Description

This is a system I've been building on a modest budget for many years. I've kept it in my bedroom for myself until recently. Four good, student friends and I have leased a nice, big house for a couple years while we finish up at school. We have a dining area right in the middle of all of the shared living space downstairs that wasn't getting any use, so we decided to make it a sort of sitting/reading/talking/relaxing area with a couch, rocking chair, coffee table, etc. I finally figured that it was time to quit being stingy, and to let my system be enjoyed by the rest of the house. After all, we are all music lovers. I put it all in the new sitting room, and the space was an instant hit. Now, when we're all home in the evening enjoying a good beer and getting caught up, we're gathered around great music, not the TV. For our generation, having grown up glued to a television screen, our new listening space is like a glimpse back to a slightly simpler time, and we all love it.
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Components Toggle details

    • Marantz SA8003
    CD/SACD player with full DSD SACD playback. Also has built in USB connection for an iPod. Though we rarely use this feature, the sound quality is great when playing quality files because they are processed by the DAC onboard the Marantz.
    • Denon PMA-2000IVR
    Dual-mono, integrated stereo amp and pre-amp. 53 pounds of beefy components, in a very solid chassis. Denon did it right with this one.
    • Sonus Faber Concertino Home
    Two-way monitor with front-firing port. Center portion wrapped in black leather, sides capped with solid walnut. Silk-dome tweeters (my personal favorite).
    • Morrow Audio MA3
    Solid conductor interconnects hand made by Mike Morrow.
    • Audioquest Type 4
    Solid conductors, pre-terminated, banana to banana. 10 foot pair.
    • Audimute Sonipad
    Vibration dampening pads. Bought two 1'x1' pads and cut them to size for my speakers. They reduced vibration on my components and between speakers considerably.

Comments 7

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Thanks for your reply A_miner. I am looking to simplify my hodgepodge system and yours looks like an elegant solution. Looking forward to your upgrades.

mjcmt

Nice photos of your nice big house that I would be proud to live in. Nicely furnished and looks so relaxing. Got to love your beer bottle collection too.

As far as audio system, seems like you have made some prudent choices, with the 'best bang for the buck' as they say. I've been following that Denon integrated amp for a year as an upgrade from my Yamaha AVR, but I'm wondering if it will satisfy my listening pleasure. It has now been a year since you posted your system, so is the Denon still fulfilling your musical reproduction aspirations? Can you please comment with an update?

mjcmt