The core of my system is a Spiral Groove SG1.2 turntable. It has a SG Centroid tonearm with a Hana Umami Red cart. Critically, it is completely isolated via a Minus K platform. The special sauce is a distributed bass array (DBA) which is incredible for taming the room and bringing a great low-end to the sound. I pull in various acoustic panels depending on how serious my listening is going to be. I'm a huge fan/believer in no preamp (after many years with one) and transimpedance phono stage. Crazy how much energy that combo produces. Of course, my babies are two XA60.5s from Pass. So good. Finally, Borressen Z1s do everything you want/need for the mids and highs. This system sings with real energy. It’s highly dynamic. Transparent. Delivers wonderful, blissful tone. Images like a mofo. Goes deep. Delivers nothing but: Analog. Dreams.
@jond I guess that's right for the most part. The phono stage is run through the EM/IA Autoformer. It's the match between the EM/IA and the amps that is critical to get right as well. When it comes to the phono stage the critical point is between the cartridge impedance and the phono. The lower internal impedance of the cart the better a match to the Channel D (or any transimpedance phono).
Wow fantastic looking system jpan I've only heard Borrensen once some standmounts last CAF, but they sure sounded good. And so your phono stage has enough gain to drive your amps? Is that a quality unique to transimpedance stages?