This was an experiment that got slightly out of hand. I had given myself a limit of $1500 per section--source, amplification, speakers. You can do pretty well for that, right? At the time, it seemed like a heck of a lot.

I had a simple system I loved when I was a young guy, built around vinyl and tubes. Then a big life change made the hobby impossible for almost 20 years. I started to ease back in around 1990. Having worked in audio I knew how dear it could get, so I made the $1.5K rule.

Two things happened: I made a little money, and I found some audio buddies who knew more than I did. The $1.5K-per-section rule turned into a $1.5K-per-upgrade rule. I've gone over that once or twice in the ten years this system has been in the making.

I think I did really well thanks to good advice, the Internet and plain luck. Like everyone else, I believe all my gear is great value. I still marvel when I listen. I say to myself, "How come I get to have sound this good?" Sweet, detailed, liquid, lively, dimensional, real-sounding.

No, it doesn't really give me a window on the original performance. That's for the true high end. But it does communicate the energy of the musicians, the sound quality of their instruments and the inspiration of the composers, in spades, with all kinds of music.

And there is a bonus. There are a lot of people around who love music, and believe the hype about CDs because they don't know the truth. They think digital blows away everything that came before it. They love CDs on my system... and then I put on an LP.

That's the cherry.