Well, the Bach idea has morphed into a sustained classical onslaught, which has been a great joy for months now! Local store recently added several $0.50/LP classical boxes and when I noticed some still sealed and many unplayed or played <5 times (shiny, deep black vinyl, with full, vibrant rainbows) I settled in and found 50. It has been a BLAST! And, while some is pleasantly recognizable, the whole is new music, some of which sounds great! Last night I enjoyed the mostly unmemorable 'Gothic and Renaissance Dances' and 'Boulez conducts Stravinsky Petrushka....' which I am listening to again, right now, because I liked it. 6 Bach Motets (what's a Motet?) and Sonata No.1 & 2 for unaccompanied violin, 2 Mozart Flute Concertos, Handel's 'Water Music', a 2 LP version of 'The Nutcracker' and dozens of, never heard before, clean records still to be sampled/recorded. This has been making for some wonderfully unique listening sessions of late. Old dogs can learn to appreciate new stuff (tricks).
  A pleasant reminder to step out of your box and experiment upon occasion.

arte801d August 24, 2017 21:49

Thank you again. I took your message as inspirational and finally ordered replacements for 2 classical LP's I inherited from my parents decades ago. I heard  these 2 many times as a child so they were trashed but I went to Discogs and found them. One was issued in 1956 but still found a "minty" copy for a good price. I always enjoyed classical, and have 30 to 50 old LPs, many unopened, around but no one else ever listened to it so neither did I. Maybe getting some good sounding copies of these familiar old LPs will be the motivation I need to further explore this genre. My first 3 LPs purchases were Black Sabbath, Jimi Hendrix and Santana so basically I've been mellowing out for the last 45 years.
Good advice: thank you again.

arte801d April 09, 2017 22:16

A bit of Bach now and then will slow your clock down a bit arte . Good for the soul .

schubert April 09, 2017 00:57

Got a chuckle out of that Shubert. Thank you. The internet says the term "man cave" was first used in 1992 so this area was being planned before the term was popular. I began thinking of the basement placement in the 90's when, at a previous home, a coffee mug broke a window at around 03:00 in the morning. I worked the nite shift and knew my next home HAD to have a dedicated basement space for listening. Back than I had K-horns with a pair of mono-bridged Hafler XL280's and, yes, the sound levels got up to >110 dBs, concert levels. Somewhat ironic that now that I have the room, I'm running Krells and B&Ws which max out around 105 to 108dBs, still very load but significantly less than in my crazy, younger years. But than I'm sure all the alcohol fueled most of the madness back then. It's rather amazing I still enjoy kicking around and rocking out! Party-on but moderation will help with the longevity/quality of life thing!

arte801d April 08, 2017 23:15

Nice space, a man's man mancave !

schubert April 06, 2017 03:09

Thank you Andrei. If you're ever in New Mexico let me know. Maybe we could enjoy a comfortable listening session. That is what it's all about!

arte801d April 06, 2017 01:43

Man, I feel as though I could make myself pretty darn comfortable in that room - great atmosphere

andrei_nz January 01, 2017 01:26

Thank you guys. Life's little adventure has gotten a bit more interesting but it did push me into getting the new Krell monoblocks which has really gave the system the extra confidence and oomph I was looking for. I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of improvement found when the Dominus Power cables were added. Sorta sad at the cost but got a sweet deal. I used to just write off high end cables as 'metallurgy' but found that with prudence some are worth it. Diminishing returns and all that does make it challenging to keep from being sucked into a bottomless vortex of sound changes/"improvements".

arte801d November 07, 2016 23:01

Awesome system and speedy recovery.

jeff1225 November 04, 2016 16:56

Great looking system, room, etc...this combination of gear and speakers is well matched and must sound great! Glad to hear you are going to be healthy and able to enjoy life!

zephyr24069 November 01, 2016 11:29

I must first apologize for not responding sooner. I posted all this and then I was off to the hospital for a Radical Prostatectomy. Interesting timing having retired about 12 months before all this surfaced from 30+ years at the same medical laboratory position. Somewhat discouraging but at least as a good doctor friend said 'If you're going to get cancer this is a good(treatable) one'. Anyways, recovery is going well enough and I'm Rockin' On regularly.
 Jeff: This body has imbibed more than its share of ETOH for one lifetime. However, Colorado is only 150 miles north and the new herbal forms are providing much needed relief and variety. My how quality has improved from the '70's!
  abuck: Interesting how Abby Road Studios and your audio engineer have(want) the exact same model in use at their "homes". We all have our personal opinions and preferences and you are obviously a Wilson fan but you know what they say about opinions:.... As an untrained audio enthusiast I'll take what the professionals prefer any day, and, since I loved the sound and 15" slam of the speaker when I first heard them around 2007, I was fortunately able to save for 2 years and eventually find a used pair. No Wilson Dealers in NM or CO. Maybe some day I'll have the opportunity to hear them but when I decided to pull the trigger(got married for the 1st time at 55 yr and needed a present) they were the best I'd ever heard!
 My wife keeps telling me: "WAY to much information".  ;)
  Well, life goes on. I'm lucky to still be around and enjoying it this much!!
     Best wishes to all. 
                                 ROCK ON!    art

arte801d September 24, 2016 06:21

When I was first initiated into high-end, I was placed in front of a set of B&W 801's and was not prepared for the rush I got.  I wanted a set so bad but couldn't find any used (limited budget).  I eventually found a set of Wilson Audio Witt II's I loved, but my wife thought they were too large, so I tried to downsize.  I ended up selling them to an audio engineer who said he used 801's in the studio.  He said if you want to wow people, use 801's.  If you want accuracy, use Wilson.

abucktwoeighty August 25, 2016 01:08

Arte;

frozentundra August 09, 2016 22:10