I went through a complete revamp of my system in 2023 over a 10 month period. Very happy with how the new system turned out. After going through a number of tube and SS integrated amplifiers, I found the combination of tube preamp (Octave HP 500 SE) and SS solid state amp (Vitus SS-101 Signature) to be the best (thus far).
Update -- March 2024: Replaced Denon cart with Hana ML; another leap in performance.
Update -- April 2024: Replaced the Meitner MA3 DAC with Merging Technologies +NADAC and +Power. What a huge difference! Best DAC I've ever owned.
Class A Power Amp -- after cycling through a number of amps in the past, the Vitus just clicked all the boxes for me. This 176 lbs. beast was a revelation. Packs a punch but wears a velvet glove.
Ayon Audio Ayon CD-T MK II
CD Transport -- I prefer the tube output over transistor
Power conditioner -- one of the few PCs that didn't kill the dynamics
Live Vibe Live Vibe Racks and Audio Points
The Live Vibe racks and Audio Points (footers) were a revelation. By far one of my best investments in audio. The level of improvement after adding Live Vibe equipment was substantial and immediately noticeable.
Micro Seiki BL-101
Micro Seiki BL-101 with MA-505 tonearm. Upgraded cart to Hana ML
Ansuz Acoustics PowerSwitch X-TC
Network switch
Harbeth M40.2
The speakers are sitting on TonTrager stands
Octave Audio HP 500SE
Beautiful sounding tube preamplifier with separate power supply.
GIK Acoustics Tubo Tube Traps Pro
GIK Acoustics Acoustic Panels
Various acoustic panels on all walls
Small Green Computer sonicTransporter i5
Music server including SSD and Roon Core. With separate LPS
Merging Technologies +NADAC with +Power
The +NADAC with separate +Power power supply is by far the best and most analog sounding DAC I've ever owned. The DSD playback is phenomenal, as it should be since many studios like TRPTK uses Merging equipment to record DSD music.
