I recommend reading Premium Home Theater by Earl Geddes before contacting Rives. At the very least you'll go into the project with a good working knowledge of the theory and what options you have, and after reading the book you -- like me -- may even decide you can skip Rives and just find a good reputable contractor. I'm no handyman by any stretch, but the book does such a thorough yet totally approachable job of giving instructions and product recommendations that it should be relatively easy for anyone with construction skills. And obviously you'll have a good bit of extra dough to drop on better equipment to boot. Best of luck with your exciting project.
Buiding listening room from scratch - need advice
I am finally in a position to build a dedicated listening room in a new addition we are building onto our home. It will be in the basement and the room will be about 12' x 18'; not huge but the most space due to some limitations. I plan to hire Rives to consult on the design of the actual space. What I am looking for is recommendations on equipment. This will be a two channel setup with a turntable, cd player and ability to play computer audio. I am looking for a new amplifier, preamp, speakers and interconnects. I will probably have about $25k to $30K to spend on equipment depending on how the rest of the renovation goes. I have listened to a few setups with Moon electronics and B&W and Sonus Faber speakers. I actually preferred the Sonus Fabers over the 802Ds even though they had a $75K stack of equipment powering them versus the Sonus Fabers that had $20K stack. Lastly, I am intrigued by Wilson Audio Sashas and Lamm hybrid amps that I have read about on Audiogon - never heard them. Okay, that is the background, please let me know your thoughts. Thank you in advance!