in 24/192 Super Tjoeb configuration), Rega Planar 25 turntable with Rega RB600 tone-arm and Grado Statement Master cartridge, Kyocera D-801 Cassette Deck, Marantz PMD430 Portable Cassette Recorder, Korg MR-1000 Digital Mobile Recorder, Zoom H1 Digital Recorder, Zoom Q3HD Digital Audio/Video Recorder, Panasonic Viera TC-P42G25 1080p Plasma HDTV

CABLES
Acoustic Zen Silver Reference II interconnects, Audioquest Panther interconnects and CV-6 speaker cables, Monster Cable Sigma Retro Gold interconnects and speaker cables, JPS Labs Superconductor 3 interconnects and speaker cables, JPS Labs Aluminata Interconnects (in between pre-amp and digital front end), JPS Labs Aluminata, Kaptovator, Digital and Analog AC, Acoustic Zen Gargantua II and Absolute AC.

ACCESSORIES
Two PolyCrystal equipment racks, a PolyCrystal amp stand and PolyCrystal speaker stands. Power line conditioning: Equi=Tech Q650 and 2Q Balanced Power Isolation Transformers, Monster Cable AVS 2000 Automatic Voltage Stabilizer. JPS Labs Kaptovator outlet centers, Ringmat 330 and Signal Guard II isolation stand (turntable), Shakti Stones (electromagnetic stabilizers), PolyCrystal cones, Argent Room Lens, Echo Busters' Bass Busters absorptive and diffusive panels, Grado RS-1 Stereo Headphones.

ROBERT H. LEVI'S SYSTEM

LOUDSPEAKERS
Marten Bird Loudspeakers, Marten Duke Loudspeakers, and REL Stadium III subwoofer

ELECTRONICS
E.A.R. 324 phono preamplifier, [2] E.A.R. 890 amplifiers (run as monos), E.A.R. 534 Stereo Amplifier, E.A.R. 912 Professional Preamplifier, E.A.R. 834L Tube Line Stage, E.A.R. HP4 Headphone Amplifier, Grado Battery Headphone Amplifier, and KingRex Headphone Amplifier.

SOURCES
Analog: E.A.R. Disk Master Turntable with two Helius Omega Tonearms. Digital: E.A.R. Acute III CD player, E.A.R. Acute 1 CD Player, ModWright Sony 9100ES SACD/CD/DVD Player with Signature Truth Modifications, Mod/Bybee Filters and Revelation Cryo Silver Umbilical. ModWright Sony 999ES CD/SACD/DVD Player with signature Truth Mod and Tube Power Supply, and Alesis Masterlink 24/96 Recorder/Playback Deck. Cartridges: Koetsu Rosewood Signature Phono Cartridge, London Reference Phono Cartridge, and Grado Statement1 Phono Cartridge. LD: Pioneer DVL 919 CD/LD/DVD Player. Tuners: Magnum Dynalab MD-108 Reference Tuner, Marantz 10B FM Tuner, Day Sequerra Reference FM1 Tuner, McIntosh MR71 FM Tuner, Dynaco AF6 FM Tuner, and Marantz ST17 FM Tuner. Headphones: Stax 7t Electrostatic headphones, Grado RS1 headphones, Grado PS 1000 Headphones, Ultrasone Edition 8 Headphones,and Koss ESP950 Electrostatic Headphones.

CABLES
Kubala-Sosna Elation Interconnects, Speaker Cables, and Power Cords. Kubala-Sosna Emotion and Expression Interconnects and power cords, Jorma Design Origo Interconnects and Speaker Cables. Harmonic Technology Magic 2 Interconnects, Magic 1&2 Power Cords, Fantasy Power Cords, Kimber D-60 Digital Interconnects, Kimber Select 3038 Silver and Silver/Copper Interconnects, CRL Silver Interconnects and Custom WyWires Interconnects.

ACCESSORIES
Monster Reference 350 Mark II v2 Power Conditioner, World Power Wing Revised Power Conditioner, Tice Power Block, Tice Clock, and Audio Prism Quiet Line IIs. Anniversary Edition Cable Cooker 2.5, Winds Stylus Pressure Gage, Bedini Ultra Clarifier, VPI Record Cleaning Machine 16.5. Audio Magic's Quantum Physics Noise Disrupters, Marigo Mystery Feet, Townshend Seismic Sinks, Furutech Demag, RSC Sound Panels and 16 inch Bass Trap, and Shunyata Cable Lifters.

Secondary System

LOUDSPEAKERS
JM Labs Cobalt Monitors.

ELECTRONICS
Cary AE-1 300B SET amplifier modifed by Dennis Had with EAT 300B tubes, E.A.R. 834L Deluxe preamplifier, and a Dyna Stereo 70 modified by Sam Papadas with RAM KT88s.

SOURCES
ModWright Sony 999 CD/CACD/DVD player, Marantz ST6000 FM tuner, Marantz ST 17 FM tuner, and Parasound Broadcast Reference FM tuner. Denon 2200 DVD/SACD/DVDA Player

CABLES
Kimber Hero, Harmonic Technology Pro Silway 3 and MagicLink 2 interconnects with Kimber Select Silver speaker cables. Harmonic Technology CyberLight interconnects between preamp and amp. Kimber Palladium AC, Harmonic Technology Magic and Fantasy AC, and Soundstring Pro AC cables used throughout system. Tara Decade power cord used on PS9.0 ModWright Power Supply to CD/SACD player. HT Battery Pack 4 for Cyberlights.

LARRY COX'S SYSTEM

LOUDSPEAKERS
ATC SCM 20-2A powered (active equalization and amplification is built-in) speakers.

ELECTRONICS
E.A.R. 864 preamplifier both with a mix of NOS tubes.

SOURCE
CEC TL1 and Denon 2200 DVD players as transports to a Twisted Pear Audio Buffalo 32s DAC. Amazon Model 2 turntable sitting on a Townshend Seismic Sink, with a Moerch DP6 arm and Dynavector XX2MkII cartridge and Audiopath 4 tonearm cable.

CABLES
Interconnects: Ensemble Dynaflux, AudioQuest Emerald, and Silver Audio Silver Bullet 4.0's. Power cords, self made DIY, Supra Lo-Rad Mains. A full complement of Kubala Sosna Emotion power cords for all equipment requiring power, S/PDIF, interconnects, including tonearm cable; Kubala Sosna Anticipation power cords for all equipment requiring, S/PDIF, and interconnects (no phono cable).

ACCESSORIES
Sound Application power conditioner; A Lovan Classic Rack, Townshend Seismic Sink, assorted Vibrapods, Final Labs Daruma III isolation bearings, Black Diamond #3 and #4 cones, with Black Diamond Whatchamacallit's, DH Cones, Discsolution, ASC Tube Trap Bass Trap and assorted other stuff.

WHAT I LISTEN FOR

I listen to music to hear a realistic timbre with a natural scale to music, i.e. uncompressed dynamics are important to me. I listen at medium to louder levels - live music isn't played at the level you go to sleep at; I cannot have an experience of realistic dynamic contrasts when everything is less audible, let alone lacks the visceral impact and scale of live levels of percussion. Imaging is nice, but not important until timbre has been rendered realistically first.

While it is nifty to hear a vivid portrayal of music's attack and decay, it isn't often a part of the original event in my listening seat. Often, what some listeners love about transient attack and decay can occur to these ears as an exaggeration and part and parcel of a lean and/or bright character.

WHY I LISTEN AND WRITE

I like music and pleasure. My reviews will point you to stuff I liked that I think you'll like. I'm not a fly searching for doors with moons on it; if I find one, I turn away and spend time on something I like. People that hunt out problems belong in an asylum. Naturally then, my reviews are more likely to be positive. Every component I've ever listened to was connected to another component—so I've never heard a single component and can only guess what it sounds like; I just know how it performed for me in my system with my tastes. Proclamations that "x" component is "the best" or what have you are delusional for the writer and foolishness for a reader to rely upon. My reviews attempt to describe what I heard and how I felt about its role in my system so that you can get a sense of what it might sound like in your system or that of another's. There are no audio gods, especially the self-proclaimed ones. Use my reviews, and really everyone else's, as a place to start.

MY PREFERENCES

If a component doesn't produce the timbre or tone of the original instrument, everything else is unimportant. If timbre is handled, then I want a dynamic performance so that I think I'm hearing the loud and soft range of the original instrument. Next, I would like frequency extension, down to 40Hz in a medium sized room is important. If I get these three, together, I'll tend to like the component and write enthusiastically. After those three, imaging is nice; the performance on attack and decay are like cloth napkins at a dinner, nice to have but not terribly important.

I've preferred vinyl and the body to music that tubes provide. However, in a perfect world, my system would operate from a remote without tubes (pesky tube failures are a bane) or what the signal is delivered by (analog, CD/SACD/DVD, whatever). I would prefer owning solid state gear so that I could dispense with the NOS tube nonsense, but tubes still sound better to me, and unfortunately, so do some of the NOS tubes, but not enough to give up what tubes and vinyl provide, at least so far. As far as music goes, I want a realistic rendering of the music I would listen to if pressings and format didn't matter, rather than collecting really well recorded versions of listless, vapid music.

WHERE MY SYSTEM IS SHORT

I would love to have a bit deeper bass. My speakers go to 40Hz with no problems, but deeper bass "settles" a system's performance in a way that more resolution won't. My dream speaker would be powered ATC SCM 100s, but they're financially out of reach, especially since we're planning a move to better digs. A subwoofer would be nice to provide what the 100s do that my 20s don't, but I have no present plans for that, either. It's easy to get my system to sound a bit bright or hard, and as I occasionally hunt for more resolution, and I find that brighter sometimes masquerades as more resolution. There are better systems out there, sure, but I'm quite happy with my system and what it does.

My tastes are fairly catholic: I like some roots and pop music. I find movie sound tracks a great source of new music and artists. I enjoy classical music and Spanish (acoustic) guitar. I do not want to get the "nothing but beat" (not rhythm), angry misogynist "sound" with no melody or beauty in it that is so popular now. I'll leave that to the flies above. While I'm open to new experiences, I don't need or want to experience everything.

What I'd wish for you is that you find reviews that allow you to enjoy your system and music and to dispense with finding nits to pick in their performance. Critical listening is an important part of getting your system and you to a condition where music reproduction is good. I remind myself, and you can remind yourself with my comments here, that the point of a high fidelity system is to enjoy music, not to enable a "Where's Waldo" game of finding the hidden error. Of course, it's your system and your hobby so you get to make the rules for yourself and if finding Waldo/problems or critiquing your system is what you love, disregard this note.

DANNY KAEY'S SYSTEM

LOUDSPEAKERS
Zu Audio Definition Pro Lautsprecher.

JOHN ZUREK'S SYSTEM

LOUDSPEAKERS
Magnepan 1.6, JL Fathom 112

ELECTRONICS
deHavailland Ultraverve remote, Jolida JD 1000RC, Aqvox Phono 2ci, Ray Samuels F-117 Nighthawk.

SOURCES
VPI Scoutmaster/JMW9 Tonearm /Shelter 501 Mk II, Cary 303/200 CD player, Sony DVP-NS755 SACD, and a Marantz CDR 630.

CABLES
Acoustic Zen Silver Reference, Acoustic Zen Matrix Reference, Dunlavy Reference, Acoustic Zen MC2 digital, and PS Audio Xtreme interconnects, Cardas Cross Bi-wire, PS Audio Xtreme, and Acoustic Zen Satori speaker cables, Aqvox Connections phono cable, PS Audio Xtreme power cables.

ACCESSORIES
Ginko Cloud 9, Equarack Multi-Mount Footers and Spike Adapters, Standesign and Boltz racks, Argent Room Lenses, VPI HW-16.5 Record Cleaner, Monster HTS 200 power conditioner, PS Audio Duet, Vibrapods, Sonex panels, and AudioPrism Quiet Line filters, Auric Illuminator, Pandafeet, Herbie's Grungebuster CD mat, Superior Carpet Spikes, and Iso-cups.

Office System

Apple Ipod Classic 80, Sennheiser CX 300.

MARSHALL NACK'S SYSTEM

LOUDSPEAKERS
YG Acoustics Anat Studio III.

ELECTRONICS
mbl 6010D preamplifier, mbl 9008A monoblocks and Soulution 710 stereo amp. ASR Basis Exclusive phono preamp.

SOURCES
Dr. Feickert Blackbird turntable, Shelter Harmony cartridge, ModWright SONY SCD-XA5400ES SACD player

CABLES
Interconnects are Kubala-Sosna Elation! and Kharma Enigma. Digital cables are Kubala-Sosna Elation! and Kharma Enigma. Speaker wires are Kubala-Sosna Elation! and Kharma Enigma. AC power cords are Kubala-Sosna Elation! and Tara Labs Gold.

ACCESSORIES
TAOC Rack and TITE-35S component footers, edenSound TerraStone footers, CORE Designs amp stands, Vibraplane ELpF Isolation Platforms, Acoustic System Resonators and Sugar Cubes, Argent Room Lenses, Echo Buster & Sonex acoustic panels, TARA Labs PM/2 and IDAT power conditioners.

I have a LONG, rectangular listening room—32' long x 12' wide x 8' high—ideally suited for the rule of thirds: speakers are positioned one third into the room and about 24" from the sidewalls, facing straight ahead, the listener sits another third into the room. Two dedicated 15-amp lines power the system.

After years of trial and error, I've pared down room treatment to: Harmonix RFA 78i Room Tuning Discs, 4" Sonex panels at the first reflection points on the sidewalls, an Echo Buster Bass Buster, three Argent Room Lenses and a quartet of Acoustic System Resonators. The speaker placement in tandem with these room treatments gives me an amazing amount of layered depth and good image height, but a somewhat compromised width.

Most often you'll hear Baroque music in our home, followed by other classical repertoire and a bit of jazz. The system is voiced for harmonic richness and musical involvement over accuracy and detail.

My secret weapon is my wife, Lynn, who provides invaluable musical insight. With decades of training as an oboist, and now serving as VP of a community orchestra, she knows what sounds natural and what doesn't. Many are the times she's pulled me back from the brink after a multi-day audio binge.

ARNIS BALGALVIS'S SYSTEM

LOUDSPEAKERS
Avalon Eidolon Diamond.

ELECTRONICS
Jeff Roland Design Group Synergy IIi with BPS-1 Battery Power Supply preamplifier. Jeff Roland Design Group Model 12 and Mark Levinson ML332 amplifiers.

SOURCES
Sony SCD-1, Esoteric P-03 transport (review sample), Esoteric D-03 (review sample), and a MSB Technology Corporation Platinum DAC III.

CABLES
Interconnects are TARA Labs ISM OnBoard 0.8 2m XLR, and TARA Labs ISM OnBoard 0.8 1.5m XLRs. Speaker cables are TARA Labs OMEGA 10 foot long. Digital cables are TARA Labs AES/EBU, Cardas Audio AES/EBU, and Acoustic Zen AES/EBU. Power cords are Purist Audio Auctorita (for ML 332).

ACCESSORIES
Echo Buster Panels, RSC Tube Traps. Installed dedicated AC power line using 8 GA wiring.

BOB NEILL'S SYSTEM

Primary System 

LOUDSPEAKERS
JM Reynaud Orféo Supremes on Symposium Sveltes. JM Reynaud Offrande Supreme, V2's. JMR Bliss and Bliss Silvers on JMR Magic Stands. Audio Note E/SPe HE's on lead & sand filled Audio Note stands.

ELECTRONICS
Crimson CS710 solid state preamp and CDS640 solid state monoblocks Audio Note M6/ Phono - tubed, single-ended preamplifier, Audio Note P3 Silver Signature - 9 watt, SET stereo amp with 300B's. Audio Note OTO SE Signature 10 watt single ended EL84 integrated amp; Blue Circle BC 30000 II GZpz tubed preamp; BC 204-KQ hybrid 150 watt stereo amplifier. Blue Circle FtTH 2 KQ 100 watt hybrid integrated.

SOURCES
Audio Note CDT 4 transport. Blue Circle BC 501ob LOC dac. Audio Note Dac 4.1x Balanced Signature; Audio Note TT3 Half reference turntable, Audio Note AN-1s/Sogon arm, lOGold MC cartridge and L4 step-up transformer. Blue Circle BC 703 phonostage.

CABLES
Crimson interconnects and speaker cable. Audio Note Sogon and Sootto interconnects, Audio Note Sogon 40/40 speaker cable.

ACCESSORIES
Mapleshade Samson equipment rack and amp slabs.

Room: 18 feet x 29 feet. Ceiling slopes from 11 feet at speaker end to 8 feet at the other. Floor is concrete slab covered by oak with an 8 x 10 area rug in front of the speakers. Brick wall on the listener's left, floor to ceiling books on the right. Wall behind speakers is floor to ceiling glass, with (seldom used) drapes. AN Speakers are in corners toed in to meet one meter in front of listener. Reynauds sit 3.5 feet from wall behind them, 4.5 feet from side walls, and 9 feet apart, pointed directly at listener

Room: 12 x 12 "study" with 8 foot ceiling. Books floor to ceiling on listener's right, drywall on listener's left. Laminate flooring over concrete slab. Area rugs. Windows behind speakers covered by drapes.

Secondary System

LOUDSPEAKERS
JM Reynaud Duets on JMR Magic Stands; Reynaud Offrande Supremes.

ELECTRONICS
Blue Circle FtTH - 95 watt hybrid integrated amplifier. Blue Circle SBT - tubed preamp/SBM 50 watt solid state monoblocks.

SOURCES
Same as Primary System, but with Audio Note CD4.1x planned.

CABLES
Audio Note AN-Vx interconnects, Lexus speaker cable.

ACCESSORIES
Samson equipment rack.

Room: 12 x 12 "study" with 8 foot ceiling. Books floor to ceiling on listener's right, drywall on listener's left. Laminate flooring over concrete slab. Area rugs. Windows behind speakers covered by drapes.

BRUCE KINCH'S SYSTEM

LOUDSPEAKERS
Amphion Xenon.

ELECTRONICS
Herron VTPH-1 tube phono and VTSP-1/166 preamplifier, and a Michael Yee PA-2 amplifier. Aqvox 2 Ci Mk II phono stage , Bent Audio TAP Transformer Volume Control, Bel Canto e.One M300 monoblock amplifiers.

SOURCES
Nottingham Analogue Spacedeck, Rega Planar 3, Thorens 121, and Logic turntables. Lyra Lydian Beta, van den Hul MC-10, and Grado Sonata cartridges. Modified Denon 2910 CD/SACD/DVD player.

CABLES
JPS, van den Hul, Nordost Heimdahl, and Reality Cable interconnects. Eichmann Express 6 II, Nordost Red Dawn II speaker cables.

ACCESSORIES
An accumulation of the usual bricks, mats, cones and pucks.

GARY L. BEARD'S SYSTEM

Main System

LOUDSPEAKERS
Omega Super HempTone speakers and custom Skylan speakers stands (in for review), and an REL Strata III Subwoofer.

ELECTRONICS
Larry Moore 300B Monoblock amps, Updated Eico HF-86 amp, AudioTropic Moebius preamplifier, and a George Wright WPP100C phono-stage.

SOURCES
Music Hall MMF-9 Turntable with Project Carbon arm and Maestro MC Cartridge, George Wright Step-up Transformer, and a Marantz CC65SE 5 disk CD player. Squeezebox and Red Wine Audio modified Squeezebox2 music servers.

CABLES
Kimber 4TC speaker cables, Kimber Silver Streak and Hero interconnects, Final Labs interconnects, and Shunyata Sidewinder and homebrew Belden/Hubbell/Marinco power cords.

ACCESSORIES
Richard Gray Power Station 400 power conditioner, Final Labs Daruma 3II isolation, Vibrapods, Lovan Classic equipment rack, DIY points, ceramic cable supports, and various homebrew isolation tweaks.

Multi-channel Computer Room System

LOUDSPEAKERS
Hsu VT-12 Ventriloquist Speaker System, and a Hsu SFT-2 Subwoofer.

ELECTRONICS
Panasonic SA-XR50 Digital Receiver.

SOURCES
Pioneer 578A UDP.

CABLES
Acoustic Research IC's and West Penn commercial speaker cabling. Monster Toslink digital cable.

PC running XP Pro playing Apple Lossless files from a Maxtor 300 gig HDD through a Terratec 6Fire DMX Soundcard via Toslink digital connection to the Panasonic receiver, or streaming wirelessly to a remote Slim Devices Squeezebox connected via Coax to the Yamaha DSP-A1 through a Niles speaker switcher for whole house sound. Pretty cool!

Home Theater and Whole House System

LOUDSPEAKERS
Mix and Match Mini-monitor Speaker systems: Infinity SAT/SUB, PSB, Polk Audio, Mirage Omnisats, Phase Technology SAT/SUB.

ELECTRONICS
Yamaha DSP-A1 receiver and a Yamaha TX-950 tuner.

SOURCES
Sony DVP-S7700ES DVD player

CABLES
Radio Shack IC's and Belden oxygen-free speaker cabling

ACCESSORIES
Monster Power Strip

My main system is located on the short wall of a 19' x 11.5' family room. In 2006, I had Vinnie Rossi of Red Wine Audio modify my Squeezebox 2 and it is now my main digital source. Also in 2006, I saw my first serious action with a soldering iron, as I took on the challenge to rebuild a 1959 Eico HF-86 with the help of Jim McShane (http://pages.prodigy.net/jimmcshane/) and Jay Waxler (Harmony Audio of Bloomington, Indiana). The Eico's body is a bit ugly, but it sounds terrific driving my Omega Superhemps!

I am truly excited to now own a pair of Larry Moore 300B amps. Quite unfortunately, they are currently being reworked by yours truly due to a serious mishap with a certain shipping company. They will recover from their injuries soon and be back on the playing field in time for next season. My limited, yet fulfilling entry into DIY really has piqued my interest and I am really looking forward to building an amp from ground up at some point. When I do, you can be sure I will document my journey.

The little multi-channel system that resides in my office has really opened my eyes to the potential of the format, whether it is SACD, DVD-A, or some other high quality form. My three-year experiment with music servers, has shown me the true potential of that method of playback and I believe strongly that most audiophiles will eventually use some form of computer-driven digital playback media in the not-too-distant future.

Listening to music is really my first audio love and I enjoy the majority of musical genres, especially bluegrass, American roots, western swing, jazz, classical, and folk music. However, good old rock and roll is still my first love. I appreciate your support as I endeavor to write entertaining prose about my experiences with audio. Thanks and rock on!

JIM MEROD'S SYSTEM

LOUDSPEAKERS
Acoustic Zen Crescendos, Genesis G7.2Ps, Tetra Manhattans (also: Apogee Stages, SP Tech Time Piece 1.2s, Vandersteen 2Ce-modified, Acoustic Zen Adagios, von Schweikert VCL-15 monitor reference and sub), Silverline Minuets.

ELECTRONICS
McCormack 125 Platinum Full-Rev Edition, plus McCormack VRE-1 preamplifier Nuforce P-9 mono blocks, Birdland Odeon-Ag 24-192/SACD Upsampling DAC, Audio Research SP-8 (Dahong Seeto version) preamplifier, Nuforce P-9 mono blocks, KR VT600-MK tube mono blocks, McCormack 0.5 high-mod amplifier.

SOURCES
Tascam HR-45 eight channel portable recording unit, Alesis 9600 MasterLink 24-96 digital mastering recorder, Tascam RA1000 DSD hard disc recorder, LINN LP-12 turntable (Grado Sonata cartridge) with modified Audio Research PH-1 phono stage NuForce Edition OPPO BDP-93 universal disc player, OPPO DV 970HD, Denon 1650-AR, Pioneer Elite DV-45A, Samsung DVD R135, Tascam RW750 Pro CD Recorder.

CABLES
Acoustic Zen MC-Squared, Magnan digital RCA, Silverline Alan Yun Special Edition balanced digital, Stealth Varidig, Stealth power cord, Acoustic Zen Absolute, Gargantua, Krakatoa, and Tsunami power cords, VH Audio Flavor 4, Kubala-Sosna Elation, Emotion and Studio Reference, Stealth Meta-carbon and Stealth Indra limited edition, Genesis Absolute Fidelity, van den Hull Two carbon and van den Hul The Rock, hybrid, Acoustic Zen Matrix and Silver Reference, Duende, Soundstring Gen II XLR, RCA, & speaker cables, Magnan Silver-Bronze, Silversmith Silver, Analysis Plus Ultra Plus, Wireworld Eclipse III, Bogdan Silver Spirit, Silverline Alan Yun Special Edition balanced digital, Stealth Varidig, Kubala-Sosna Elation and Emotion speaker cables, Acoustic Zen Absolute speaker cables, Stealth Dream speaker cables.

HEADPHONES 
Grado GS1000 headphones, Sennheiser 650s, AKG 1000 and AKG 701.

ACCESSORIES
Audience AdeptResponse 12 outlet power conditioner and Magnan ultra power strip.

SASHA MATSON'S SYSTEM

LOUDSPEAKERS
PMC FB1i.

ELECTRONICS
Cary Audio CAD 805 Anniversary Edition Triode monoblock amplifiers, Cary Audio SLP98P preamplifier.

SOURCES
VPI Scoutmaster w/ Dynavector Karat 17D3 moving coil cartridge and a Cary Audio 308T CD Player. Victor Model V/IV internal horn one-spring Victrola record player- model year 1914.

CABLES
AudioQuest Mont Blanc DBS Speaker cables, AudioQuest Sky DBS interconnects, and Hudson Audio Technology power cords.

ACCESSORIES
VPI HW-16.5 record cleaning machine, VPI Magic Brick, Custom equipment racks by Michael Green Audio, Monster Power Reference Center, Gingko Cloud 10 & 11 isolation platform, Stillpoint isolation cones. Cable Elevators. Ringmat. Hop Kiln Zinfandel, Hendricks Gin, Knob Creek Bourbon.

ALBERT PORTER'S SYSTEM

LOUDSPEAKERS
Dali Megaline with custom crossover (above). (Two) JL Audio Fathom F212 buffered by JFET Trans Audio Design from XLR out of Alnic preamp. JL is set for 30Hz at 24 DB per octave so they are active in the region where the Dali bass rolls off.

ELECTRONICS
Allnic L400 line stage and Allnic H3000 phono stage. Trans Audio Design custom tube crossover for Dali Megaline, replacing the original solid state factory unit. Two pairs of the VTL 750 Ref mono blocks powering the four sections of the Dali Megaline.

SOURCES
Technics SP10 MK3 with my (co-designed) Rosewood Panzerholz plinth and twin tonearms. One is SME 312S with Koetsu Coralstone, second is Micro Seiki MAX 282 with Air Tight Supreme. I also have a Shure V15VxMR and I have the new Lyra Atlas on order. Wave Kinetics NVS turntable fitted with Talea II tone arm and Air Tight Supreme cartridge sitting on NVS isolation platform. MK3 turntables is fitted with Stillpoints SS Ultras and sits on Vibraplane 2212-01 supported by custom built 6061 aircraft alloy stand I designed and had built by Bob at Sound Anchor. Open reel tape via Studer A810 custom rebuild at Studer USA, Nashville and has it’s own Vibraplane 2212-01. Movies via Oppo BDP 95 into Panasonic 65” Plasma. Digital via Mach 2Music (Mac Mini) with solid state drive into Ayre QB-9 DAC. Audioquest Diamond USB and Firewire cables. Software is Amarra Pro and Pure Music. Controlled from iPad 2 and iPhone using Apple Remote.

CABLES
Purist Audio Design 25^th Anniversary 100% silver for all interconnect, speaker and AC cables.

ACCESSORIES
Stillpoints Ultras under crossover, preamp, VTL 750s and Technics MK3. Two record cleaning machines. A pair of Audio Desk ultrasonic with Audio Desk cleaning solution in one and lab grade water (rinse only) in the other.

Home Theatre System

Dali Ikon Vocal 2 for dialogue, B&W Signature 7 Nautilus (in wall) for side channels with Sony Grand Wega 55" HDTV moved between Megalines (ONLY) for movies. 

Construction by Advanced Environmental Concepts from plans by Russ Burger Design Group. Acoustical treatment applied to all vertical surfaces, including ceiling where it vaults to second story level. Walls are 5 layers thick, floor is lam beams with double tongue and groove epoxy laminate plus 1" of concrete and then finished with Multicolor Indian Slate. Special wire trays for all cables are under the pier and beam and accessible from panels behind my equipment when swaps are necessary.

I have two utility company electrical transformers feeding my home. I am wired for 3 phase 240 and have 14 dedicated circuits fed from a 750 amp trans-socket commercial meter for the audio system alone. Also have provision for European equipment via three dedicated 240 volt runs at front and amp positions in the room.

There is full floor to ceiling RPG diffusers on the walls behind the speakers. Acoustical fiberglass treatment an all surfaces except rear wall, finished by DesignTex acoustical cloth locked into place with Whisper Walls rail system.

My finished room passes for a traditional (untreated) living room with lightly textured, painted sheetrock walls. Happily, it retains the appearance of a traditional living room rather than an "alter to hi fi" design.

Although my degree's in fine art, the only work I could find after graduation was neither creative nor rewarding. A high end audio store that I visited almost every week seemed like paradise to me. I loved listening to music on their tube electronics and learning about each system they had set up. One day while speaking with the owner I remarked that working there would be a dream job, and to my surprise they offered me a sales position. That high end audio store and the three that followed exposed me to every major product in high end audio. The last store was mine, supported by an investment group with me controlling buying and day to day operation.

Discussion came up from a major rep firm about me representing them in a five state area. I accepted the job calling on high end audio stores, offering technical support for Infinity Systems, ESS, Sennheiser, MB of Germany, Ampex, JBL Commercial, Crown International and Yamaha. I found relief during the long hours on the road experimenting with my camera. I captured images of people, the stores I visited and interesting scenery I discovered along the way.

When calling on a high end audio store in Dallas, a fellow graduate from my university recognized me. He was the creative director for a local advertising agency. After much discussion over the next few weeks, I was offered a position as their in house photographer. This agency and photography received all my devotion for two years, and suddenly my work became recognized. The owner of the best photo studio in Dallas, offered me a position shooting for the Neiman Marcus Christmas Book and Dr. Pepper catalogues.

Soon my freelance work was blooming, including into a multi year contract with Southland Corp., providing people, real estate and annual report images. I spent 11 years doing the in flight magazine for Southwest Airlines, and well as advertising photography for Interstate Battery, Exxon/Mobil, Quest Medical, Bank of America, Redman Industries, GAP, Raytheon, Fidelity Investments and Texas Instruments.

I never lost my passion for audio, soliciting assignments from audio manufacturers at CES . To date, my advertising images have appeared in print and magazines representing Atma-Sphere, Audioquest, Purist Audio, PSE, Versa Dynamics, Sound-Lab, Counterpoint, Aria Audio, Sound-Lab, Essence, Musical Fidelity, Aesthetix, Benz, Basis, Graham, Sound Anchor, McCormack and Maxxhorn. 

My wife and I have been together for thirty five years and have one son, John who is the love of my life. I host a group of music loving friends that meet at my home every Tuesday night to spin LPs and CDs. I've hosted this without fail, for 29 years and I have learned much from visitors that I share music with. Most in my group are audiophiles and all are music lovers. Some are solid state guys, some are tube guys. This leads to diversity in equipment testing and keeps me experimenting with new ideas.

My photography website:

http://www.albertporterphoto.com

FRANCISCO DURAN'S SYSTEM

LOUDSPEAKERS
Tonian Labs TL-D1 Loudspeakers with custom cabinet with real wood Bamboo finish.

ELECTRONICS
Margules U280SC Class A tube amplifier (new Version), Marantz PM-15S1G Reference Series Integrated amplifier ("Signature Edition" upgraded by The Upgrade Company), Antique Sound Labs MG-SPM25DT SE mono block tube amplifiers modified by Response Audio, Monarchy Audio SM-70 Class-A amplifier.

SOURCES
Marantz SA-15S2 Reference Series SACD/CD player ("Signature Edition" upgraded by The Upgrade Company), Kuzma Stabi S turntable, Stogi arm, Audioquest 4004i cartridge modified by van den Hul, Sony BDP-S350 Blue Ray Player, Onkyo Model T4 Servo Locked Stereo tuner. Stock MM/MC Phono preamplifier in Marantz SA-15S2.

CABLES
JPS Labs Superconductor Q Series interconnects and speaker cables, Power AC+ , GPA2, and Digital AC power cords, Analysis Plus Solo Crystal Oval interconnects, Oval 12 speaker cables, Soundstring Tricormaxiel speaker cable, PC 30A and 10A power cords, and Octaphase "Alpha Series and Omega Pro Line" interconnects. Oyaide power cord, PS Audio C-4 power cord., Monster Cable M Series HDMI 1.3 cable, Parts Express HDMI cable.

ACCESSORIES
Can't Live Without's; Gingko Audio Cloud Ten (2), Vibrapod Isolators (various sizes), and Cones, Ultra Systems' Hi-Fi Tuning Fuses, (various sizes peppered throughout my gear), Ultra Systems Cathedral Sound Panels, (4), Custom made gear racks for turntable and gear. Support staff; Balanced Power Technologies BPT 4SE power unit, Brick Wall Series Mode Surge filter (2 outlet), Quiet Line Parallel Power Line Filters, Bybee filters (inside ASL amps), Nitty Gritty record cleaning machine, PS Audio Zero Static record brush, Flitz Metal Polish, Caig ProGold, and Deoxit, Mondial Antenna Ground Isolation Circuit (for incoming Time Warner cable), Walker SST Extreme, Mapleshade Mikro-smooth CD polishing kit and Ionoclast Ion Generator, Bright Star Isonodes, EAT Cool Dampers, Hal O Rings, Cardas, Clearaudio, Hi-Fi News Test LP's, Smoke On The Water, Senor Coconut and his Orchestra used as test LP, generic ferrite rings, ERS paper, Custom made wooden cable lifters by Mr. Clark senior, Ceramic Insulator cable lifters, J&J, EI, Sovtek/Electro Harmonix, Ruby, SED, Jan Phillips, Sylvania Electron Tubes, Amoeba Music Store record bag!

Shamelessly good and cheap music system

Fatman iTube integrated amplifier, Sony Play Station 1, Panasonic DVD S53 DVD Player, PS Audio Digital Link III, (soon to be used with my PC) LAT International digital cable, Supra Line 2.5 speaker wire, Kimber Cable Hero interconnects, Insignia NS-B2111 loudspeakers, Lovan speaker stands, Sony NWZ-E438F Digital Media Player (MP-3, 8Gig), Original Master Headphone Amplifier (not shown), AKG K300 headphones (not shown), Ikea Expedit rack. 

OK there it is and not too soon. I offer a thousand apologies for not updating this sooner. I have lived with the excellent Margules tube amp for over three years and it has never appeared in these pages other than mentioning it in reviews. It is my best amp and my workhorse. Shame on me! It will soon be replaced by the latest version Margules has to offer. Other gear have come and gone sadly without much fanfare. In the past several years I have vowed to pare down my system to a couple of integrated amplifiers and leave it at that. Ever since my review of the excellent Tonian Labs TL-D1 speakers, my attitude towards gear and recordings in general has changed significantly. I'm getting there. But boy does this hardware suck you in like the preverbal black hole! Therefore it would be real hard for me to sit here and go on and on about how much I love music. We are gear heads! We love gear! We review gear! OK we love music too.

Wife's System

Monitor Audio iDeck with a hand me down iPod loaded with R&B.

JEFF DAY'S SYSTEMS

SYSTEM 1

System 1 is my primary system for Hi-Fi reviews and tends to morph over time. This is certainly the best system I have ever owned, and I like it better than any other system I have heard, ever. For the very latest configuration see my blog. I live in a rather small & modest nuevo bungalow home, with my living room area serving as my primary listening room (it is 27'6'' inches long by 20'4'' inches wide, and with variable ceiling height from 9 to 20 feet). Room construction consists of sheet rock walls and a partial cathedral ceiling, and a concrete slab floor (carpeted). The rear of the living room behind the listening position opens to a combination kitchen/dining room, and is also open to an entryway on the right side wall. The electrical grid here provides clean and plentifully cheap power, much to the delight of local Hi-Fi buffs.

LOUDSPEAKERS
Tannoy Westminster Royal Special Editions.

ELECTRONICS
Sophia Electric 91-01 300B mono amplifiers (SE Royal Princess 300B tubes, NOS JAN Ken Rad 6SN7GT 'Black Glass'), Leben RS-100 line preamplifier, NVO SPA-II phono equalizer.

SOURCE
VPI Classic turntable with an EMT TSD-15 moving coil phono cartridge.

CABLES
Auditorium 23 bi-wire speaker cables, Sablon Audio Panatela interconnects, Acoustic Revive Single Core interconnects, Tom Evans Audio Design interconnects, Acoustic Revive Power Reference power cords, and Sablon Audio Robusto & Gran Corona power cords.

ACCESSORIES
Acoustic Revive RCI-3 Cable Insulator, RGC-24 Ground Conditioner, Ultra Low-Frequency Pulse Generator R-77, Acoustic Conditioner RWL-3, Pure Smokey Quartz Insulator RIQ-5010 and Pure Quartz Insulator RIQ-5010W, Shorting Plugs SIP-8F, RPT-2 Ultimate and RPT-4 Ultimate Power Supply Boxes, CB-1DB Receptacle Base Plate, CFRP-1F Carbon Fiber Receptacle Plate, CS-2F Outlet Stabilizer, RST-38 & TB-38 quartz under-boards, RAF-48 air floating board; VPI 16.5 Record Cleaner.

SYSTEM 2

For those who have been following my audio writing for a while, this is the system that I put together for the 'Music Lovers' series of articles way back when at 6Moons. It is a truly wonderful system to which I have now added modest video capability for both music & film fun. This 'Music Lovers' system is my benchmark for a semi-affordable system that really gets the music right, and it is a great choice for those who want to drop out of the audio equipment wars and just have fun listening to music and watching a few good movies from time-to-time. Variations on this system have won numerous mentions for superior sound & music performance at Hi-Fi shows: A Robert Deutsch favorite at Festival Sound and Image Show 2008; A John Atkinson 'Best Sound' at FSI 2008; A Stephen Mejias "Best Music of the Show" at 2009 Salon Son and Image Show; and from John Atkinson at 2009 Salon Son and Image Show; as well as quite a few more. The winning combination of Leben CS-600 and Leben CS-30EQ just keeps on winning praise, and you can read more about it here.

My 'Music Lovers' system lives in a smallish 11' L x 11' W x 9' H room, which is incidentally almost the same size as the room that Alan Shaw uses to voice his Harbeth loudspeakers in (Harbeth's may be the King of the Small Room loudspeaker). It's a really cozy little space for me to hole up in while watching a movie, or while listening to a little music, or while reading a good book. The construction is sheet rock walls, with a flat ceiling, and a concrete slab floor (carpeted). The room does double duty for reviewing to see how well equipment in for review can perform with different equipment than the main system, and in a smaller room context, which is becoming a more important consideration for many people in these days of globalization and the rising prices of living spaces.

LOUDSPEAKERS
Harbeth Super HL5 loudspeakers, Skylan SHL5 speaker stands.

ELECTRONICS
Leben CS600 vacuum tube integrated amplifier, Leben RS-30EQ phono equalizer.

SOURCES
|OPPO BDP-83 Blu-ray Player, 42-inch Philips 1080P LCD television. MacBook Air, Mhdt Labs Havana USB DAC. In the near future I am planning on adding a new entry-level turntable; perhaps the new announced VPI Traveller when it becomes available, mounted with my Clearaudio Virtuoso Wood MM phono cartridge.

CABLES
Acoustic Revive Single Core loudspeaker cables, White Lightning Moonshine DIY interconnects, Sablon Audio 'The Robusto' AC power cords.

ACCESSORIES
Acoustic Revive RD-3 Demagnetizer, RIO-5 II Minus Ion Generator.

LISTENING BIASES

I thought a thumbnail sketch of my listening biases might be helpful for interpreting and decoding my reviews. Just to alert you, my perspective is somewhat one of a minority alternate opinion in the Hi-Fi community. My hierarchy of importance is aligned more closely to how well a Hi-Fi rig plays the musical content of recordings, rather than how it 'sounds' in the more traditional audiophile 'sonic' sense.

To this end I look for timbral realism at the band level (the band's signature 'sound') and at the individual instrument level (the unique 'voices' of instruments). I want them to sound recognizably like themselves in tone and texture, so that their full tone color can develop, which I think helps lend a feeling of beauty and expressiveness to the music. I like the melody (the tune you 'whistle while you work'), harmony (treble & bass accompaniments to the melody) and rhythm (the steady beat that determines the tempo) to have a life-like flow and connectedness in how the musicians interact—just like in real life. I want dynamics (variations in loudness) to evoke that which I hear in life for an emotional connection to the melody and rhythm. Finally, I want tempo portrayed so that both the mood and speed of the music are conveyed through it, just like with music in real life.

I consider the sonic performance of a Hi-Fi rig on the non-musical artifacts of the recording process to be of value, but of less importance to me than the performance on the musical content of recordings (as above). So things like transparency (being able to 'see' into the recording), soundstage (the three dimensions of the recorded space in width, height and depth), soundspace (the acoustic 'space' of the soundstage), and imaging (the feeling of solidity and localization of instruments & musicians on the soundstage) have some importance for me, but they are not my primary focus. The musical content is.

So I like my cake (the musical content of recordings) with a little frosting (the non-musical artifacts of recordings) for a balanced taste treat. Too much frosting and not enough cake put me off. So that's me, and you might be different, but at least now you know how.

HOW I REVIEW

Given my personal take (above) on what's important to my music listening sensibilities, there's a few variables I like to keep in mind, listen for, and comment on when reviewing Hi-Fi equipment:

• How does a piece of equipment handle musical content attributes like pitch, harmony, melody, rhythm, tempo, beat, etc., (e.g. Western-style music listening attributes)?

• How does a piece of equipment handle timbral textures and colors, etc., (Eastern-style timbral listening attributes. You can learn more here.)?

• How does a piece of equipment handle detail recovery, transparency, soundspace, soundstage, imaging, layering, etc., (audiophile-style listening to non-musical recording artifacts)?

• How do the 3 categories of attributes mentioned above interact with each other to affect the overall musicality of a component or system in the sense of the music's emotional impact and level of musical involvement?

It is my hope that by offering my impressions of Hi-Fi gear performance related to these various categories of musical & sonic attributes, that you get the most comprehensive information about a component's strength & weaknesses across the spectrum of audio performance possible, and that it will help you in your own journey of attaining a musically satisfying Hi-Fi system.

ANDRE MARC'S SYSTEM

LOUDSPEAKERS
Thiel CS2.4 and Harbeth Compact 7ES3.

ELECTRONICS
Audio Research SP16 and VS55, Belles Soloist 3 and Soloist 5, McIntosh MA6600, and a Revox A722.

SOURCES
Musical Fidelity M1CDT Transport, Marantz CD5003, Squeezebox Touch with CIA VDC-SB external power supply, connected via Ethernet by Gen II Mac Mini running Snow Leopard, Western Digital and Seagate drive. Bryston BDA-1, Musical Fidelity V-DAC II, Revox A77, Kenwood KX-W8010 Cassette Deck.

CABLES
Stager Silver Solids, Kimber KCTG and Silver Streak, Transparent MM2 Plus and Super, Element Cable Silver Serenade, DH Labs White Lightening, Transparent MM2 Plus (speaker), QED Genesis Silver Spiral, Acoustic Zen Tsunami II, Transparent PowerLink, Shunyata Venom, Pangea AC-9, DH Labs Encore, ELement Cable Red Storm, PS Audio (C7), DH Labs TosLink, AES/EBU, Coax, and BNC. Kimber OPT-1 TosLink.

ACCESSORIES
Symposium Rollerblocks, Shakti Stone, Sound Anchors stands, Audience Adept Response aR6 power conditioner, Cable Pro Noisetrapper, Salamander rack.

COOKIE MARENCO'S SYSTEM

LOUDSPEAKERS
Jean Marie Reynaud - Offrande (specially modified) Stereo Pair. Jean Marie Reynaud - Offrande Surround Sound Set Plus Furioso Sub Woofer (not currently set up). Jean Marie Reynaud - Orfeos (specially modified) Stereo Pair. NHT - M60 Stereo Pair. Auratone - 5C Super sound Cube Stereo Pair. Meyers Sound - 833 Studio Reference Monitor Stereo Pair. Tannoy - SRM12B Stereo Pair (Little Reds). (not setup -- self powered Genelecs and many others that we have no room for).

ELECTRONICS
Nelson Pass - X150 (for the Stereo Offrandes and Surrounds). Nelson Pass - X3 (for the Stereo Orfeos and Offrandes in Surround). NHT - XDA (for the NHT M60's). (2) McIntosh - MC 2300 (for the Meyer's, Auratones, Tannoys). Meyer Sound - 833 Studio Monitor Pre-Amp. Emm Labs - Meitner A/D - ADC8 Converters. Emm Labs - Meitner D/A - DAC8 Mk IV Converters. Studer ADDA 2 channel Tube Converter. Emm Labs Speakerswitcher. Couple of Furman Power Conditioner.

SOURCES
24 track Analog 2" Tape Recorder - Otari MTR-90 Mk2. 24 channel Dolby SR - XP Series. Dolby SR Power supply - PS3. ½" 2 channel Analog Tape Recorder - Otari MTR-10 Modified. ¼" 2 channel Analog Tape Recorder - Otari 5050B. Sonoma Systems DSD Digital Recording System. Samplitude PCM Digital Recording System for mastering. 24 track digital recorder - Tascam MX-2424 w/ Glyph Drives. Korg - MR2000 DSD Recorder. Sony DAT - PCM-R500. Vintage Sanyo mp3 player from 1998. Marantz DV8300 CD Player. HHB BurnIT Plus - CDR 830. Sony - XA5400ES DSD Disc/SACD/ CD player. Sony Playstation 3.;

CABLES
We make our own using JMR Silver-Copper Alloy and Neutrix Ends. Bybee Bullets in the recording/mastering chain. Lots of old Mogami studio quality cable laying around that we don't use anymore.

ACCESSORIES
Sound Workshop 48 input analog console - Series 34CMF. Many vintage microphones. Millennia Media, Manley and Neve microphone preamps. Vintage efx. 3 assistants who learned how to operate the digital media and back it up.. A food dehydrator for restoration work. A french press for critical coffee making.

Room

The main listening system is my commercial recording studio. We're normally setup for stereo and occasionally surround. We move gear around to create alternate listening environments to check mixes. The Control room is 22' (long) x 16' (wide) x 12' (height). Best feature-- the view overlooking the San Francisco Bay while listening to mixes.

ART SHAPIRO'S SYSTEM

LOUDSPEAKERS
Consensus Audio Conspiracy and REL Stadium II subwoofer.

ELECTRONICS
E.A.R. 868 preamplifier and and Manley Labs Neo 250-Classic 250 monoblocks.

SOURCES
VPI HW-19 IV turntable, Graham 1.5 arm, and Grado Master Reference cartridge. Wadia WT3200 transport and Kora Hermes II DAC, Revox A77 open reel deck, Nakamichi 480 cassette deck, and a Sansui TU-919 tuner.

CABLES
Dynamic Design THB Nebula cable. Monster Sigma Retro and Monster Sigma 2000 interconnects and Kubala-Sosna Emotion> speaker cables. Tiff, Marigo, Gutwire G-Clef, Gutwire C-Clef, and Gutwire Power Clef AC, and MIT Z II power cords.

ACCESSORIES
Brickwall PW8R15AUD power filter and dedicated AC lines.

VICTOR CHAVIRA'S SYSTEM

LOUDSPEAKERS
Marten Design Miles II.

ELECTRONICS
Magnum Dynalab MD-209 receiver and a EAR 834P phonostage.

SOURCES
Oppo BDP-83, Apple Mini-Mac and a LINN Axiss turntable with the Adikt cartridge.

CABLES
Nordost Quattro-Fil interconnects, Analysis Plus Oval 9 speaker cables, Locus Design Group Axis USB cable, and El Dorado power cords.

ACCESSORIES
Pi Audio UberBUSS power conditioner, Vibrapods, Townshend 3D sink Table, and Echo Busters.

JOHN BRAZIER'S SYSTEM

LOUDSPEAKERS
Verity Audio Parsifal Ovations.

ELECTRONICS
Bryston 28B-SST2 and Sonic Frontiers Power 2 amplifiers, and Pass Labs X1 preamplifier.

SOURCES
iTunes, MacBook, Licie Ex. HD, Locus Designs Nucleus USB, Sonicweld USB Converter, Cary 306 Pro CD/SACD/DAC.

CABLES
Full compliment of Crystal Cables CrystalConnect Reference cables, power cords, interconnects and speaker wire.

ACCESSORIES
Configured Zirconia by Audiav, Audio Magic, Mini Stealth.

Secondary System

LOUDSPEAKERS
Sennhieser HD600 Headphones with Cardas replacement cable.

ELECTRONICS
Consonance Cyber-20 Tube Headphone Amplifier.

SOURCES
Rega Planet as transport, Perpetual Technologies P-3A DAC.

CABLES
Custom Spec'd 75ohm silver digital Cable from Acoustic Zen.

ACCESSORIES
Audio Selection Cones under CDT, bag of Maine's Finest Oatmeal on top of CDT.

TOM CAMPBELL'S SYSTEM

LOUDSPEAKERS
Reynaud Orfeo; Harbeth Compact 7-ES

ELECTRONICS
Coda/Continuum Unison integrated amplifier, EAR 834P tube phone preamplifier.

SOURCES
Nottingham Spacedeck turntable and tonearm, Grado Reference Statement cartridge, Bel canto PL-2 universal digital player, vintage Luxman AM/FM tuner.

CABLES
Audio Note Lexus speaker cables; MAC interconnects and power cords

KARL LOZIER'S SYSTEM

LOUDSPEAKERS
Genesis G-6.1 with integral dual Servo controlled 12" subwoofers each cabinet.

ELECTRONICS
Herron VTSP-3A preamplifier. Pair of Herron M1 (solid-state) amplifiers. Herron VTPH-1MM phonostage.

SOURCES
Allen Wright's SACD/CD Players VSEI upgraded SCD-1 Sony, level 7+Uber Clock; Sony SCD777-ES Level 5+, Sony XA5400 ES VSEI upgrade +Lite Clock. Turntable: VPI-MKll with SME IV Tonearm + Grado Reference cartridge.

CABLES
Interconnects: Kimber Select KS-1030, KS-1021, Herron Special. AC Power cords: Audio Purist Design's 20th Anniversary, Kimber PK-10. Loudspeaker cables:Kimber Select KS-3038.

ACCESSORIES
IsoNodes, SSC pucks, Iso-Blocks, Denon CDR-W1500 CD/HDCD player/recorder, Front-end components fed by Shunyata Hydra 8 power conditioner and FIM 880 AC power receptacle. Welborne Labs X1 Gatekeepers.

BACKUP SYSTEM
106 year old mono only system: Edison Home Phonograph cylinder player model CH16002.

The listening room allows only one possible setup arrangement. The area allows use of a 10-foot wall to backup the loudspeakers, though that end of the room is 15 feet wide with 5 feet being the entrance area. The first nine feet of the room therefore is 15 feet wide and then expands to well over 20 feet wide and 34 feet long (total). Therefore the loudspeakers "see" more than 700 square feet. Walls are old time lathe and plaster, concrete floor with Berber type carpeting. The room supports extended deep bass response and the response is electronically limited by manufacturing design to 16 Hertz, and extends fully and solidly to just below 20 Hertz in this room and is adjustable in all-important aspects including phase. They are rather svelte appearing and top off at only 42 inches tall and 11 inches wide with above average sensitivity. They are basically dipole radiators. Later models, such as the 500, 501 and so on contain one less bass driver per side while maintaining the almost unmatched (for its size) bass response and have eliminated the expensive titanium dome midrange driver, going to a more conventional cone. The Herron electronics, together and separately, come very close to being neutral. The solid-state units have no hint of common transistor edginess and the tubed units have seemingly no added bass fullness or bloom. The Cary player correctly decodes the under appreciated HDCD recordings by Reference Recordings and Dorian. I often question if the best SACDs and DVD-As surpass the better HDCDs by Reference Recordings comparing in stereo only, the HDCDs are not multichannel. Because I usually do a great deal of music reviewing, and most truly new recordings are digital, I find myself listening far more to CDs, HDCDs, SACDs and DVD-As than vinyl. I usually agree with those who believe that a great LP played on a fine-tubed system can almost magically envelope the listener with unsurpassed musical enjoyment. The very finest and in general the most recent digital efforts, are quite excellent and I could easily believe that in most measurable ways, are actually more accurately reproducing the microphones' outputs.

As time goes on, I become more convinced that to have an excellent recording and front-end components allows some moderately priced amplifiers and loudspeakers to be surprisingly satisfying. Please, make every effort to support the truly new recording efforts by companies such as RR, Dorian, Telarc, Chesky, AIX, Delos and others. Without them, improvements in source material will become scarce and the huge corporations will not be stimulated to record and release much of any significance for our musical enjoyment.

HOME THEATER SYSTEM (Multi-channel in a separate room)

LOUDSPEAKERS
Nola Minis, Napoleons, and T-Bolt III subwoofer.

ELECTRONICS
Denon AVR 3805 Receiver.

SOURCES
Esoteric DV50 Universal player and Toshiba SD9200 DVD player. JVC HD-52G rear projection and D-ILA (LCoS) 1280x720 pixels.

CABLES
Interconnects by Kimber, Harmonic Technology, and DiMarzio. Loudspeaker cables are mainly Kimber's Monocle X. AC power cords by DiMarzio, Harmonic Technology, and Kimber.

ACCESSORIES
Isolation platform and feet by Bright Star Audio. FM only system: McIntosh MR 77 FM tuner and McIntosh MA 6100 preamplifier plus NHT SuperOne loudspeakers. Welborne Labs Gatekeeper X1 and PS Audio Ultimate Outlet.

BACKUP SYSTEM
Gramaphone Company's 80 year old His Master's Voice record player family model with large horn and crank.

JOHN ACTON'S SYSTEM

LOUDSPEAKERS
Monitor Audio Gold GX50.

ELECTRONICS
Cayin A-55T integrated amplifier.

SOURCES
Simaudio MOON CD5.3 CD player.

CABLES
Kimber Kable Hero AG interconnect, Kimber Kable 4TC speaker cables, Audience powerChord 'e' power cords.

ACCESSORIES
Audience aR2p-TO power conditioner, ASC Panel Traps, Solidsteel 6.2 Audio Table, Sanus Granite Foundation speaker stands.

ED KOBESKY'S SYSTEM

LOUDSPEAKERS
Spendor S5e

ELECTRONICS
PrimaLuna ProLogue Two integrated amplifier, Rotel RQ-970 phonostage.

SOURCES
Rega Planar 3 turntable with Linn Basik LVV tonearm and Denon DL-110 cartridge, Rega Planet CD player, Sony DVP-NC875V DVD/SACD player, Pioneer DV-563A universal player.

CABLES
MonsterCable Interlink 400, 250 and 200 interconnects, AudioQuest Alpha Snake interconnects, MonsterCable XP speaker wire, others.

ACCESSORIES
Record Doctor II record cleaning machine with Disc Doctor brushes, Sennheiser HD580 headphones, Rotel RLC-900 line conditioner.

My main listening room is approximately 9' x 9' with 8' ceilings. It occupies a spare bedroom on the second floor of my rented townhouse, which is located in a quiet suburban neighborhood. Shared walls necessitated the placement of my rear-ported speakers nearest an interior wall. By coincidence, it's a load-bearing wall, allowing for unusually stable equipment placement. I can walk around while an LP is playing, leading me to believe above-average construction standards were applied.

Given the square-shaped room layout, setup by the 'rule of thirds' is impossible. As a compromise, I selected 10' speaker cables to allow plenty of flexibility with on-the-fly speaker placement. Depending on the electronics and music, I may place the speakers closer to the rear walls or farther away, but usually toed in to some degree. (My long, rectangular living room— equipped with an overachieving Denon stereo receiver and DVD player—is also used to audition speakers when they can't be properly accommodated in the main listening room.)

ROGER S. GORDON'S SYSTEM

LOUDSPEAKERS
VMPS RM 30 floor standing speakers (-3dB at 37Hz) with VMPS Large subwoofer upgraded to VSS specifications (-0dB at 20Hz). VMPS Ambiance Tweeters.

ELECTRONICS
deHavilland Aries 845-G single ended triode mono block amplifiers on main speakers with two Dayton Loudspeaker 500 watt plate amps (class AB) with variable crossover and single band parametric equalizer on dual voice coil subwoofer. Herron Audio VTPH-2 phonostage and VTSP-3 preamplifier, VacuumState JLTI phonostage, and H.H. Scott 130 stereo preamp with selectable phono equalization.

SOURCES
Turntables: Nakamichi TX-1000 and Garrard 401 with skeletal plinth. Tonearms: Schroeder Reference, Moerch DP-6 with Teres Audio VTA Adapter and red dot and blue dot 12" armwands, and VPI 12.5 with two armwands. Stereo MC cartridges: Van den Hul Colibri Mk.2 XPW and Condor XGM, Miyajime Shilabe, Nakamichi MC1000, ZYX UNIverse S-SB, and three Audio Technica OC9/II cartridges. Stereo MM cartridges: Empire ERD-9 and Empire 750 LTD. Mono MC cartridges: ZYX R1000 AiryM-X-SB and Denon 102. Sony SCD-1 with Modwright Absolute Truth Mod, plus SuperClock II, Superclock II Power Supply, and Richard Kern's Transport Mod.

CABLES
Bent Audio phono cable that includes terminal box for swapping resistors to change cartridge loading, Purist Audio Venustas and Audio Magic Sorcerer interconnects for connecting equipment to preamp, Harmonic Technology Cyberlight P2A with battery Pack IV for connecting preamp to amps, and Audio Magic Sorcerer bi-wire loudspeaker cables.

LINE CONDITIONERS AND AC
Sound Application XE-12 cryoed with Elrod Power Systems 3 Signature power cord and Audio Magic Stealth Matrix with Audio Magic Illusion 4D power cord. Power cords: Audio Magic Excalibur and Illusion 4D, Coincident, Purist Audio Design Venustas, Silent Source, and Wireworld Electra III+.

ACCESSORIES
Room Treatment: Listening room designed by Rives Audio utilizing materials from RPG, Inc. and self constructed ceiling panels designed by Rives Audio (See PFO Issue 21). Acoustic Science Corporation Tube Traps used to control bass and diffusion (See PFO Issue 32). Acoustic Revive RR-77 with King Rex power supply. Vibration Control: Nakamichi Turntable - Lead Balloon stand with the legs filled with a mixture of kitty litter, sand, and lead shot, with 3" maple butcher-block, and Stillpoints supporting turntable plus Harmonix TU-812Mk2 record weight and TU-800EX turntable mat. Garrard 401 - Polycrystal Rack with Herbies Audio Lab Grunge-Buster platter mat. Electronics - Black Diamond Racing Cones under phonostage and pre-amp; Silent Running Audio 3" VR isolation stands under Sony SCD-1 and deHavilland tube amps. Tubes - Herbies Audio Lab HAL-O tube dampers on all vacuum tubes. EMI and RFI Control: Bybee speaker filters, two pairs.

GREG MALTZ'S SYSTEM

LOUDSPEAKERS
B&W Nautilus 802 (L&R), B&W Nautilus HTM1 (center), B&W Nautilus 805 (rears).

ELECTRONICS
VAC Phi Beta 110i integrated amplifier, YBA Audio Refinement Multi-5 five channel amplifier, Integra DTC-9.8 pre/pro, Pioneer KRP-600M plasma.

SOURCES
VPI Scout with JMW-9 tonearm and Aurum Beta S cartridge, Classe Omega SACD-2, Sony Playstation 3.

CABLES
Alphacore Goertz MI2 bi-wire speaker cables from VAC amp to 802D speakers, Alphacore Goertz MI1 bi-wire speaker cables from YBA amp to center and surround speakers, Alphacore Goertz Silver Sapphire interconnects used between preamplifier, each amplifiers, and front end, Monster Z optical HDMI cable from PS3 to Integra preamplifier, Electraglide State of the Union power cords

ACCESSORIES
PS Audio Premier Power Plant, Black Diamond Racing kit for VPI Scout isolation, Vistek Aurios Media Isolation Bearings under the SACD-2, Bellogetti AVS1000 rack, FS Nautilus 805 stands for side speakers, Svetlana KT-88 tubes for VAC Phi.

Without enough room to adequately indulge my hobbies, the goal with this system is to achieve a home theater that sacrifices as little as possible in terms of my criteria for high quality audio, whether two-channel, 5.1 or 7.1 multichannel. Those criteria are mainly oodles of detail and solid imaging and sound staging, I like a forward, somewhat in-your-face presentation, but with good front-to-back imaging that closely mirrors intimate, live listening experiences. My favorite genre is small-ensemble jazz of the '60s, but I listen to an incredibly wide variety of material, from Bach to the Beastie Boys to Black Sabbath. My favorite composer is probably Mahler. I have a passion for films as well as music—thus the plasma display—and sometimes indulge in video games. So for the time being I'm using a Playstation 3 as a Blu-ray player. Even on this modest source, I can achieve a seamless surround field controlled by the Integra preamp, in which the VAC Phi amp, set to "home theater" mode and decoupled from its internal preamp, drives the front L/R speakers and the YBA five channel amp drives the center and surrounds. This way I can explore multichannel SACD and the high-resolution flavors of PCM afforded by Blu-ray.

MICHAEL MERCER'S SYSTEM

LOUDSPEAKERS
Zu Audio Omen Defs, Reference 3A Dulcets, System Audio SA2Ks (master version – internally wired w/ Nordost Valhalla), Audioengine A2s (powered desktop speakers), Audioengine A5+ (powered speakers), Nola Thunderbolt IIIa subwoofer.

ELECTRONICS
Benchmark DAC1(on-loan), Acurus L10 Line-stage, Ray Samuels F-117 Nighthawk Battery-Powered phonostage, Classe Audio DR-9 amplifier (w/ mods to power supply, caps), Hafler DH-220 (back-up amp), Wadia 151PowerDACmini, CEntrance Audiophile Desktop System.

SOURCES
Macbook running Amarra 2.4, Wadia i170Transport, Pioneer Elite BD27 Blu Ray (acting as CD transport, Luxman TX-99 Turntable w/ Ortofon 2m Blue cartridge, Music Hall USB-1 Turntable w/ Ortofon Red 2m cartridge, AppleTV (used as media server – digital output to DAC), Sonicweld Diverter (24/96) USB to SPDIF interface, CEntrance DACmini CX, Audioengine D2 24-bit Wireless DAC, Music Hall DAC25.2 (w/ Sovtek tube), StyleAudio CARAT-TOPAZ USB DAC/head amp, Audioengine D1 USB DAC/head amp.

CABLES
Nordost Heimdall interconnects, Nordost Heimdall speaker cables, Nordost Valhalla SPDIF, Nordost Blue Heaven USB, Black Cat Cable XV-Ultra SPDIF, Black Cat Cable Morpheus interconnects, Moon Audio Silver Dragon optical*, Moon Audio Silver Dragon IEM cables* (for JHAudio JH-13 Pros), Locus Design CORE SPDIF, Locus Design Nucleus USB, Locus Design AXIS USB, Nordost Vishnu Power cables, Nordost Magus Power cables, Nordost Purple Flare Power Cables (Figure-8 for AppleTV & BD27), Furutech Pure Transmission Power Cable (G-320ag-18 – Figure8).

ACCESSORIES
Nordost Qb8 Power Distribution System, Nordost Qx2, Nordost THOR Power Distribution System, Cryo-parts Power Distribution Blocks (2), Silver Circle Audio Juice Box One, JHAudio JH-13Pro in-ear monitors, Grado SR-80s. Sennheisser HD-490, Sony MDR-7506 (used for DJing), Audioengine AW1 wireless audio adaptor, Bright Star Bases, Nordost SORT KONES, Eben Cold Rays points, KAB iso pods, Black Ravioli's (Stickies), Custom Equipment Racks by VisionaireFX (solid Oak, w/ MDF shelves?.

Project Studio 2

Numark TTX-1100s decks (temp – Technics 1200’s in storage) w/ Ortofon P-mount cartridges, 1 Pioneer DJM-300 S (2 channel ALL analog DJ Mixer). 20 channel TASCAM console. Melos Rack-mount "Digital Drive Bitstream Processor". Nola Mini monitors. McIntosh MAC 1700 (refurbished—belonged to my grandfather). Bryston 4B amplifier. Eichmann Express 6 speaker cable and interconnects. Headroom Total Bithead. DAC/headphone amplifier. Custom PC running Cubase, Wavelab, Reason, and other software and a bunch of vintage studio outboard gear rackmounted.

We finally have a dedicated listening room! We have been living with the same system for a while now (excluding stuff that I've reviewed, that I loved so much I had to have it). Our system is the result of many searches and trial and error sessions. Once we (my wifey and I) reach a point where we are constantly excited by our system we stop shopping around all the time, and just bask in its magic. We have come to love the sound of our system, and while I still listen to new stuff all the time as part of the addiction (and the business), I'm usually just exploring to see where the art is going. I also do a great deal of listening in the little office space where I write, and that gear changes often.

ELECTRONICS
Krell KAV-250a amplifier and a Balanced Audio Technology VK-3iX (with remote control and MC phono stage options), Black Cube SE phono stage.

SOURCES
Basis Debut Mk. V turntable, Tri-planar VI tonearm (with Discovery cable wired directly to preamp), Lyra Helikon phono cartridge, NAD 4155 AM/FM tuner. Digital sources vary, currently use units by Arcam and Oppo.

CABLES
Various models from Virtual Dynamics and MIT.

ACCESSORIES
PS Audio Power Plant A/C Regenerators: P600 for front end, P300 for turntable, Chang Lightspeed ISO 9300 power conditioner, Arcici Suspense Rack, Winds stylus pressure gauge, StaticMaster photo negative brush, Lyra SPT stylus cleaner, Last stylus cleaner, Last Stylast stylus treatment, Nitty Gritty 3 record cleaning machine, Premier! vinyl pre-cleaner, Audioquest and VPI record brushes to apply record cleaning fluid.

Tom Lyle's associated gear second system:

ELECTRONICS
PrimaLuna ProLogue 6 monoblocs and a Balanced Audio Technology VK-3i/X, Jeff Roland Research Coherence One.

SOURCES
AR FM Tuner.

CABLES
Various models from Cardas, Monster, and Kimber.

ACCESSORIES
Panamax 5510 power conditioner.

ANDY SCHAUB'S SYSTEM

Audio

LOUDSPEAKERS
Audio Note AN-E/SEC/SILVER loudspeakers in Makassar wood piano-lacquer finish with silver-wired tweeters and hemp woofers, all using ALNICO magnets plus muRata super tweeters

ELECTRONICS
Triode Audio Corporation TRV-A300SER remote-controlled 300B-based integrated amplifier with built in MM-level phonostage. Woo WA22 headphone amplifier with upgraded tubes from the Woo website.

SOURCES
Rega P3-24 with slightly modified Rega TT-PSU and RB-301 tonearm. Audio Note IQ3 moving magnet phonograph cartridge. Triode Audio Corporation TRV-CD4SE tube CD player.

CABLES
Kondo Sound Labs KSL-LP interconnects with Eichmann Silver Bullet Plugs. Audio Note AN-Vz interconnects with Audio Note AN-P connectors. Audio Note AN-SPx and AN-SPa speaker cable with Eichmann silver "banana" connectors in a bi-wire configuration (for the SPx). "No name" silver power cables, about 2" in diameter with high-quality AC and IEC connectors.

ACCESSORIES
Gowan/Khambatta custom-designed stereo stands (a matching pair). PS Audio Power Plant 10. Three (3) Equi=Tech Balanced Transformers, feeding different subsystems.

Computer

• Recent-generation Mac mini with Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 8GB of RAM and a 128GB SSD, running headless with Pure Music and iTunes.
• LaCie RAID and regular external drives, connected via Locus Design Herald FireWire cable.
• Sonicweld Diverter HR USB-to-S/PDIF converter.
• Original Berkeley Audio Design Alpha DAC.
• Manley Skipjack audio switcher. Kondo Sounds Labs KSL-LP interconnects with silver Eichmann's.
• Locus Design Parable analog interconnects (occasionally).
• Locus Design Keynote power cable (on the Alpha).
• Locus Design Cynosure v2 USB cable.
• Locus Design Core S/PDIF cable with BNC connectors.
• Quadraspire Q4EVO component stand.

Video

• Theta Compli Blu Universal Disc Player (used as both a Blu-ray and an SACD player, among other formats).
• Comcast (Motorola) PVR and Internet Modem.
• Apple Airport Extreme (latest version). Apple TV (latest version).
• Sony KDL-40HX800 hybrid LCD/LED HDTV.
• Transparent High Performance HDMI cables.
• Audio Note Lexus copper interconnect cable (for Theta, 4.5 meters into Skipjack).
• Whiplash Audio Sapphire Pro interconnects with Furutech FP-120 locking style filament RCA connectors (used occasionally directly between Sony HDTV and Tri amplifier, 20 feet, completely silent); dubbed "The Marquis" by Lee Weiland.
• Audience powerChord "e" power cables, with adapters.
• Generic wooden and glass TV stand.

ROBERT YOUMAN'S SYSTEM

LOUDSPEAKERS
Vienna Acoustics Klimt The Music Speakers, Sonus Faber Amati Anniversario Speakers, and REL Studio III Subwoofer.

ELECTRONICS
Pass Labs INT-30A Integrated Amplifier, Pass Labs XP-15 Phono Preamplifier, and a Marantz 2285B Receiver.

SOURCES
VPI Industries Aries2 Extended TT w/HRX Upgrades Turntable, VPI Industries Synchronous Drive System (SDS) AC Filter, VPI Industries JWM 12.6 Tone Arm Tonearm, Van den Hul Frog High Output Cartridge Cartridge. EMM Labs CDSA-SE SACD/CD Player (w/ Upgraded Transport & Footers), Oppo BDP-95 Universal Player, and a Sony XA5400ES SACD/CD Player.

CABLES
Kubala Sosna Elation Balanced Interconnects, Kubala Sosna Elation Speaker Cable, Kubala Sosna Elation Power Cords, TG Audio Lab HSR High Purity Balanced Interconnects, TG Audio Lab HSR Speaker Cable, TG Audio Lab Silver Power Cords, Transparent Audio Power Link MM2 Power Cord (REL Subwoofer), and Synergistic Research REL SPEC Subwoofer Reference Neutrik Cable.

ACCESSORIES
Albert Porter Port Cryo Power Outlets (Six Dedicated 20 Amp Circuits), Rix Rax Hoodoo Audio Rack System, SRA VRA Isolation Platform – Custom Built For Aries2 Extended TT, DIY Isolation Tweak – Racket Balls & Plumbing PVC Fittings, Precision Audio Cable Elevators, Room Tune Bass Traps & Acoustic Corner Panels, Sansui TU-919 Tuner Tuner (Modified by Antennae Performance), Magnum Dynalab ST-2 Antenna.

Headphone System

• Sennheiser HD800 Headphones
• Woo Audio WA22 Headphone Amplifier
• EMM Labs CDSA-SE SACD/CD Player (w/ Upgraded Transport & Footers)
• Oppo BDP-95 Universal Player
• Cardas Golden Reference Balanced Interconnects
• Cardas Golden Reference Power Cords
• ALO HD800 RW8-SC Headphone Cable
• DIY Isolation Tweak – Racket Balls & Plumbing PVC Fittings

Listening Room

My finished basement listening room is dedicated to my two-channel system. It is uniquely long and narrow with dimensions of 12 feet by 22 feet. It has an 8 foot high drop ceiling with 10 inches of acoustic insulation above the drop ceiling. The floor and three walls are concrete. The fourth wall is a standard stud wall configuration. All three concrete walls and the stud wall have two layers of sheetrock. Wall to wall carpet padding and Berber carpeting and are used throughout. From an acoustic standpoint, the room is somewhat of a "live end – dead end design. All equipment and speakers are located at one of the short walls. Records and shelves are located behind this equipment on this short wall. CDs and shelves are located at the long walls adjacent to the records and record shelves. Acoustic treatment has been implemented in all ceiling corners and bass traps are located in the short wall corners. I have a single leather chair in a near field listening position. Check out the pictures for a better understanding of the layout.

What I Listen For

My listening priorities continue to evolve. After experiencing several new products like the Woo Audio WES Electrostatic Headphone Amplifier, the Kubala Sosna Elation Interconnects, and the Magico Q5 Speakers, it is clear to me that speed, detail, transparency and sound stage are now higher on my list than ever for musical enjoyment. In the past, I considered myself more on the "musical" side of the fence rather than "analytical". Not any longer. I want it all and I now know that I can have it all.

Don't get me wrong. Proper weight, timbre and pitch are still critical requirements for excellent sound. This is important for both musical instruments and the human voice. For me, digital always seems to have trouble in these areas. If I can hear a very natural and musical presentation, I can still be one very happy camper.

I was never a bass fanatic, but the addition of some superb subwoofers to my system has me rethinking my priorities. I have been enjoying some incredible slam and texture in the low end that I have never experienced before. These subwoofers, when integrated correctly with the rest of the system, can also provide a more extensive sound stage and improve the room ambience at all frequencies. It can be very addictive.

Female voice, piano and reed instruments are my favorites for general listening. I love all types of music, but lately I have been listening primarily to small jazz quartets and female jazz vocalists. Don't try to pin me down though. Recent concerts include Lyle Lovett, Roger Waters and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.

ADAM GOLDFINE'S SYSTEM

LOUDSPEAKERS
Wilson-Benesch A.C.T. loudspeakers.

ELECTRONICS
Music Reference RM-4+ phono stage, Primare Pre30 line level preamplifier, Reference Line Preeminence One Series II (passive) preamplifier, Music Reference RM-200 amplifier, Dynaco ST-70 (with Welborne Labs mod) amplifier.

SOURCES
DIGITAL: Vacuum State Level 6 modified Sony DVP-S9000ES DVD/CD/SACD Player, Musical Fidelity CR324 up sampling DAC. ANALOG: Music Hall MMF-7 turntable, Pro-ject 9 tonearm, Pro-Ject Speed Box Mk. II, Benz Micro ACE H cartridge, Magnum Dynalab FT-101A Tuner.

CABLES
Vacuum State Electronics Silver Wire interconnects (balanced) Music Reference Pegasus and Majestic interconnects (single ended), Vacuum State Electronics Copper Foil speaker cables (bi-wire), DH Labs Silver Sonic power cord (amplifier).

ACCESSORIES
Gingko Audio Cloud 11 Isolation Platform, Ringmat 330 MKII XLR Anniversary, Radio Shack FM antenna, VPI 16.5 record cleaning machine, Record Research Labs Power Cleaner, Record Research Labs Everyday Cleaner, various LAST record cleaning products, Hunt E.D.A. Mark6 brush, miscellaneous wet cleaning brushes, Zero Dust Stylus Cleaner, DB Systems alignment protractor, PS Audio Noise Harvester, Tone Cones, Tip Toes, RPG BAD Arc diffusers, HiFi News & Record Review Test LP, Cardas Test LP, XLO Test CD, Stereophile Test CD, Chesky Test CD vols. I & II, Craftsman True RMS Multi-Meter, Philips PM3211 Oscilloscope, Panamax Max 5100 Power Center, Stabilant 22, Caig ProGold contact enhancer.

My current room is a 22' x 17' family room backed by a 24' x 10' kitchen, essential making it a 22' x 27' room with plenty of bare walls, hard surfaces and vaulted ceilings that start at 10' and slope upwards to 14' 9". It's not an easy room to love.

The room also does double duty as a two channel home theater as can be clearly seen from the Toshiba 65" HDTV set back from and between the speakers. A heavy blanket tossed over the screen mitigates the effect of the very reflective screen surface during listening sessions. Rotating everything 45 degrees so that the speakers fire diagonally across the room and placing the speakers well into the room with no toe-in provides smooth tonal response and minimizes early reflections to create a well balance, believable and detailed soundstage. Echo Busters in the corners and along the ceilings minimize the horn effect and slap echo.

Still, a room this size without extensive treatment is difficult to tame and its long reverberation time adds a bit of smear and hardness to the sound and slightly diminishes image localization. And while no room is perfect, this one is less perfect than many. Rather than fight the power, I am currently working with Rives Audio to modify another room in the house as a dedicated two channel home theater/audio room. The emphasis will be on two channel audio with an electric projection screen built into the ceiling so it can easily disappear for critical listening. I expect to complete this project by July of 2007 and will provide photos and details when it is complete.

In a sound system, I listen for the sound of music. While it is possible to break what that is down into its components, harmonic structure, sound staging, dynamics, etc. ultimately it's either right or it isn't and like beauty, that can take many forms. (If it didn't how else could different sounding systems all create a believable illusion of music?) That being said one of the easiest ways to destroy that illusion is with poor tonal accuracy and exaggerated or compressed dynamics. To me, if these two elements are well executed, the illusion of instruments and voices in the room is at least possible.

While excellent sound staging is important it's hard to find a product these days that doesn't produce at least a decent soundstage if properly set up. Even the cheap no-name speakers that came as part of the package when I bought a computer recently will create an image. Perhaps that is due to their small size. Of course, they don't come close to matching the precise imaging of the Triangle Zays' but it is a soundstage nonetheless and most of the high end products I have heard in recent years do a pretty decent job in this area. And of course there are varying degrees and expressions of this phenomenon and I will be discussing this in my reviews.

Having played the drums since the age of 8, I'm particularly attuned to the sound of percussion and can easily distinguish an indistinct thump from the sound of a wool beater striking a bass drum head followed by the nearly instantaneous reaction of the outer head. The sound of a drum stick on cymbals is a dead give away as to the overall harmonic structure of a system hence my preference for tubes. And there probably isn't another acoustic instrument with the dynamic range of percussion.

Musically I enjoy most (but not all) genres. Having grown up in what I consider to be the hey day of classic rock, I will always have a soft spot for those bands (Led Zeppelin, The Who, Yes, Pink Floyd, Rush and so many more). I saw Led Zeppelin at Madison Square Garden when I was 15 and to me the movie Almost Famous captures that time better than any film yet made.

I listen to rock, blues, big-band, jazz, folk, classical, R&B, rap and more. I think Adrian Belew is a genius and in their own way, so are the Beastie Boys. (Just listen to Paul's Boutique.) You probably won't hear any references to country or opera out of me, but I can live with that. Happy listening!

My room is a 22' x 13' dedicated sound room designed by Rives Audio. The vaulted ceiling slopes from 10' to 14' 9". It has three dedicated, isolated ground 20 amp circuits feeding Hubble hospital grade outlets. The first and second sidewall reflection points are treated with absorption panels and RPG BAD Arc diffusion panels hang between them. A series of angled diffusers hang from the ceiling to further scatter reflections and the rear wall consists of angled bookcases to create a diffused surface behind the listening position. Extensive bass trapping above and to the sides of the bookcases helps tame room resonances. A 16:9, 100" diagonal Stewart Filmscreen descends out of the ceiling for watching movies, but the room's main purpose is music reproduction.

In a sound system, I look for sound that is emotionally engaging. While it is possible to break what that is down into its components, harmonic structure, sound staging, dynamics, etc. ultimately it's either right or it isn't and like beauty, that can take many forms. (If it didn't how else could different sounding systems all create a believable illusion of music?) That being said one of the easiest ways to destroy that illusion is with poor tonal accuracy and exaggerated or compressed dynamics. To me, if these two elements are well executed, the illusion of real instruments and voices in the room is at least possible. Having played the drums since the age of 8, I'm particularly attuned to the sound of percussion.

Musically I enjoy most (but not all) genres. Having grown up in what I consider to be the hey day of classic rock, I will always have a soft spot for those bands (Led Zeppelin, The Who, Yes, Pink Floyd, Rush and so many more). I saw Led Zeppelin at Madison Square Garden when I was 15 and to me the movie Almost Famous captures that time better than any film yet made.

I listen to rock, blues, big-band, jazz, folk, classical, R&B, rap and more. I think Adrian Belew is a genius and in their own way, so are the Beastie Boys. (Just listen to Paul's Boutique.) I will probably never grow to like country and much to my own surprise I can listen to opera in limited doses. Happy listening!

GARY LEA'S SYSTEM

LOUDSPEAKERS
Von Schweikert VR4 MKIII, Odeon Elektra Horns, Compact WZSE Collector's Edition, Usher 6311 and AAD Silver Reference 1.

ELECTRONICS
Tube: Jolida Music Envoy 211 tube monoblock amps and preamp (main reference). 
Solid-State: ShengYa PSM-600 monoblock solid-state amps and matching CS6 tubed preamp.

SOURCES
Digital Front End: Grant Fidelity Reference Tube 1000 CD player (main reference), Cary Audio DVD 6 used as a CD, Wadia i170 iPod Deck and 160Gig iPod.
Analogue Front End: Consonance Droplet 5.2 MKII with ST600tonearm (main reference) Nottingham Analogue Hyper Space and Arm with Wave Mechanic. Montegiro Lusso with DaVinci Noble and SME 5009 tonearms.
Cartridges - Koetsu Azule Platinum(main reference), Koetsu Urushi Vermillion, Goldnote Baldinotti, Dynavector 17D3 cartridges. Phone Stages: Goldnote Pamphili (main reference), Blue Circle Fon Lo Thingee, Musical Fidelity V3, and Koetsu Step up transformer.

CABLES
XLO Signature 3 interconnects speaker cables and power cords (main reference cables currently). Furutech DIY interconnects. Kimber Kable Monocle XL speaker cables and Select Interconnects. And a bunch of cables I am too lazy to list.

ACCESSORIES
Grant Fidelity RPF-120 MKII Reference Power Conditioner. Misc doodads and tweaks and loose parts like all audiophiles.

STEVE LEFKOWICZ'S SYSTEM

LOUDSPEAKERS
Tekton Lore, Direct Acoustics Silent Speaker, Sound Dynamics 300ti, Linn Kan, and Loth-X Ion1.

ELECTRONICS
PS Audio 4H preamplifier, B&K ST140 amplifier, Adcom 535, and a Antique Sound Labs MG-15DT-S.

SOURCES
Marantz SA8001 SACD player, IBM T42 Notebook (Win XP Pro, iTunes) 200 GB USB Drive, DAC (tba), NAD 4155 AM/FM tuner, CEntrance DACport LX, Linn LP12 (Valhalla), Ittok, Dynavector 19a (currently not hooked up).

CABLES
Nordost Solar Wind interconnects and Nordost Flatine or Solar Wind speaker cables. CEntrance Reserve Y cable.

ACCESSORIES
Sound Organization stand, Monster HTS2000 power-line conditioner, Bright Star IsoNodes (under SACD player), lots of hockey pucks (under pretty much everything else).

Portable/travel system - iPod Classic (160 GB), Headroom Total Bithead headphone amp, Beyerdynamic DT770 Pro (600 ohm) headphones. Almost all music on the iPod is ripped from CD at 320 kbps. This iTunes library resides on a separate notebook from the one hooked up to the main system. 

With the exception of the Linn and the IBM notebook, this is an extremely low cost system, with no single piece having a list price over $1000. It is eminently musical, and close enough to full range to be very satisfying on all types of music. It does not make me choose music to fit its limitations or characteristics.

GUIDO CORONA'S SYSTEM

LOUDSPEAKERS
Vienna Mahler V1.5 and Magnepan 3A (inactive)

ELECTRONICS
Jeff Rowland 312 (reference), Bel Canto Ref 1000M and Ref 500M, Jeff Rowland Criterion (reference), Audio Research Ref 3 (currently inactive).

SOURCES
TEAC Esoteric X-01 Limited.

CABLES
Furutech Flux, Evolution II, and High End Performance suites, Purist Anniversary PC, Audioquest Sky XLR ICs, Cardas Golden Ref PC, Cardas Golden Ref speaker wires. Elrod Statement Gold and Signature Gold PCs, Audioquest Sky XLR ICs.

ACCESSORIES
Furutech Daytona ETR-309 (reference) and a Furutech ETP-303.

JOHN HOFFMAN'S SYSTEM

LOUDSPEAKERS
Sachiko Double Horn speakers with Fostex 208 Sigma drivers.

ELECTRONICS
Electra Print Audio 300B Custom amplifier Electra Print Audio PVA pre-amplifier, Hagerman Coronet II phono stage with VCAP upgrades and a Hagerman Piccolo step up.

SOURCES
EAD T-1000 transport, Audio Magic Kukama DAC, Galibier Serac with graphite platter, Rega RB 251 with Incognito rewire and Pete Riggle Audio Engineering 12" String Theory Tone Arm. Accuphase AC3 cartridge.

CABLES
Audio Magic Illusion 4D interconnects, speaker cable, and digital cable and Audio Magic Extreme series power cords. Zu Audio Mission speaker cables, Zu Audio Speaker wire, Zu Audio power cords.

ACCESSORIES
Audio Magic Mini Reference power conditioner.

PETER DAVEY'S SYSTEM

LOUDSPEAKERS
Apogee Scintilla - 1 ohm model with all new ribbons by Graz. New steel stands fabricated by True Sound Works.
Apogee Diva - 4 ohm model with all new ribbons by Graz. The tweeter is the SLW model, for a faster sound.

ELECTRONICS
Plinius SA-250mkIV amplifier and a BAT VK31-SE preamplifier.

SOURCES
Apple iMac 24" running Leopard and Frontrow/iTunes. Pop Pulse Digital conversion device handling the USB to SP/DIF duties. Assemblage D2D-I jitter reducer and up-sampler and an Assemblage DAC-3 fully balanced DAC.

CABLES
Furutech Evolution Series Power Cables, Furutech Evolution Series Speaker Cables (BiWire), Furutech Evolution Series XLR Balanced cables, PAD Contego digital SP/DIF cable, and CyroParts USB cable.

ACCESSORIES
PS Audio Premier power plant in Limited Edition black and PS Audio power ports.

My listening room is about 20' long and 15' wide. My ceilings are cathedral style starting at about 9' tall and about 15' tall at the seating position. The Apogees are known to be amp killers but with the right combination they product music more accurately than any cone based transducer that I've listed to. When I hear traditional cone speakers I hear the driver itself as the music hits it, with ribbons they are as light as air and the music dances around them in a magnetic field.

The Scintillas place the instruments right in your face, and the vocals right down the middle. They are a bit picky with placement, needing to be about 5' from the rear walls, and about 6.5' from each other.

The Divas offer a much taller sound, and are a much more efficient design using Kapton backed foil drivers. You could run these on tube amplifiers if you prefer.

I sit about 10' from my speakers and prefer to have the effect of being in the front row of a live concert. It is generalized that you can not get any deep bass from a true dipole ribbon driver but that is not true, with the Scintillas I've negated the need for any subwoofer.

Home Theatre System

LOUDSPEAKERS
NHT 2.1 3 way front towers with an 8" side loaded sub-woofer. NHT 2.1 2 way surrounds and center channel NHT active 10" subwoofer

ELECTRONCS
Sony DA4-ES processor and 7 channel amplifier, Toshiba DVD player / recorder, Sony DVD player. XBOX 360 HD DVD player, Sharp Aquos 52" 1080P LCD monitor, Apple TV, PURE AV power conditioner, Nintendo Wii, and a Playstation 2

CABLES
Blue Jeans component cables, Monster HDMI, and Belden/Canare StarQuad speaker cables

WILL WRIGHT'S SYSTEM

LOUDSPEAKERS
Extensively modified (by me) Carver Amazing dipole loudspeakers. The original four twelve inch woofers per side have been replaced with Adire Audio dual voice coil DP12s. Additional bracing and damping has been added to each panel. The original passive crossovers have been removed and replaced by White Instruments 24 bit digital Paramedic 26 XLR crossovers. All line level connections are balanced. The four twelve inch woofers are augmented with a DIY sub for each channel utilizing a fifteen inch Adire dual voice coil Tempest driver in an eighteen inch ID by three foot sealed sonotube enclosure. The subs are down firing and located in the front corners behind the Carver panels. Each stereo channel is tri-amped. Crossover points are sub to panel woofers @ 40Hz 3^rd order, panel woofers to full range ribbon @ 300Hz 3^rd order.

ELECTRONICS
Subs are powered by Adcom monoblocks @ approximately 500 watts into 4 ohms, Panel woofers are powered by Hypex plate amplifiers built into the base of the Carver panel @ 720 watts into 4 ohms, Carver full range ribbons are powered by one channel each of two Krell KSA 200S. Line level preamp is the Alchemist Tim de Paravicini Signature. The phono pre is the Sutherland PhD.

SOURCES
Analog: Goldmund Studio turntable modified to run on batteries with the T3 servo controlled tangential tracking arm and the Lyra Helikon moving coil cartridge. Digital: Esoteric DV-50 universal disk player. Still on the workbench but soon to be added is a dedicated "Home Theater Computer" built from scratch and featuring dual Xeon CPUs. It is a silent, water-cooled (no fans) design using a separate convection cooling tower. This will house acoustic measurement software, CARA speaker location software, music database software, LP digitizing software, digital crossover control software and double as a music server and home theater controller.

CABLES
Interconnects are all balanced Soundstring cables except for turntable to phono pre and phono pre to line level pre which are single ended Soundstring. Speaker cables are all DIY except for the Carver 60 inch ribbons which use Goertz flat copper. Power cords are all Soundstring.

ACCESSORIES
The turntable and universal player are sitting on Critical Mass Systems Grand Master isolation platforms atop Lovan equipment racks. The preamp and phono pre are sitting on a Halcyonics Micro 40 active isolation platform. All other equipment is on Black Diamond racing shelves and/or cones and pucks, including the speakers. Power filtration is via a Jack Bybee/John Curl Signature purifier. Acoustic treatments are primarily DIY tube traps and diffusers. Acoustic room measurements are done using a DIY computer based Liberty Instruments IMPM MLS system. Parametric EQ, level matching and delay, etc. are programmed into the digital crossovers based on the measurement results.

My listening room is in the basement and is underground to a level of about four feet. Floor is tile over concrete slab. Walls are wood paneling. The room is squarish at approximately 23 feet on a side and ceiling height is 7.5 feet. Considering the room shape it is surprisingly free of standing wave problems and I attribute this at least partially to the way dipole speakers load the room and to the fact that the subs in the front corners are crossed over at a point below the first room mode. CARA software was used to determine the panel speaker positions. They are about six feet from the side walls, seven feet apart, three feet from the wall behind them and toed in toward the listening position.

Power to components in the listening room is via five fully dedicated lines. Front end components have a dedicated 6-gauge line directly from the main panel. Amplifiers are located at the speakers and each channel's amplification is on two separate dedicated lines one utilizing 6-gauge and the other utilizing 10-gauge Romex connected to the basement sub-panel. All dedicated lines use hospital grade or better duplex outlets. All other power to the room is separate.

OLIVER AMNUAYPHOL'S SYSTEM

LOUDSPEAKERS
Rethms the Third.

ELECTRONICS
Fi X 2a3 integrated w/ Magnequest OPTs.

SOURCES
Rega P25/RB600/Dynavector DV 10x5 combo and a Sony SCD-333es.

My system resides in a room that is 19' x 12' x 7.5' and the Rethms are 4' out from the one of the short walls and 6' apart. The long wall adjacent to the left speaker has three tall windows covered in blinds and the opposing side opens into the dining room. The listening couch is right up against the other short wall, but through experimentation I've found a spot on the edge of the couch that's almost ideal as far as sweetspots go: the Rethms just seem to 'gel' better if I'm positioned some distance away from them. There's also a wide window that's covered in blinds just above the couch, but the speakers seem far enough away from any wall boundaries to cause any serious interactions. So, not an ideal room, but I think I've made the most of it.

ROBERT LEARNER'S SYSTEM

Primary System

LOUDSPEAKERS
Scaena 3.2s and two 2 JL Fathom 113s subwoofers.

MICHAEL WECHSBERG'S SYSTEM

LOUDSPEAKERS
Marten Miles II.

ELECTRONICS
E.A..R 890 amplifier and E.A.R. 868 preamplifier with a Townshend Seismic Sink isolation platform.

SOURCES
Townshend Rock 7 Turntable with Helius Omega Tonearm and a London Reference cartridge. E.A.R. Acute 3 CD Player Music Hall Maverick SACD Player.

CABLES
Kubala-Sosna Elation Balanced interconnects and Kubala-Sosna Emotion power cords, Harmonic Technology Pro-9 Reference speaker cables Harmonic Technology Magic Link Two and XLO Signature 3 interconnects Harmonic Technology Magic Reference 2 and XLO Signature 3 power cords.

ACCESSORIES
Bybee Speaker Bullets, Marigo Labs TXi and VXi Mystery Feet for electronics PS Audio Power Plant Premier Power Conditioner.

SCOTT ROBERTSON'S SYSTEM

Living Room

LOUDSPEAKERS
Magnepan 2.7

ELECTRONICS
Integra DTR 7.1, Accuphase C-3000 preamplifier, Accuphase P-7000 amplifier

SOURCES
Oppo DV981HD, Halcro EC800

Home Theater

LOUDSPEAKERS
B&W 802D mains, B&W HTM2D center, RBH in-wall rears

ELECTRONICS
Rotel RSP-1068 Surround Sound Processor, Rotel RMB-1095 Power Amplifier, Audyssey EQ Sound Equalizer, Accuphase C-3000 preamplifier, Accuphase P-7000 amplifier

SOURCE
Oppo DV981HD, Sony PS3, Halcro EC800

CABLES
Audioquest Diamond interconnects

KENT JOHNSON'S SYSTEM

LOUDSPEAKERS
Magneplanar MG10's in a bi-amplified set up using custom bass boxes for frequencies below 80 Hertz.

ELECTRONICS
Dodd Audio Midline tube preamplifier. Wyred 4 Sound STI-500 Integrated. Rogue 90 Stereo tube amplifier for the MG10s; a Hafler 9270 for the bass boxes. The crossover is a Dahlquist DQ-LP1.

SOURCES
Sony SCD-XA5400ES SACD/CD player for SACD. The Sony feeds a Cullen Circuits DL3 Stage III modded PS Audio DAC for CD replay.

CABLES
DH Labs Revelation, Zentara Reference, and Supra Sword 3.0, Zentara Reference. My digital cable is two meters of Belden 1694A video cable terminated with Eichmann Bullet Plugs. It works great. Here is the article that the information for making it came from: PFO Issue 14, "Why longer is generally better for an S/PDIF Digital Cable," by Steve Nugent.

ACCESSORIES
Monster 3600 Mk II line conditioner, PS Audio Soloist Premier, AC cords from PS Audio, Shunyata, and Zentara. I have four dedicated circuits available to me, three twenty amp and one fifteen amp. The amps are each on their own twenty amp circuits. The front-end equipment is on another. The fifteen amp circuit is not in use at the moment. I have a pair of AKG K240 headphones.

I listen in a room approximately 23 by 28 feet with a 7.5 foot ceiling in my basement. The room was purposely-built as a listening room within the realities of my budget. The room is heavily insulated; resilient channel is used behind the ceiling drywall; metal studs were used in the walls. It works very well.

SECOND SYSTEM

LOUDSPEAKERS
Quad 21L 2 loudspeakers.

ELECTRONICS
Xindak XA3200 MKII. PS Audio A-100.

SOURCE
Sony SCD-C333ES SACD/CD player.

CABLES
DH Labs Revelations and Alpha Core Goertz Mi2. Supra Ply 3.4/S

ACCESSORIES
Monster HTS 3600 MKII line conditioner. Shunyata Diamondback Platinum AC cords. AC current comes from a dedicated 20 amp circuit shared with the home theater set up in the family room. They are never both on at the same time.

This system is in my living room, an approximately twelve by fourteen foot space open to both a foyer and dining room at either end.

MARC PHILLIPS' SYSTEM

LOUDSPEAKERS
Opera Loudspeakers Grand Callas, Trenner & Friedl ART Monitors.

ELECTRONICS
Unison Research Sinfonia integrated amplifier, Rega Brio3 integrated amplifier, Unison Research Simply Phono phono preamplifier, Lehmann Audio Black Cube SE phono preamplifier.

SOURCES
Digital: Unison Research CDE CD player.

Analog: Unison Research Giro turntable with Unison Research UN1 cartridge; Rega P3-24 turntable with Zu Audio DL-103 cartridge, TT-PSE power supply, GrooveTracer Reference subplatter, Funk Firm Achroplat II platter and Acromat 2 mat.

CABLES
Cardas Audio Clear Light interconnects and speaker cables, Cardas Audio Golden Reference power cables.

ACCESSORIES
Quadraspire QAVM equipment rack, Target equipment rack with Neuance shelves, Quadraspire QV-60 speaker stands, Opera Loudspeakers Callas speaker stands,Nitty Gritty 1.5 record cleaning machine, Walker Audio Prelude record cleaning system, Black Diamond Racing cones, Echobusters room treatment, Wiremold power strips.

Since I am, along with Colleen Cardas, the US distributor of Unison Research and Opera Loudspeakers, my system can vary greatly from week to week. Unison has a very extensive product line, and I'm trying to get plenty of seat time with every piece so I can be "an expert." That said, the components listed above are mine, all mine, and not demos or back stock.

My listening room is fairly small, about 11.5' by 14.5', but it has Texas-style 12' high ceilings. I live in a cul-de-sac in a secluded subdivision in the far northwest corner of my sleepy Texas town (actually a growing suburb of Austin). I only have to go a block or two before I hit beautiful natural Texas Hill Country, with its copious bluebonnets, coyotes and rattlesnakes.

TERESA GOODWIN'S SYSTEM

LOUDSPEAKERS
Infinity Reference Standard 7 Kappa, 12 inch woofer, 3 inch midrange, EMIT tweeter. Sennheiser HD 580 and HD 265 Linear headphones.

ELECTRONICS
AMC CVT 1030 Stereo Vacuum Tube preamplifier and an Adcom GFA-555II High Current amplifier.

SOURCES
Yamaha Natural Sound DVD-S1800 DVD Audio/Video SA-CD player, Yamaha Natural Sound DVD-S1700 DVD Audio/Video SA-CD player, and a Sanyo Flat Screen Color TV.

CABLES
Monster Cable Interlink 400MK II and M350i interconnects and Monster Cable Powerline 2 Plus speaker cables.

ACCESSORIES
AudioPrism CD Stoplight by Clear Image Audio™ Compact Disc Edge Treatment.

My listening room is 14' wide x 12' long with a ceiling height of 8'. My speakers are 8½' apart measured by their innermost point toed in slightly to get a more realistic image of an orchestral shell. Even with my speakers placed this far apart the phantom center image is solid and there is no hole in the middle. With the best source material the image is huge expanding beyond the outer boundaries of the speakers with excellent depth and height and ambiance in front of the performers filling up the rest of the room. Visitors have commented that my 2-channel stereo has the spaciousness that surround sound aims for but seldom achieves.

DEAN SEISLOVE'S SYSTEM

LOUDSPEAKERS
Nola Boxer standmount speakers. Tannoy Eyris 1 standmount speakers. Pioneer SP-BS21-LR bookshelf speakers. AudioEngine A5 powered speakers.

ELECTRONICS
Peachtree Audio iNova integrated amplifier. Arcam A-80 integrated amplifier. Luxman LV-80 integrated amplifier.

SOURCES
Arcam CD 82 CD player. Arcam DT61 tuner. MacBook (Snow Leopard, Intel 2 Core Duo 2.4/4GB ram with iTunes 10.5.1, using Pure Music 1.82). Devilsound v2.1 DAC. CEntrance DACport.

CABLES
Kubala-Sosna Imagination speaker cables (on loan). Nordost SuperFlatline MKII speaker cables. Harmonic Technology Magic Link Two interconnects. Stereolab Reference I-700 RX interconnects. Kimber Hero interconnects.

ACCESSORIES
Audioengine W1 wireless system, MIT Z Powerbar power conditioner, Balanced Power Technologies Clean Power Center power conditioner.

TOM GIBB'S SYSTEM

LOUDSPEAKERS
Magneplanar MMGs, modded with custom-built stands and Peter Gunn's (of Audio Asylum fame) outboard crossover mods; Definitive Technologies Powerfield 1500 Subwoofer.

ELECTRONICS
Emotiva XPA-2 amplifier; Acurus RL-11 preamplifier; Rolls Bellari VP130 tube phono preamp, used interchangeably with Mullard new production, JJ Electronic and Sovtek 12AX7 tubes (depending upon my mood).

SOURCES
Digital: Sony BDPs-780 BluRay/SACD player; Hewlett Packard s5703w computer: Windows 7/64-bit, 500 GB hard drive, 8 GB RAM, 1 TB Seagate external drive for storage, using Foobar 2000 as my music player, via the High Resolution Technologies Music Streamer II+ USB DAC.

Analog: Rega P2 turntable, with RB 250 arm, modded with Michell Technoweight and stub and glass platter upgrade; Ortofon 2M Blue cartridge.

CABLES
Interconnects: Audioquest Topaz, Blue Jeans Cable LC-1's, Monster 400i's. Speaker cables: Monster M1. USB: DH Labs Silver Sonic.

ACCESSORIES
Bright Star Audio Big Rock turntable base; Tiptoes and various isolation devices; ASC Tube Trap panels; GIK Acoustics bass traps; Custom-built acoustic panels; Target stands; Disc Doctor and LAST record cleaning supplies.

Home Theater System

• Sony STR-D3ES 6-channel receiver
• Sony BDPs-780 BluRay/SACD/network player
• Epson 8350 1080p LCD projector
• DaLite 108" grey hi-contrast screen
• Mirage 1295is loudspeakers w/internal 400 watt powered subs, with Mirage center and surrounds

LYNN OLSON'S SYSTEM

LOUDSPEAKERS
Ariel Mark 1.9 (similar to original article in PF Magazine in 1993). External crossovers with Jupiter Caps for highpass filters, independent star ground for each filter section, solid-core point-to-point wiring for signal side, tinned stranded copper for ground side.

ELECTRONICS
Karna PP 300B monoblock amplifiers with external power supplies. All triode, all transformer-coupled fully balanced circuitry with VR150 shunt regulation. 5687/6900/7044/7119 input tube, vintage PP 45 driver tubes, and PP meshplate 300B tubes. Fully independent choke-fed B+ power supplies for input/driver and output section; all filtering by General Electric polypropylene/oil motor-run capacitors, with additional Teflon bypass capacitors. 1:1 input transformer by Tribute, interstage, output, and power transformers by Bud Purvine's O-Netics. A version of this amplifier may be available for sale in 2012 or 2013: design pending. More info at the Nutshell High Fidelity site. Custom-made JWN "Colorado Special" PP amplifier.

SOURCES
Digital: Monarchy M24 DAC/Linestage, with Burr-Brown PCM-63K DAC, passive I/V conversion, and 6DJ8/6N1P in SRPP configuration analog amplification. The integral linestage also uses a 6DJ8 or 6N1P in SRPP configuration. I still prefer this DAC to modern DACs with delta-sigma converters and solid-state electronics. Behringer SRC2496 Ultramatch Pro, Sample Rate Conversion set to 88.2/24 mode, internal clock ON, and dither at the 24th LSB set to ON. SRC and dither are turned off for 96/24 sources but internal clock is set to ON. The Ultramatch Pro has galvanic isolation for all inputs and outputs, isolating the grounds of the DAC and the transport & music server. Denon DV2900 CD/DVD/SACD/DVD-A transport with all Parts ConneXion mods, including SuperClock III. Mac Mini server with iTunes and Pure Music software. I will be evaluating the Audiophilleo and Halide Bridge asynchronous USB/SPDIF converters in the near future.

Analog: Technics RS1520 1/2 and 1/4 track semiprofessional tape deck, formerly used by the Tektronix Calibration Lab. 4-head stack, with switchable 1/4 and 1/2 track playback heads, and 1/2 track record and erase heads. Simple modification for external jack for external playback amplification. I may do this if I build an RIAA preamp, which is trivially simple to switch between RIAA, 78 RPM, NAB, and IEC equalization. (Equalization switching was a standard feature for quality preamps in the Fifties, along with tone controls ... hmmm.

HEADPHONES
Beyer Dynamics DT-880M and Sennheiser HD580 headphones.

CABLES
Custom cables built by Bud Purvine of O-Netics, using industrial Litz wire with 288 independently enameled strands and cotton-cloth insulation. Interconnects are RCA-RCA (Radio Shack connectors), and speaker wires are bi-wired from output jacks to crossovers. AudioPrism Ground Controls (designed by Bud Purvine) are attached to high and lowpass filter sections of the Ariel crossovers.

ACCESSORIES
Salamander rack systems for video (including TV mount) and audio systems. Vibration isolation provided by Wal-Mart Stadium Seat Cushions. Sound quality of the Karna amplifiers is degraded by power conditioners; not recommended. The solid-state rectifiers (which feed very large electrolytic caps) used by the digital sources are another matter; they generate so much noise that power conditioning is beneficial to the device and other devices. I use the Monarchy AC Regenerator to drive the digital sources.

VIDEO
Although the video and audio systems are in proximity to each other, the video and audio systems are powered by separate AC outlets, and do not share any interconnects or grounds (galvanic isolation). The Panasonic P58VT25 and Comcast DVR are powered by a sine-wave, server-grade UPS so they can ride through power surges and failures.

Panasonic P58VT25 3D plasma television, with THX certification and four HDMI inputs.

Panasonic BD300 Blu-Ray player with separate audio and video HDMI outputs. Supports full-resolution 1080P 24/60/96FPS 3D over HDMI. No DVD-A or SACD support, though. Is there an OPPO in the future?

Comcast/Motorola DVR, with HDMI, SPDIF, and TOSLINK outputs. Vibration isolated.

Marantz AV8003 pre-pro and MM8003 8-channel power amplifier, with support for DD, DTS, Blu-Ray audio formats, DVD-A, and SACD over HDMI.

Dynaudio Contour SC X. Pretty good Center speaker, but only a fair timbre match for the Ariels. I found out the hard way that almost no commercial high-end speaker matches the Ariels - nearly all Center speakers are quite bad on music (listen to them in mono, and see what I mean), and only fair on dialog intelligibility. The Dynaudios seem to be the best of the bunch as HT speakers go. Still looking for a gently used pair of ME2's that a careful DIY constructor may have built, at least the ME2 will have good integration with the Ariels, since it uses the same drivers and cross-over.

REL Strata III subwoofer; one of the few that successfully integrates with the Ariels. Most HT subwoofers are not a good match for the Ariels, much too slow and soggy-sounding. Also makes a good stand for the Technics RS-1520 tape deck.

Astro Gaming Mixamp 5.8 GHz wireless headphone transmitter-receiver with TOSLINK input from the Panasonic television. Excellent sound quality with the Beyer and Sennheiser headphones, and the Dolby Headphone synthesized surround gets the sound out of your head and into the room. Just the thing for the those BBC mysteries and Dr. Who episodes with mixed-down dialog and Mersey, Welsh and Scots accents.

XBOX 360 Slim & Kinect controller, with 250GB drive, Ethernet interface, and 1080P HDMI output (although in-game resolution is 720P or less; limitation of the 2007-vintage graphics chipset). Microsoft finally got power consumption down to 60~70 watts, solving the heat-dissipation problems of earlier Xboxes, as well as greatly reducing fan noise (the X360S is actually pretty quiet).

Zero interest in first-person shooters (FPS) like Call of Duty, but atmospheric games like L.A. Noire, Child of Eden and Xbox Live Arcade downloads are a lot of fun. The Kinect 3D motion sensor is a great way to liven up a party, since you have to physically get up and control the game with your whole body.

Mac Mini with HDMI, TOSLINK and USB-audio output - convenient for watching real-time international news on the Panasonic TV without US-market censorship from the satellite and cable-company provider. I got this after being exasperated with the very poor coverage from CNN, MSNBC, et al on the New Zealand and Japan earthquakes, events at Fukushima, and the Arab Spring. I have NO interest in the latest missing-blonde story, Hollywood gossip, or endless Congressional shouting matches.

I'd rather see real news, and you to go to the Internet for that. The international TV stations all have different protocols for streaming television, and you need a computer to support these protocols - not the restricted Hollywood-friendly protocols of Roku, Apple TV, Boxee Box, or other media-consumption devices (which are essentially Netflix replacements from what I see). The Mac Mini runs cool, is fanless and very quiet, and I'm used to the Mac OS X operating system.

Internet connection is through in-house Cat 5e Ethernet wiring, D-Link DIR-655 Router, and 25~30 (measured) megabit Comcast cable modem. Wireless is too flaky for stable streaming TV or high-definition audio transport.

View of complete audio and video systems. The video system has its own AC outlet, and runs off a server-grade sine-wave UPS. The audio system is off to the right, and has its own power outlet. All power conditioners tried so far have degraded the sound of the Karna amplifiers, so they are not used for the audio system.

TIMOTHY ROTH'S SYSTEM

SOURCES
MacBook with iTunes, Play, and Max. The internal hardware is Intel High Definition Audio (supports up to 96/24). Music reviews are based on 1411 kbps CD rips via AIFF or better (e.g., HD Tracks files up to 96/24). Pioneer DV-563A (5.1 SACD and DVD-A). iPhone. 2011 Mazda 3 standard CD system (with all speakers other than the front two turned off).

HEADPHONES
Sennheiser HD 650. Black Ops 5.1 Surround Sound headphones with four separate speakers in each cup (1 center, 1 sub, L or R front, L or R rear).

STEVE KOZLE'S SYSTEM

LOUDSPEAKERS
Axiom Audio W22 In/.On Wall Speakers (titanium tweeters and aluminum woofers), Orb Audio Super Eight Custom Sub (8" driver, 200W BASH hybrid digital amplifier and 12" cabinet).

ELECTRONICS
Dayens Ampino integrated amplifier - 25W per channel.

SOURCES
Recent-generation Mac mini with Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 8GB RAM, 128GB SSD, running Pure Music and iTunes Applications. HRT Music Streamer II.

CABLES
Dayens InVivo Silver RCA interconnects, Shunyata Venom 3 power cable, Axiom Audio 14AWG Speaker Wire.

ACCESSORIES
Auralex Subdude isolation platform, Vibrapods, Vibracones, Monster QuickLock MKII Gold Banana Connectors, Innovolt Power Asset Manager PM-15.