Warning: this system can be the cause of severe addiction in the form of countless hours being enthralled by the Essence of Music itself, and not being able to do anything else in parallel. The resulting smile of contentment may become permanent.

The key, here, is synergy between all the different components. I.e. all components complement each other in a fashion that makes the whole more than the sum of its parts. Truly Rega, Conrad and Totem share, all three, a belief in the musical message first, above all else. I have listened to many extremely expensive systems at hi-fi shows and specialised boutiques, but rarely have I heard such engaging musicality as with this system. The rythm, speed, coherence, bass tightness (if not depth), deep and wide sound stage make for a truly enjoyable and non-fatiguing listening experience. The music is alive and well, instruments play as part of an orchestra, not as separate performances "glued" together into an artificial whole.

True, I will readily concede that on a one-to-one basis there must be better sounding components than the ones listed above. After all, I never heard all components out there. But this is why I do not believe in listening to components in isolation and why I find it difficult to purchase a piece of equipment, if I could not test it in my system first (perhaps also why there are so many different opinions on a given piece of equipment). For example, I remember listening to a Naim CD5i, Cary tube integrated and Dynaudio Audience 52 speakers: all outstanding components in their own right. However, once put together, they simply were not able to effectively work together and convey a satisfying experience.

Some people will no doubt be surprised to see a mere 45 Watt by channel tube amp driving Totem Model 1 Signatures. Yes, I too, was told that the Totem were difficult to drive and power hungry. The facts are that the Totems simply sing when powered by Conrad gear. I have listened to them driven by Arcam amps, the Bryston SST 60 and then by the Conrad CAV 50. At each stage the improvement was phenomenal: upon reaching the Conrad, I fell off the chair. Characteristics such as bass extension were beyond anything I came to expect out of a mini-monitor. The real key to success here was to find a dealer who was open to try the different combinations of components and through an empirical approach come up with the best sounding combination to my ears. Can it be improve? sure I heard Nirvana in the form of an upgrade of the Cd player to a Rega Jupiter or Meridian 507 or better yet, adding the Chord DAC 64. On a practical note, this system could be put together through this Web site without the need to sell a kidney or one's first born.