Downsized both components and room and am much happier. The Line Magnetic and the Spatial M3s were wonderful, but I always felt slightly removed from the music in the big basement. Now, esconced in my home office, I'm much closer to what I listen to. Has mostly a jazz and classical listener through this system I'm happy to hear any cartridge recommendations under 1500 that you think will be a good synergy with the system and with those genres.
A pretty significant upgrade from the Schitt Gungnir. Warm but never cloying. Takes over streaming duties from the 105 which is now been relegated to an occasional CD transport.
Hana SH MC
Clearaudio Maestro 2 Ebony
Rogue Audio Cronus Magnum 2
A return to Rogue after 20 years. Very happy I did. Beautifully holographic sound and presence.
NAD 558 turntable
I've hung on to this for some 5 years now after I got it to replace a Rega P3 which I simply was never happy with. A long-term placeholder until I can return to a VPI or a Well-Tempered.
Ora Audio Speaker Stands
I got these around 2013 or so and I've kept them ever since there's several iterations of monitors. They're beautifully made an acoustically satisfying stands
REL T5
OPPO 105 BDP
MoFi UltraPhono
A good placeholder until I can find something affordably better.
Reference 3A MM De Capo i
Sold these in 2015 and regretted it until I found another pair in 2023. Transparent, image filled, resonant. They disappear and let the music hang and shimmer.
@toro3. Thanks! And yes all three of those aspects are relevant. My previous basement system was large and enveloping and at the same time somewhat lonely. And now this new system on the first floor office has all the things- plants, sunlight, accessibility- that the previous system did not have. The best listening a bit more personal and not as isolationist.
Feeling slightly removed in the basement compared to feeling closer to what you listen to - does that include intimacy, immediacy, and perhaps atmospherics? I ask because I found those things in a smaller space as well, which was surprising and unexpected, but have never heard someone mention this until now.
Nonetheless, love both your systems. Both are extremely aesthetically pleasing to view from afar.
