What stereo(s) do you listen to? What do you want?

[breitlingman]

I run Klipsch Reference series in my HT setup in my basemet.. I really feel like their gear is underrated by the audiophile community. I have some of their older (2004ish) bookshelves, the RB-5 II's that I feel are better than the newer ones with the plastic baffles. They were also more expensive. I picked one of the newer Centre Channels... the RC-62 i believe, to use in my HT.

In my main stereo hi-fi setup i am running:
Gershman Acoustics X-Cube
Odyssey Stratos Extreme Monoblocks
Linar Pre-2 Preamplifier
Bel Canto CD-1 Redbook CD Player
Pro-Ject 2Xperience Turntable
Ortofon Kontrapunkt A Cart
Pro-Ject Phono Box SE
Pro-Ject Speedbox II
Monster Power HTPS7000 Balanced Power Conditioner
Furutech eTP:60 Power Conditioner
Nordost, Dream State and AQ Cabling

This is my main stereo system... I really enjoy it, but haven't had much time to listen in the last 6 months.

 

[Artisan Fan]

I like Gershman speakers. The rest of gear is good too although I'm not familiar with Linar preamps.

 

[Zinn]

Nothing special here. My current setup:

Pioneer Elite SC-05
Dali Ikon 5 speakers

 

[breitlingman]

Originally Posted by Artisan Fan

I like Gershman speakers. The rest of gear is good too although I'm not familiar with Linar preamps.

Yeah I really enjoy the smooth robust sound of the Gershmans.. a bit softer at the top end, but very tight and low bass.

Linar is a company that was started by Victor Sima after he sold Sim Audio. He took his style of designing volume controls and feedback stages and applied it to a new design with the Linar. It sounds very similar to the Simaudio P3/P5 preamps in my opinion.

 

[Artisan Fan]

Originally Posted by breitlingman

Yeah I really enjoy the smooth robust sound of the Gershmans.. a bit softer at the top end, but very tight and low bass.

Linar is a company that was started by Victor Sima after he sold Sim Audio. He took his style of designing volume controls and feedback stages and applied it to a new design with the Linar. It sounds very similar to the Simaudio P3/P5 preamps in my opinion.

Thanks for the background on Linar, good info! I heard the Black Swan Gershmans and met both Eli and Ofra Gershman at the Rocky Mountain show this year. Very nice people making superb speakers.

 

[LabelKing]

My humble bedroom setup. The Aurex/Toshiba M15 set cost 1000 Pounds in 1980, and the JVC QL-Y7 was a high-end turntable in its day.

 

[kmwrestle]

Musical Fidelity A3.5 integrated
Paradigm Studio 20 v5
LG BD370 Blu-Ray Player
LG 37LH40 37" LCD TV 1080p 120hz

I just upgraded from an old NAD integrated and BW 600 s3 speakers

Next: DAC, CD Player

 

[Artisan Fan]

Studio 20s are very nice speakers. An old friend of mine had a pair.

 

[breitlingman]

Originally Posted by kmwrestle

Next: DAC, CD Player

Which DAC and CD Player are you planning?

I just purchased a Rega Brio 2000 (nos) and Planet 2000 (used) for my dad's den/office. The Planet 2000 still sounds great after all these years.

 

[m_wave]

I have a set of Kool Audio Pearl 5 powered monitor speakers with an RCA input.. either routing in my laptop, mp3 player, numark omni control.

I have 2 technics 1200's and a vestax mixer back in Australia. Never really been a big fan of CD's.. either vinyl or high bitrate MP3 or FLAC for me..

 

[Artisan Fan]

Originally Posted by breitlingman

Which DAC and CD Player are you planning?

I just purchased a Rega Brio 2000 (nos) and Planet 2000 (used) for my dad's den/office. The Planet 2000 still sounds great after all these years.

Even better is the less expensive Cambridge Audio gear, either the 740 or 840 are excellent.

 

[breitlingman]

Originally Posted by Artisan Fan

Even better is the less expensive Cambridge Audio gear, either the 740 or 840 are excellent.

My (soon to be) Father-in-law actually has the 740 from Cambridge! I ended up purchasing the Rega Planet 2000 as it was accessible used and cheaper used than the cambridge stuff was new. Ultimately it was price that dicated the choice, and the Rega stuff worked out a bit cheaper and was able to get everything matching colors. I also prefer the sound of the Brio for Standmounts. The Cambridge stuff, while British, does not sound British - not that its a bad thing! I almost bought the 740c myself a couple years back.

 

[Artisan Fan]

Originally Posted by breitlingman

My (soon to be) Father-in-law actually has the 740 from Cambridge! I ended up purchasing the Rega Planet 2000 as it was accessible used and cheaper used than the cambridge stuff was new. Ultimately it was price that dicated the choice, and the Rega stuff worked out a bit cheaper and was able to get everything matching colors. I also prefer the sound of the Brio for Standmounts. The Cambridge stuff, while British, does not sound British - not that its a bad thing! I almost bought the 740c myself a couple years back.

A cheap alternative is the DAC circuit from the 740 which is available in Cambridge's DACMagic for just $400.

I've been listening a lot to both the 740 and 840 at a local dealer using my own classical two track recordings. The players are really superb. They get the string tones just right...

 

[breitlingman]

Originally Posted by Artisan Fan

A cheap alternative is the DAC circuit from the 740 which is available in Cambridge's DACMagic for just $400.

I've been listening a lot to both the 740 and 840 at a local dealer using my own classical two track recordings. The players are really superb. They get the string tones just right...

That DAC Magic is a good deal.. I haven't seen one at the dealer yet. Have you compared the 740 with an cheap transport with a 740 yet? Curious to know if there are major differences. I used to be a DAC guy.. last one i had was the Benchmark DAC-1... then after i picked up the Bel Canto i never looked back. I scored the Rega Planet 2000 for $325US shipped, so I was pretty happy.

 

[Asterix]

Bedroom:
Philips 1000W Home theater system

Family room:
Bose Lifestyle V20 system

Study:
Nakamichi Sound Space 5

Den:
Panasonic SCPT960 home theater system

Dream sound system:
Nakamichi Soundspace 21