I have been in this hobby for a long time and have gone through a ton of gear. Several years back I bought a pair of MMG's and fell in love with the open sound they gave me compared to what I had been listening to. I kept going up in the Magnepan line till I settled on 1.6's which I loved. I always had a hankering to try the true ribbons but felt they were too big for my listening space. Well I decided to go for it after getting a good deal on a set of 3.5's. They are probaly too large for my listening space, but boy do they sound good. I then went on the quest for the "perfect" amp within my budget. I really wanted to go tubes and after a couple less than satisfying attempts I decided SS was the road I needed to travel to really realize there potential. I then went with a McCormack DNA-1 that I loved. After a few years with the DNA-1 I had the money to move up the food chain and wanted to get the DNA-500 or a Pass 250.5. I ended up with a vey good deal on a DNA-225 fully modded by Steve and his staff with there gold plus upgrade plus ARC-2. This system has been giving me tons of enjoyment and I think I'm set for a while.