I've put the Quads up on 10.5" solid wood stands to get the soundstage up off the floor. Tried alot of amplifiers (EAR, Quicksilver, ARC) - thus far the Cary's take the day as far as the combination of liquidity and resolution. The Odysee Stratos is also a very fine sounding SS amplifier I sometimes listen to.
As for cabling, I haven't gone very far with experimentation yet. I'm running Harmonic Technology Truthlink interconnects (12 ft b/t preamp and amps) and Canare star quad speaker cables. I tried a few interconnects, and thought the HT was very neutral and a good bang for buck. Not sure where to go on speaker cable. One need be only 6 feet long, the other 12!
As you can see from the system pictures, the sources and preamp are in built-in cabinets, the amps are in a rack in the corner of the room. This is a dedicated listening room. I first contructed and installed way too many absorptive panels and bass traps. I've since taken many out, leaving 7 panels and two bass traps.
Very nice system and pics. You got a very nice room. I a curious - what are those speakers lurking behind the chairs in the "chairs" pic (the ones in the corner)?
