My listening room remains a sanctuary for the tangible, a space where classical scores and operatic cycles exist as physical objects rather than ephemeral data. I find little comfort in the digital tenant economy, where streaming services hold a library hostage behind fluctuating monthly ransoms.
I respect everyone’s choice for source material. Having endured the era of surface noise, pops from dust and scratches, groove wear, and lower effective dynamic range, I harbor no nostalgia for the inconveniences of vinyl; the CD remains the superior artifact. This room is my nirvana, a private temple of high-fidelity sound that the cat graciously permits me to inhabit.
In the basement I have another system: Dunleavy sc4 speakers, Pass Aleph monoblocks, Pass P preamp, Meridian g90 Cd player, Schitt Gungnir 2 DAC .
I have another tube system in my office with NAD Zero bookcase speakers, Sennheiser HD 650 headphones, and lower end Schitt DAC.
Superb for classical music. Detailed and 3d soundstage. Quick transients like classical guitar or plucked strings. Finally good synchronized bass out of ML owing the their integrated subs and proprietary hardware. Also use anthem setup software for the room for bass control.
Benchmark DAC3 HGC
Effortlessly drives the Martin Logans. All balanced interconnects
Benchmark AHB2
Mono blocks. There is a 50 foot run balanced interconnects from head unit to amps.
OPPO UDP- 203
Runs SACD into DAC via a cheap adapter thingy made in china
I'm totally respectful to your loyalty to CDs, and your extensive collection is beyond reproach! I also agree compact discs are the superior playback source (although I admit I do a lot of streaming, and I still enjoy listening to my vinyl collection).
And your stereo gear in this elegant listening space is simple, yet totally refined with excellent, well-crafted components! I'm glad to see your dedicated listening room is using CD shelving units instead of diffusers and absorption panels, which would obviously be out of place in this pristine living space (I'm sure your cat would agree)!
Just curious, how do you categorize your countless CDs, by composer or by composition? My classical and pipe organ discs are arranged alphabetically by label, but I do find it somewhat difficult to find certain recordings...
I need to completely update my entire system here soon as it's totally changed...you've inspired me!
I can see the virtue in dedicating yourself to one format. Everything is aimed towards optimizing that specific format, and you can just move on to the more important work of listening and loving the music. I can relate to having something tangible as part of your relationship to the craft of music reproduction - whether scores, or discs.
I need that, too, but I have them all - vinyl, CDs, SACDs, reel to reel tapes. If I had to choose, it would be vinyl. You've made your choice, and can just get on with it.
And that is a beautiful room, leading to other beautiful spaces, or so it seems...
