components vs integrated vs "lifestyle solutions"

Elegant Simplicity.

I am coming to love that phrase.

A few months ago, I bought a Peachtree Decco for my office. $650 delivered, used, here off Audigon.

It is no longer in my office. It’s in my living room. It’s the centerpiece of my audio experience. All my sources are now connected to it. I have 4 neon green stickies with blue lettering to remind me which source component is connected to which input. Right now I’m listening to a CD ripped onto the hard drive of my Olive Musica, which is then connected to the Decco which is driving a $500 pair of speakers. And I am smiling ear to ear. Hi-Fi was never this elegant before. And did it really sound this good?

I’ve disconnected everything else, and I now have $15K of gear sitting idle - including an Arcam AV8 (with optional phono board), a Cary Cinema 11 (I’ve already boxed it up and am entertaining offers), a Bel Canto evo4 gen II amplifier, and a pair of Gallo Ref 3.1 speakers.

I am ready to make an even deeper plunge. I am thinking of a Outlaw RR2150 (dump all the wires and the surround BS and go retro analog), a Music Hall Trio (would need a phono pre-amp), an Arcam Solo Movie (would still need a phono pre-amp), or perhaps a Musical Fidelity KW250s (good-bye surround, hello 2-channel nirvana?).

Would love to hear from other adiophiles who have gone down this path.

My needs are simple: I listen to CD’s (and have ripped my entire collection to the hard drive of my Olive Musica), I listen to an occasional LP, and I watch movies (Oppo 983 video to my Sony HD TV and then audio 4-channel anolog out – no sub, no center). I have no Tivo, no iPod, and no MP3’s. I’m tired of all the wires and the buttons and the remotes and I am ready for elegant simplicity.