Lots of Changes made in the last few years. All for the Better. I am amazed at how much better the system has become. All the stuff below the line was written in appx 2005. I have taken my time mostly because my pockets are pretty shallow but I have expensive tastes. Vinyl is still my main media. However I can enjoy the CDP, especially with some music which never made it to Vinyl. Storyville comes to mind. I just got the streamer so the jury is still out on it. Yet I have not
had to to do some tweaks such as footers. I have done this with the CDP with great success which has brought a lot of advantage to an otherwise stock CDP. Still my vinyl is top dog...And it should be
The audio portion of this system has been put together over the past 2-3 years. The next step may be the HT portion. But I have said that for at least a year. And I don't see any upgrades in the HT arena soon. Truth is that I spend much more time with music than movies. The system is primarily for music(85%) with about 15% movies.
As for the audio, the CJ stuff is excellent. The Silverline's have a great sound, especially on accoustic music. It sounds like the musicians are playing live in my living room. The Theta Miles made a big improvement over previous player which sounded either great or horrible, depending on the source. The Theta sounds good on everything. The Silver Lace ic's, which are used throughout the audio portion, helped open up the sound stage and smooth out some bright passages that I had previously heard. A dedicated circuit also helped. I stumbled onto the vinyl scene when I bought the NAD PP-1 for recording LP's to cd. The MMF-7 was a good addition to the mix which replaced an old Dual. The NAD has been replaced with a Wright phono preamp, which has made a tremendous improvement to the analog section. Most of my music time is now spent listening to vinyl. Maybe someday I will get to the HT portion but for now I'm stuck in the vinyl mode
Next possible upgrade may be speaker cables, but don't say anything to my wife about that.
Battery drive motor system with Holographic Tape drive tweak.
TriPlanar Vll
Tonearm
Benz Micro Ruby Z
LO MC cartridge Replaced a Zyx 4D (on sabbatical awaiting retip) Ruby Z is even better than the 4D. Not night & day difference but enough to hear. Of course, the zyx stylus had many more hours. A retip will tell a better story. the Zyx was no slouch.
Vacuum State JLTi
Phono Preamp. Great bang for the Buck. This preamp is stable enough to run LOMC without loading plugs.
Theta Digital Miles
without xlr or st connectors
PS Audio DirectStream DAC
Digital to Analog Converter
Conrad Johnson CT-5
Tubed Line Stage
Don Sachs Kootenay 120 65wpc
This is a highly modified amp which is completely updated 11/2020 to latest specs. It has dual power supplies and the best caps along with oversized transformers. It sounds great
Silverline Audio Sonata
The combination of mid-range magic and superb imaging make these a joy to listen to.
Sumiko S-10
There are 2 in the system which was a grand addition. This is a Rel clone with same specs as the Rel s-5. The only difference is the cone material. 550W 12"woofer and 12" radiator.
Pure Note Paragon Enhanced Bi-wire
silver
Pure Note Paragon Enhanced
Used on source equipment, CD & Turntable
Pure Note Alluvion
Used between amp and preamp
Core Power Technologies EquiCore Core Power 1800
Balanced power
VTL BL 404
Component stand. A good stand for the money but needs some tweaking. I've filled the legs with sand and have used cork between shelf and rails. I have considered changing out the shelving to maple and using points between the platform and the rails.
artemus woodworks Mass loaded
Turntable stand with concrete filled legs and sandbox on top. Weighs in at 120lbs
Pangea AC-9
Power cords on amp and Subwoofer. Big overachievers IMO. Very good bang for the buck
Oyaide R-1
AC Power outlet. This AC outlet is amazing. It was an upgrade to the whole system
Perfect Path Technologies Omega E Mats
Place under components. It Just Works. Added Realism
Perfect Path Technologies Power Filter
Plug into dedicated Circuit. IT TOO Works for better Clarity & Realism
Pangea Audio AC 14XL Mk ll
Power Cables Used on CD Player & Preamp
DIYumas Roller Blocks
Footers under CD player and preamp
Nobsound Spring Footers
Under Amp For Now
Aurender N-100H Music Server/ Streamer
2 gig HD
Core Power Technologies Equa=Core Deep Core
Great add on for the power conditioner. Used as a pre-cleaner, It removes dc current from the power before sending it to the power conditioner.
Sounds like you are having a good time with the audio portion. I thought about "expanding" my 2 channel to include HT, but never found a HT processor I could live with for 2 channel, even the MOST expensive. Option one was to keep HT separate from 2 channel. Option two was to introduce a hometheater processor that got used for movies only, and never for music.
