Room Size

11' x 12'

System Overview

This is my dedicated two channel audio system that I have been slowly putting together with interruptions by raising a family and switching careers. Sounds great now!

Music Preferences

Rock, Classical, Jazz, Blues ... depends on my mood. Grew up on Beatles, Pink Floyd, and Rush (Classic rock form the 60s and 70s). Expanded my taste to include late-80s, early 90s bands (Cure, Smiths, REM, etc.). As I got older, started to enjoy classical, jazz, and blues much more. Inherited my parents record collection and really enjoying that!

Room Description

Spare bedroom converted into office, library, and dedicated 2-channel room.

Acoustic Treatment

None.

Media Storage

Ikea Expedit for LPs, homemade cabinet for CDs, work laptop for streaming music.

Other Comments

Fell in love with Magnepan speakers almost 20 years hearing them in an audio store in Palo Alto. Bought a used pair of MG-IIIas then and hooked them up to a B&K ST-140 back then. Loved the sound in my apartment, but my cat loved them more. After a month battling with the cat to find an equitable solution, I sold the speakers and moved on (kept the cat though). I have been wishing to go back to a pair of Magnepans until a few years ago when I set aside a bedroom as an office and listening room. Found a pair of used MG-12s that I really do enjoy, especially given the size of the room. Last year, I bought the Odyssey Stratos Extreme from Klaus. I was a used board put into a new case. Once the amp has broken in, the amp has been a huge improvement over the Maggies driven by the Krell. Also, I inherited my parents record collection, which led me to getting the Rega RP-1. Sounds great in this system! I got a deal on the Graham Slee which is a big improvement over the Musical Fidelity V-LPS I initially got with the Rega. The Audio Alchemy DAC+DTI combo still works great. Use it mainly as my DAC for the laptop through an optical cable.

Components

Digital Source

JVC XL-Z1050 CD Player

Analog Source

Rega RP-3 w/ Ortofon 2M Red (and Rega white belt)

Other Sources

MacBook Pro laptop w/Nuforce USB->SPDIF

Signal Processors

Audio Alchemy DTI 2.0, Audio Alchemy DDE v3.0 (with I2C AA cable)

Preamp

McCormack RLD-1 (unmodified, replaced a Krell KAV-300i used as pre only), Graham Slee Era Gold V phono preamp

Power Amp

Odyssey Stratos Extreme Stereo Amp

Speakers

Magnepan MG12

Speaker Cable

Anti-Cables Level 1

Interconnects

Anti-Cables Level 1 Classic (a steal at $50/1m) (pre -> amp & phono pre -> pre) Zu Wylde (DAC -> pre)

Racking

Billy Bags

Power Cond

Power Pack II