First Hi-Fi system

great gear, enjoy. i like to use isolation gear and good gaulity cables for the combination of sound quality and craftsmanship. i also use room treatment panels to experiment with room acoustics. seems to me just get some new/old music and start listening. pretty good entry system to say the least. you have dodged the bullet of intro level gear and expensive upgrades. who recommended these choices? a store or a friend or your reading?

The system was put together by me through lots of reading (thanks audiogon members) and from talking with some really great guys at my local hifi store. i listened to the pathos (which i previously didn't consider) with the dynaudios and was immediately impressed. I saw some used dynaudio monitors that are a few steps up so I was considering those without listening to them although I would love to give my business to the local store but the used market is really hard to pass up.

I also like the idea of building a listening room and having the option of using the pathos classic one in mono mode with another classic one (although my feeling is if I do this, it will be with brand new separates).

Now you should trust your ears and assemble a system based on listening.

If I were starting from scratch, I would start by finding a good local dealership and spending a bunch of time there listening to your own music. Buy what you like from one place, knowing it sounds good to your ears and have them set it up at your house. Also try to hear systems belonging to friends for comparison.