I was lucky to find individual pieces that I really like which work very well together. I sometimes consider upgrading the VK3i preamp but nothing I've heard in my price range has been as neutral sounding to my ears. I have rolled the tubes a bit, it remains utterly neutral and absolutely reliable. The Silverlines replace Zingali Overture 2s, great speakers in their own right but too small to fill my room. The LaFolias give me full range, outstanding sound and are very Atma-Sphere friendly thanks to their high sensitivity. Placement took some time, thanks to the Rives frequency graph, Stereophile test cds, and 'Gonners Toudou and sbank, I was able to dial in the soundstage and get the most out of the speakers and the room. The installation of the Analysis Plus cabling opened up the soundstage and removed a bit of darkness from my previous cables.
The Theta was one of those components I had lusted after since its introduction. This one came to me from a friend going way up the perfomance ladder, although I think I got the better of the deal, I love the sound of the Miles, I just have to keep remembering to put the disc in upside down since the laser is on the top, not underneath.
What's next? I'd like a motor controller and outer ring for the turntable. I've started treating the room -thanks again to sbank- and keep looking for more music, and time to hear it.
Wicked good sound, the upside down disc takes a little concentration. I really like this piece of equipment
Analysis Plus Solo Crystal
Full warm and detailed. The best cables I've heard so far.
Analysis Plus Oval Nine shotgun Biwire
I like symetry, these compliment the Analysis Plus interconnects on the CD player and Phono Stage.
Silverline LaFolia
Burlwood. I never heard of it but I love it now. Beautiful full range speaker with rear firing ported kevlar woofer. Dynaudio Esotar tweeter. Detailed 3D soundstage and 91db sensitivity.
Atma-Sphere M60 mk2.2
older Ralph-prefered design updated to MK3 specs with every option Ralph had available. I prefer the square shoulder design to the newer rounded look.
VPI Industries Scout Master
with JWM 9" arm. Also a TTweights heavy weight. 3 lbs of brass!
ZU 103R
ZU upgradaed my Denon 103R cartridge with a new aluminum body and damping epoxy. A hugh improvement in smoothness and bass definition. Another of my favorite pieces.
Just added a Walker Motor Control and changed the phono cable to a ZU Mission phono. The Scoutmaster is also now residing on my grandfather's butcher block- an authentic 2 foot thick block on solid maple legs that has seen the demise of many chickens and other delicious animals at his hand. He was a Kosher butcher many years ago in Brooklyn- I used cones to level the Neauance shelf on top of the block, the Scoutmaster is on top of that.
I upgraded my beloved 3i to a 5i. Price difference was about $600 or $700, but neither had the phono board. I was very pleased with the increased level of detail/focus. It was immediately noticable, even to my teenage daughter. Overall presentation, balance, image, etc. was similar. The same, but better.
