Jazz is my fave also, especially piano trios (my beatnik phase kicked in about a decade ago…it's never too late). Any great system should support whatever style of music you put through it, and mine now has an SEP tube amp of 12 watts per side, and 250 watts of bass potential from two REL subs. This seems to work somehow…who knew? Old Monk LPs, orchestral stuff, or modern Vijay Iyer (this dude can paste you to the wall…in a good way)…the rig should embrace either one and if it can't there's something wrong with it. I think great tube amps can hit a level of musicality and clarity at a lower price point than comparable SS amps might…I used a Jolida 502p for years and thought it sounded fabulous at around 1200 bucks, and the SEP I now use from amp guru Dennis Had lists for maybe 1500 and sounds like I'll own it forever, and it only has 4 tubes to worry about. I've actually compared it (in my home rig) to a recent vintage Pass "First Watt" amp and thought it sounded better at much less money, although if I was going to use an SS amp again a Pass would be on my short list. Tubes.
My jazz collection told me to get a *real* system
So I’m determined to put together my first serious analog system, having subsisted on entry-level NAD TT, integrated and phono amp for over 10 years. My tastes are very eclectic, but I’ve put together a nice jazz collection and that’s what’s really crying out. I’m looking at a budget of about $8K over the next 12-18 months. Yeah, that’s the trick: This ain’t gonna happen over night. But I’m willing to be patient with imbalances in my system as long as I’m headed in the right direction. And I’d rather go the route of buying the gear I really want for the long term rather than stop gaps and labor intensive upgrade paths etc. My life just doesn’t have room for that.
N.B.: Looking to stay SS, likely integrated+phono preamp configuration. Really just talking about the table, cart, and amplification ... speakers and ICs are OK for now.
Questions:
1) How would you divvy up the dough?
2) In what order would you buy the components?
3) Top 3 recommendations within each component category?
4) Other crucial considerations?
Appreciate the wisdom!
N.B.: Looking to stay SS, likely integrated+phono preamp configuration. Really just talking about the table, cart, and amplification ... speakers and ICs are OK for now.
Questions:
1) How would you divvy up the dough?
2) In what order would you buy the components?
3) Top 3 recommendations within each component category?
4) Other crucial considerations?
Appreciate the wisdom!