I ll try to take some photos and post them soon!

All my equipment is housed in a dedicated listening room in my basement. The room is approximately 16’.5” x 12’ x 7’.5” and is fully enclosed with wood stud, insulation and drywall construction.

There are five separate circuits providing juice to the audio components. For the components used, this is somewhat overkill, but I can honestly say I have not heard a more quiet system that is void of typical electronic anomalies that plague so many other systems which have much more expensive components than I do. While I realize that many people may not have the good fortune of having a dedicated room built from scratch, I cannot stress enough the importance of optimizing this phase of one’s system – it truly is the building block from which all else emanates.

A few months ago, I acquired the two McCormack DNA-0.5 amplifiers after selling my Classe CA-100 and leaving the hobby for a brief period of time. The frustration of mating components and the constant desire to upgrade is what drove me to pursue other interests for a brief period of time. I am happy to report that I can now focus on the music and less on the equipment (which should be everyone’s goal in my humble opinion). I initially had one of the DNA-0.5’s and then found another Deluxe version with the standard face plate and thought I had best grab it as I didn’t know when I might be able to locate another. My short-term goal is to ship both amps off to Steve McCormack of SMc Audio to have them converted to mono-blocs. This will give me some extra power for the Maggies and will likely improve the already good bass control of the speakers as well.

However, the most recent addition to my system is the Rotel RCD-1072 CD player. After acquiring the rest of my equipment (mostly in the past year), I decided that my digital source was truly the weak link in my system (thus the purchase of the Rotel). I’ve had the unit for about two weeks now, and I am absolutely delighted with it. Look for a review on here soon!

Just under half of the equipment I now own was purchased used. My favorite item is my Magnepan speakers which I also consider to be my best “find” (purchased used for $550 from a dealer on the west coast).

If there is one piece of advice I can give to newcomers or those who have yet to reach their own state of “audio nirvana” it is this: Pay less attention to the brand names of the components in your system and focus on how well your equipment mates AS A WHOLE. Just because some reviewer says a product is the best thing next to sliced bread does not mean it will integrate well with your existing equipment. Let YOUR ears be the judge. What sound goods in someone else’s rig, may not be the best choice for you (and visa versa). It often takes quite a bit of trial and error before you wind up with a system that you can truly call satisfying. So take care when choosing your equipment, but do remember to ENJOY THE MUSIC!