Beautiful system, Sportsterguy! As for placing the speex on the long wall, Allen Perkins of Immedia taught me to do it that way. It's counterintuitive at first, but it works! Make sure your head is within 18 inches of the back wakll ... this cancels out a whole slew of unwanted reflective "hash" and ghosting. I'm in a tiny room at the moment, so the Virgos are right on the room's long axis, and my head is the apex of a 75-degree angle between me and the midranges. I can lift a Virgo. Not so sure about a WP8. Invite friends. Provide beer and pizza. Open the keg AFTER positioning has been nailed down. Jmo! cheers apo
I would rebut some of Lightminer's points thus: CD might be a mature technology, but it will be the last free format. Music as pure software will be set up for the provider, not consumer. Remember DivX? That early competitor to DVD-video would have cost up front (buy the disc for 50-70% of the price of a read-many DVD, then pay per view cuz your machine won't operate unless it can phone charges onto your Masturcard) and whenever played. And they'll track who played what when, how often. Marketing dep't will require it. CDs are the principal music medium today, although music files are about to blow CD's doors off. I won't hold my breath for a high-rez (SACD or even Red Book CD equivalent) file format, or for the Apple Reference Line AuPod that'll be sold, and sold hard, to play that imagined format. You can get nearly everything on CD, pretty cheap if you do garage sales and thrift stores. CD will be around for a long time, even if Mall-Wart and Suckit City won't sell them. Many of today's top players should also outlast most of their owners ... the ones who aren't frequently upgrading. LP lives and is actually thriving. There's enough of it to go around that seasoned audiophiles will even leave a few in the stores for the younger generation to discover. Soundwise, LP isn't embarrassed in the least by CD. Music files will be, except in casual portable or automotive listening situations. Bottom line imo: for someone who knows audio will be a big part of life for a long time, investing in quality CD playback makes sense.
I agree with Lightminer's list of top digital brands. I'd add Emm and Weiss, two new but well-received players. What I caution here is that each of these brands sounds quite different. Some people think Wadia is annoyingly "digital" in its sound. Some feel Levinson is polite unto lifelessness. Some find Esoteric's style too lean and forward. Are these brands flawed? No. Each has its house's sound, which sound will have adherents and detractors. Are they wrong? No. People hear differently and their sonic/musical tastes vary. These two factors sum in a linear manner, meaning that the spread of components that are "best in class" is wide. Ya GOTTA listen before assigning coolness factor. Aside: The Elgar accepts non-CD digital datastreams. It's a dressed-up pro unit. John Atkinson uses one with digital master tapes of his recording sessions. cheers apo
