This is where I am at after starting from scratch in 2010. I was one of the very skeptical consumers who looked at high end with a jaded eye. Once I bought my first pair of Monitor Audio RX8's and Audioquest cables, I was hooked...
I am not faithful to any brands even though I have a few McIntosh pieces displayed, I want to try as much as I can until something sounds so good it stays. For the money, these Klipsch Cornwall's are very hard to beat. Adding the new Crites tweeters and crossover updates was a no-brainer for the money, more air and clarity for $400.
I have a few items on the way that are not yet listed, which, is the point of Ever Evolving. I love this website, I first took a look at the systems placed here years ago and now I feel like I have one worth sharing. Cheers.
I've tried La Scalla's, I've tried CF4's and a few other Klipsch. These 81' Cornwall's with Crites Tweeters and Crites B-2 Crossovers do it for me. Absolute terrific value in used HiFi.
Rich Grey 600 RM Pro
Excellent balanced power unit for the price, no bling bling, just straight forward power.
Balanced Audio Technologies VK-250 w/SE upgrade
very clean, open top end with a lovely soundstage
SOtM sDP-1000
Wow, DAC and preamp with analogue volume control. This is a noticeable step up from the McIntosh D100 it replaced.
Hello AMVM, thank you for the compliments. For my own personal tastes, my modified Cornwalls were smoother to my ears, there was something grainy and a bit too forward sounding with the pair of CF4's I had. I tried a few different amps, but when it came down to it, I was very happy with the Cornwalls.
Lovely, simple system, impeculies! I have a pair of version 1 Epic CF-4s in Cherry, and they're easily the finest speakers I've ever had. Where did you find them lacking, especially compared to the Cornwalls? Thanks.
System edited: System edit; just swapped out my McIntosh D100 DAC/pre for the SOtM DAC/pre and all I can say is wow. So close in price points, but really not that close in performance. The extra difference could be attributed to the fact that I could connect the Bryston BUC-1 via the AES cable to SOtM versus the D100 being RCA only. The SOtM is very revealing with my BAT VK-250, add my upgraded Cornwalls and I might have too much of a good thing. I might have to swap out cables and go back to copper only. This combination is serving up resolution like never before. I am in the first couple hours, so I will report back after the 100 hour mark.
Greetings Matt, thank you for looking and the compliment. I am enjoying this set up, more important I am enjoying the journey to a more refined sound. Thanks!
System edited: Replaced old APC H10 AV conditioner with Richard Grey 600RM Pro. I already noticed tighter and fuller bass, very nice improvement for small investment in balanced power. I will replace the stock cord next.
