After about 15+ years in this hobby, I decided to try a more rational approach to building the current system you see here. I decided to stay within certain parameters and adhere to specific principles I have learned over the years.
The parameters were:
1.Keep the cost of the entire system less than $5,000.00
2.It must consist primarily of Canadian built or designed components
3.It must have a high "wife acceptance factor"
The principles were:
1.The source shall be where I can "colour" or tweak the sonic characteristics
2.The pre-amp, amp, cables and loudspeakers shall be as transparent, neutral and accurate as possible keeping in mind my budgetary constraints
The result is a highly musical, detailed and transparent system.
Since completing this system, my cd collection have expanded and have added an Acer notebook with flac files via the Blue Circle Thingee.
Integrated amp (2x60w into 8 ohms)with built in Bryston DAC
Bryston 2B-LP
bi-amped with B60 2x60w into 8 ohms
Totem Acoustics Arro
Narrow floorstanding monitor with accurate tone and exemplary imaging
Totem Acoustics Dreamcatcher powered
200w Class D amplifier driving a 6.5
Vh Audio DIY Cotton Insulated Pure Silver
Utilizing 0.9999 pure silver wire and cotton insulation plus Eichmann Silver Plugs
Sonocable Stradivarious I
Pure silver cable with Teflon insulation-very transparent and smooth
Brickwall AUD 8 outlet
Designed primarily as one of the best Surge Suppressor it also has very good filtering which is beneficial to my system
Atlantis 4 Level
Heavy Steel and MDF construction
Oppo DV-980H Universal DVD Player
Surprising redbook performance from a universal player.
Black Sand Silver Reference Mk V
Power Cable for Oppo DV-980H Universal Player
DIY Asylum or Crump Cord
Power cords for the Bryston B-60 Integrated Amp and the Oppo DV-980H Universal Player
Blue Circle USB Thingee
USB to Spdif converter with built in DAC. I use the built in DAC for my computrer Audio
Blue Jeans Belden 1694A Digital Coaxial
Coaxial Digital Audio Cable: Belden 1694A Our favorite cable for coaxial digital audio use (many others are available; see below) is Belden 1694A
Acer 4810TZ Timeline Notebook
The beautifully crafted Aspire 4810 - one of Acer's Timeline Series of energy-conscious notebooks - proudly features lower power consumption for long-lasting, energy-efficient portability. Made for truly modern mobile work and play, this full-featured yet affordable 14.0
Technics SL-1200 mkII
Tweaks: heat shrinked arm tube, rubber damped counterweight, rubber puck clamp and diy cork mat. Cartridge is a Stanton Trackmaster V3 with 4604-DEC Pfanstiehl .3x.7mil elliptical Stylus/Needle
Magnum Dynalab FT-11
Analog tuner with digital readout and 3 presets. Sounds warm and dimensional.
System edited: Have sold my Simaudio Moon CD-1 and Magnum Dynalab FT-101 Tuner. Added an Acer notebook with USB Thingee for my first computer based source and am very impressed with the very good sound quality. Cheers and happy listening!
System edited: Just added the Simaudio CD-1 to my system. Much better textures, subtle details and refined highs than the Oppo. Trades off a bit of the pace and rhythm of the Oppo but overall a significant improvement.
