13 years of hifi hunting and 1 house later

Description

Since I first purchased new-old-stock B&W's in 2009 (then 22 years old), I have been hooked on hifi and have become an obsessive 2nd hand hunter. Over the years I have built a total giant slayer, and now have three systems throughout the house with four total zones.

My wife has been bitten by the bug and enjoys hunting gear with me, and has built a system of her own with some components of mine, and some of hers. In 2020 we bought our first house (right before prices took off). We are on 1.4 acres and have much room for privacy and volume. Not to worry though, turns out my neighbor is a total audiophile as well and has a basement 5.1 with Infinity Kappa speakers, a ProJect 'table, and a *very large* SVS sub. The neighborhood has never sounded better!!

Main rig

* listed here *

Wife's hifi

Wharfedale EM97

Fisher PL-6 panel speakers

Denon 1910

ProJect Debut III w/speedbox

Ortofon 2M Blue

Salamander Design Synergy

Bedroom

B&W DM 602.5

Sony DA7ES

Salamander Designs Archtype

* all the childhood/retro video games hooked up and ready to go *

Backyard

Klipsch AW-650 tied to main system listed here

Components Toggle details

- Jamo Concert 11
The single greatest score I've ever gotten and most likely ever will. Found these at an online local sale. There was other hi end gear there that was priced well but over my head. These were however priced *way below* their market value... Im guessing they looked at other models when researching! I knew Jamo the brand, but didn't know about the Concert series until I saw these. I recognized the Seas drivers and immediately knew they were something special.

I am nearly two years into owning them and am still head over heals in all regards. I really cannot imagine replacing them at this point. They really seem to be the perfect size for my room and sound oh so great. Nearly full range (rated to 30hz), and are so open and effortless sounding. The best comparison I can think of is melted butter; warm and rich, but still clear fluid.
- Martin Logan Dynamo
Sealed 10" design that really sounds great. These cant be cranked and rattle badly when strained... but considering the Jamo's bass levels, my room, and volume tastes it never get to that level. Great bottom end weight and fills out basslines well. Lives on a Auralex Subdude which allowed me to use it as a renter for years!
- Denon POA-5000
An absolute multichannel monster in Champaign gold. Front channels are rated at 160W into 6 ohms, but is also rated for 6 ohm mono, implying the amp is well suited down to 3 ohms in stereo. Copper chassis, 50+ pounds, and absolute top notch build quality outside and in!

Front channels power the Concert 11s and rear channels go to a pair of outdoor Klipsch's for the backyard. The backyard is fed a fixed signal, there is an inline volume switch in the garage. This allows the music to continue on into the backyard when entertaining, but not be effected by volume changes inside at the stereo.
- PS Audio Digital Link 3
At this point this is the longest last piece in the system, I bought this off of Audiogon in October 2010 and have somewhat built around it. These seemed to be in many great systems over the years and a proven hifi winner. Neat, simple, solid.

Every upgrade there after has shown through and I have never had a single hiccup out of it operationally. I'm a sucker for the fat aluminum faceplate and just run the optical from the TV. All the gaming/streaming sources are ran into the TV.
- Rotel RC-1550
The latest addition, found this in like new condition on Audiogon. This replaced a later-era Marantz stereo receiver that was doing preamp duty for years.

The 1550 is the last version of Rotel's analog preamp that they have been making forever it seems. A total proven winner at this point, if not the most exciting piece. But I suppose simple and discrete is what you want from a preamp...
- Sony S7700
ES-era DVD player with the super cool drop-down faceplate. Used for occasional CD use and comparing recordings/sources.

Five buck Goodwill score with box and all goodies. This era of Sony is getting cheaper and cheaper and are such great machines. Im always on the hunt for an ES SACD deal local.

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Nice budget systems.

infection June 04, 2022 07:56

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