Sound and aesthetics so outclassed what I had auditioned to that point that I went outside my budget
VPI Industries Scout
Additions here were replacing IC's with Audioart IC3SE's. Improved the bass and resolution.
Brinkman Fein
Phono Preamp. Upgrade from the pro-ject originally purchased with the Scout
Wavelength Audio Brick V3
USB only. 24/96. Specs not up to latest and greatest. But in this room and as part of this system, very pleasing sound quality. Other benefits were small size, ease in setting up and robustness and reliability in usage.
Bryston BCD-1
Purchased from fellow A-goner. Has the best bass of all my sources, but also the most digital-sounding (much better than internet radio but not as smooth as PureMusic/Mini/Brick). It provides a convenient way to listen to our CD's and we're happy with the sound for what we were willing to spend
Volent Paragon VL-2
Because of our cats, and desire to keep speakers from overwhelming the room, restricted our search to monitors. After much reading, and several auditions chose these as they could be placed close to walls, the dimensions were right (narrow in width) and price was within my range (helped by a cosmetic defect). Stands are DIY. The granite sides make for a very solid support.
Morrow SP-4 4.5 meter length
Best thing said about the cables is that we can't see them (much to wife's approval) and that I can't really tell a difference from the Nordost SPM's they replaced.
DIY LP cabinet
Built specifically for storing LP's.
DIY Storage
The cabinet adjacent to the archway used to hold the audio equipment. It's now used to store a VPI HW 16.5 record cleaner (loud, bulky and effective). The drawers hold our cd's and dvd's. CD's mostly in the drawers. The record cleaner is readily available but out of sight.
morrow MA-4 1 meter
A little more expensive than the audioart cables, but more flexible. Sound quality is about the same, but much better than MA-1, monster cable,
Audioart IC3SE
Less expensive than the Morrows, but more bulky and less flexible. Comparable in sound.
Sony Viao VPCz1
Laptop with SSD. i5 processor. Became available for audio system when I purchased a desktop for photo processing.