As most of you "Audiophiles" know this hobby of ours can start to become an obsession: "if I had just a little more ______ I'll be done with this system". Then you hear someone else's setup and there's the upgrade/tweak bug again. I know firsthand because it's happening to me right now.
I thougth I was really close with the Aronov pre/power amps and the Accuphase cd player. The sweetness of tubes with the authority and accuracy of solid state. But I knew something was missing, I just couldn't put my finger on it. Then I remember being awaken every Saturday morning by my father playing "My Favorite Things, Coltrane" on vinyl through a Marantz reciever. I hated being waken up but the air and authority of the vinyl was almost like a wet dream to a 10 year kid. Was this what I was looking for?
In comes the Pro-Ject Perspective with Grado Platinum cartridge and Michael Yee phono stage. After having it professionally setup for $40 and about 20 hours initial breakin, Wham! wet dreams again. This is what I was missing! The air, depth and soundstage was there.
I bought about 350 albums and fell in love with music again for the 50 millionth time. At this time I'm telling myself this is it, with the exception of a few tweaks (cable elevators, isolation blocks). The Accuphase has been turned off since I got the vinyl rig.
In steps the person who got me addicted to this "hobby" 6 years ago, I won't mention his name because maybe someone else is cursing him everytime they spend money on their system. I'm at his house listening to his Unison 845 setup and the midrange is
seducing me. How can I get my midrange to sound like that, short of buying an 845 based amp and high efficiency speakers? Here comes that damn bug again that there's no cure for.
So that's where I'm at now.
Those reading this post please offer suggestions on finding that killer midrange with a KT88/6550 based amplifier. I'm thinking about those reissue Gold Lion KT88's but I'm going to wait for the price to go down and more reviews.
By the way, with the exception of some interconnects and cartridge, all of my system was bought used or demo. I thinks it's the best way to go if you're looking for a certain piece but don't want to pay full price for a possible disapointment.
I own Aronov amps and love them just as you do. I would strongly recommend two things: KT-90 tubes and top quality feet. KT-90 makes them one even better in every respect and add about 10W of power. I was fortunate to buy Combak Harmonix TU-210ZX Tuning Feet in Japan for a reasonoble price. They are the best choice. You can contact me if you need more feedback.
