The BEST system you've ever built !!!!

Its was in the late 60s- Klipschons in the corner, TWO pairs of Bose 2201 speakers configured to be 1/4 spheres along the wall between the K horns, (Bose had their own amps) K-horns driven by Marantz 9s, 7C preamp, 10B tuner, a Crown 842 tape deck, Magenecord tape deck, Thorens 124 w/SME arm and Ortophon MC and a Thorens 224 w/Thorens arm and Ortophon cart. Most important was a big rack of 10" original tapes of recording sessions from classical venues all around the country (an engineer's private stock.)

This is my biginers system...more to come.

CD Transport: Mark Levinson 37
D/A Converter: Mark Levinson 360S
D/D Converter: DCS ' Purcell '
Line Preamp: Mark Levinson 380S
Power Amps : Mark Levinson 336,331,334,434
Speakers : B&W Matrix 801s SII, SCM 8, ASW 800, 805s, HTM 800
Tuner : Magnum Dynalab 'MD 102+
Magnum Dynalab 'Signal Sleuth 205'
Headphone : Headroom Blockhead and Sennheiser 600 with Cardas cable
Interconnects: Acoustic Zen Hologram Ref II and Silver Ref II, Transparent Ultra XL, Harmonic Technology Magic and Pro Silway II, Kimber Orchard, NBS master AES/EBU
Speaker Cables: Audioquest Volcano Biwire, Kimber 8tc
Power Cables: Harmonic Technology AC-10, Shunyata Black Mamba VII, NBS Monitor II, Virtual Dynamics Nite, JPS Labs Digital AC,
Power Conditioner: BPT 3.5 Signature series and Tice Video Solo
Projector: Sony CRT
Line Doubler: Runco SC4200
Video cable: Transparent Premium SVS, Kimber RGBHV D30, Better Cables VGA,
Screen: Stewart Four Way Masking
Tweaks: Symposium Ultra platforms, Aurios 1.2s, Cardas caps, Symposium roller balls 2+, Polycrystal cones and spikes, and platform, Sound Anchor amp stands,
Rack: Lovan

Monrio Asty cd
Labtek 300B valve amplifier 9w
Usher 737 floor stand loudspeakers

My main system-Rotel Rcd 951 cd player
Denon PMA 2000r integrated amp
B&W Cdm1 nt speakers
comes in second to the best system I have built-
Musical Fidelity X-can V2 headphone amplifier
Sennheiser Hd 600 headphones
Rotel Rcd 951 cd player
Neither comes all that close to real life, but both are satisfying and the best I have had. I think the headphone set up has greater presense and has a more natural sound, or so it seems. At the very least, it has an ease to it that I find very appealing. The Denon is huge and heavy and a bit squat, and somehow I have become fond of it. I would like to see what becomes of it given a "better" cd player than the 951- would like to go full circle before I consider replacing it, even as I suspect it is the weakest link in this combination.

RTR ESR-6 tweeters
Electrovoice 350 horn mids
15 inch Speakerlab woofers in ported cabinet
Stereo 70 for tweeters
2 x Dynaco Mark IIIs for mids
2 x Dynaco Mark VIIs for bass
Carver C-9 holographic sound processor
Dynaco PAT-3 Preamp
Technics 1400 turntable