My present system: Overall the system has a very natural sound. The midrange is deep, colorful and as rich as many SET based systems. The highs are airy, open and extremely effortless with no glare or harshness. Bass is extremely well defined with no bloat or bloom but solid and deep. The system is easy to listen to for five or more uninterrupted hours with no fatigue and never losing interest. Imaging is pinpoint with a deep and wide sound stage. I've back my toeing by a very tinny amount to keep the imaging from appearing artificially etched. In my opinion the tonal quality is as accurate and life like as any system I've auditioned. I go to a lot of live performances in small clubs, 1000 seat theaters and two world renowned orchestra halls. I for the most part find my system more enjoyable to listen to than live. It's impossible to duplicate the energy of a live show, but in sound quality I believe I have surpassed most venues.

Room: This is the most overlooked and yet important component in an audio system. Sadly most of us must use the room that came with our house and don't have the luxury of designing a perfect room. I am part of the masses, I use a separate room that was a livingroom in another life. It's size is wrong and it's finishes are suspect. The room is 17'-6" x 13'-4" x 8'-0". I have set the speakers on the long wall as recommended by the speaker manufacturer. The tweeters are placed 2'-8" (approx. 1/5 the 13'-4" dim.) out from the front wall and 3'-11" (a min. of 1/3 greater than the front wall) from the side walls. This means they are 9'-8" apart and the speakers are toed at 31 degrees. My head is set 4'-5"(approx. 1/3 the 13'-4" dim.) from the back wall which in turn leaves my ears at 8'-0" from the tweeters. This is a bit more "near field" than what is usual, but the recommended alternative of my head against an acoustic panel on the back wall is not possible in my room. The front wall has a large window with full length wool curtains. The window is treated with 9 Margo Audio Labs dots and I have two custom 15 lbs steel/rubber anti-vibration plates leaned against the glass. The back walls are full height book shelves filled with books set at varying depths. One side wall is a fireplace and the other is a french door. These are both very bad surfaces and I use acoustic panels (only when I listen) at the reflection points. The ceiling/wall corners are treated with corner tunes. The floor is hardwood with a large 14' x 10' wool rug. I have two wool throw rugs on top of the overall rug. I continue to focus my attention on my room and plan to try some other DIY project.

You may have seen that my speaker cable, interconnects and power cords equal almost 50% of the value of my system. This is far above what is the "recommended" budget but after testing more that 50 interconnects and 20 power cords I've found this is an extremely important aspect of getting the most from the equipment. Most of the cables I own are used and were purchased at considerable discounts off the retail price. I advise everyone to consider finding good prices on the best cables they can afford.

You may have also figured I'm very big on tweaks and vibration control. To learn more about my experience with tweaks, power and other stuff see "winter lessons" on Audiogon.