I am close...I just want to get a good cd player but can't decide if I should buy a high end DAC with a changer or go with a good single disc unit. HDCD is a must. Opinions and advise are always welcome.
Once that's done, new speakers are in order, and then way in the future a better amp. A reciever to get back into HT is near, but in all honesty, who cares? Ht is like bubble gum; good for a few minutes, then bland.
Voltage Stabalizer. Sweet piece, but front display is best turn off, otherwise its too big and bright. A real distraction. Power the 5100, preamp and amp
Monster 5100
Line Conditioner for TV and front end gear only.
Bel Canto Design Dac 2
Upsampling DAC
Marantz DV12S1
Very nice DVD-V/DVD-A Player
Cardas Golden Cross
RCAs from pre to amp
Cardas Golden Power
Have other PCs from Acoustic Zen, and Virtual Dynamics
REL Acoustics Strata mkIII
Nice Sub
Cardas Golden Reference
RCA from DAC to pre
Marantz SR8500
Receiver for home theater; using ht pass-thru on SF pre amp
Kimber Kable Monocle XL
8 gauge speaker wire. Its new to me so I'm learnig the ins and outs of it, but so far I like it.
System edited: Everyone knows real men use tubes. The wife would like the beemer, but really what is more important; her happiness or an upgraded subwoofer? I think the answer is clear.
Now that you are getting married it's time to start thinking about children and pleasing your wife. My advice is to sell all your gear and buy your wife a 7 series BMW with the funds... On second thought... put her to work and purchase the new Anthem D1 to improve the HT in that house of yours... Nice Rack! Jake
I keep meaning to update this system with better comments and pics, but have never gotten around to it. I would agree I need a better transport, but I am lazy and really like a 5 disc changer and unfortunatly there aren't many 'good' ones out there. The only one I know still in production is Mcintosh which is a bit out of my price range at the moment. I recently upgraded to the Europa Max speaker and although they are not broken in yet, I find them a nice upgrade from the Europas. The mids are not as sweet as I've heard from a pair of Paradigm Studio 100s v.1, but the trade off in clarity, and depth is well worth it. The Rel is my first sub, so I cannot compare to other pieces, but given I bought the lower end model of the ST series, I am very happy with it. I specifically like the way it connects right off my amp (I am using a custom cable with the neutrix connection) and the bass disappears into the music, not calling attention to the sub. One would never know I'm using a sub in a blind fold test.
In short, this system plays very clear and gets loud. The imaging left/right is awesome and the depth is equally impressive. I am curious if a better amp would bring back some of the sweet mid range and I've been told a sub higher up in Rel's line would make a big difference (might help in the lower-mid range section?), but can honestly say as of right now I am very happy and have no plans to make any changes...but as this hobby is an addiction for me, I imagine I will try a new amp or sub in the future but can only guess if the extra money I spend will be worth it. In the mean time I will try different tubes, but again, with the way it all sounds, I have no desire to change anything.
Hi, you never mentioned how much you enjoy the system. How do the Europas get along with the Rel Stata III? Is there any synergy in Europa-SF-Anthem? Do you like the sound? BTW, your DAC has good reviews but IMHO it needs a better transport.
System edited: Just makin some tweaks here and there and trying new ICs to see what I can see. Also learning about room design and custom acoustic treatments.
I have a preamp and amp with regulated power supplies, so have them directly into the 2000, as well as the 5100 being fed off the 2000. I have my tv, cdp, dac, dip and dvd in the 5100. I am running all this off a dedicated 20 amp line and feel the addition of the 2000 has improved some of the extreme frequencies; tighter bass which seems to 'last longer' if that makes any sense. Not sure I picked up on any major differences in the highs, but to be honest, I have not done extensive listening tests since the addition of the 2000. I will be moving soon and not sure what my new place will have in store for me in terms of power quality, so I'm glad I put money into keep my AC stable and clean.
Let me know what you find with your gear. If you do not have enough outlets between the 5100 and 2000 (you must have lots of gear) try an 'audiophile' power strip. Be careful not to overload the 2000.
I noticed you have both a HTS5100 and an AVS2000. I just purchased an AVS2000 (already owned the HTS5100) and am trying to decide which equipment to connect to which device (not enough outlets on the 5100 to connect all my equipment). How have you done it and are you relatively happy with it?
Im thinking under $2K. I am leaning towards the Sony XA 777ES, but would also like the convience of a changer, and HDCD, but if what I read about the Sony is true, it may be the way to go. A SF DAC with a changer is my second place thought, but have no idea what changer I would buy.
With that Sonic Frontiers preamp and the Anthem, a Classe cdp would work out nicely. I have a cdp3 with Sonic Frontiers sfs 80 amp and ARC preamp...The classe sounded so much better when I moved it from my solid state system to the Tube setup. It does have hdcd and dual burr brown dacs.. a nice piece for the money... The nad s500 is a great piece with that gear as well.. but very tough to find.. Good luck, Joe Custom Audio LLC