Rives, a minor correction: Philips is based in The Netherlands -- the same country where Van den Hul, Siltech, Kharma (to name only the well known) create their wonderful gear. Having said that, I certainly don't want to suggest that nationality is of any importance in the world of (high-end) audio lovers. IMHO this thread could easily derail into low-end patriotism. It makes no sense to me to introduce irrelevant criteria in our struggle for perfect audio reproduction. In fact most sets will include gear from a great diversity of origins. Mine for instance is a mix of US (amplifiers, cables), UK (tone arm), Swiss (turntable), soviet (NOS tubes in the US gear!!), Japanese (cartridge), Belgian (phono-amp) and Dutch (speakers-with German and Danish units-, cables, cdp & DAC).
It all turns around integration and synergy, isn't it? Just like the real world...
It all turns around integration and synergy, isn't it? Just like the real world...