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Acquiring an awesome system, but how?

At this point I am making some changes to my system that may raise eyebrows as have in the past. But it's my money and my ears so here goes.
If one was to count all the makers of high end stuff and multiply by how many pieces will be included to create a system one would get the statistics of possibilities of combinations. I bet it's as high as our deficit, did I have to bring that up?
Well it mind as well be infinite because no one can even approach a fraction of all the possibilities.
I still haven't picked up an atma-sphere mp-1 preamp, so every now and then I look at the forum and see some suggestions for preamps to see if something comes up with raving reviews.
Well most of us know it's mostly synergy that makes a system excellent.
I thought the experienced goners can shed some light and offer suggestions as to what will make lasting purchases.
On my end I was amazed at how good the atma-sphere m60 sounded while it was running, now it is on hold till some things get resolved and so now I am back to the sim w-5 and it still satisfies. But I would like to do some more comparative listening, because the atmas sounded so good. I have no intentions of letting go of the atma's by the way.
I am still after the mbl sound and will be experimenting with some non-mainstream designs. I have some good ideas that will take time to bring to fruition.
But as for the reason for the thread, please share with us what systems made the biggest impressions and how one achieved them without breaking the bank?
Please include what systems sounded the best to you.
pedrillo

Showing 6 responses by mrtennis

mrtennis
3,295 posts
 
what constitutes audio nirvana for one maybe a disaster for another.

i will share for you what for me is a great listening experience.

it's simple. i want to play one recording after another and never want to leave the room or complain about a bad recording. this means a stereo system has to be somewhat euphonic in its coloration. somewhat attenuated in the upper midrange/lower treble and also somewhat elevated in the upper bass/lower mid range. i can't specify the "somewhat".

in order to achieve the ability to listen without complaints, i would need a tube-based stereo system and panel speakers.

i would start with a conrad johnson mv 125 amp and a pair of say, tympany 1ds, or stacked original quads, or the apogee duetta signature.

preamp might be tricky, but the original nobis proteus or mac c22 would suffice.

if you are playing cds and insist on current generation, maybe an amr 77 or audio research ref 7.

cables are another challenge. a bit of listening would be recommended.

again the key for me is not to be concerned about lost resolution but rather to be able to experience all varities of recording quality and still remain in my listening chair and let the music play.
mrtennis
3,295 posts
 
pedrillo, until you have described the attributes of the stereo system you may wish to acquire, it is impossible to make meaningful recommendations.

i assume you are seeking help to achieve this elusive goal. you are seeking component suggestions. please guide us as to your ideal of sonic euphoria, and then appropriate component suggestions can follow.
mrtennis
3,295 posts
 
i guess all of us are looking for the sound of live music in our listening rooms. how close can we come ?

i think obtaining the "best" recordings may be most effective at creating the illusion of live music.

as to components, there are many that will get you where you want to go. as for digital, i prefer the very first audio aero capitole and the very first zanden dac, as compared to their respective current versions.

i still feel that a large panel, e.g., magnepan 20.1, big sound lab, stacked quad 57s, or apogee will get bcloser to the real thing than any cone design.

i also feel that tubes are more natural sounding than solid state.

in summary, tubes in digital, large panels, tube amp and preamp and pick your own cables will get you where you want to go.
mrtennis
3,295 posts
 
i have in my system, cables from three diffrenet manufacturers. i have reviewed many cable products. interconnects and speaker cables from the same designer are not always consistent in their sonic signature. one cannot generalize.

it is best to be open minded and listen to cables from one manufacturer and then substiute cable products from other manufacturers until one has satisfied his/her idiosyncratic preference.
mrtennis
3,295 posts
 
hi bvdiman:

it seems that you are using some kind of equalization, or way of voicing your stereo system when listening to problem recordings.

suppose you could not access a "linearizer", would you then try to set up as color-free stereo system as possible, or live with a euphonic, softe sounding stereo system which loses some resolution and focus ?
mrtennis
3,295 posts
 
the easiest way to achieve an awesome listening experience is to acquire master analog tapes and a decent tape deck. the rest of the stereo system, will be secondary.

in fact a set of headphones is all that is necessary to achieve a very statisfactory listening experience with master tapes.

of course, finding master tapes is not easy.
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