Since I've been been in the hobby a little longer than you, 30+ years, I'm a little further along than you. Still have a-ways to go, but getting closer. You're on the right track though.
Amplifier:
Ideal: ?
Mine: Kenwood KM-X1000s. These are 270 watt/8 ohm monoblocks. Probably getting 300+ with the 6 ohm load of the B200s. Don't get me wrong, I admire Vinnies work very much, and even have a modded SB3 on order from him. But I'm of the camp that thinks prodigious amounts of power are required to reproduce the dynamic transients of music without compression or distortion at reference(by reference, I mean at the same SPLs the music was produced at) levels with plenty of headroom. Battery power just ain't gonna cut it for my purposes. I got the Kenwoods on closeout at $200 each. They are THX rated, have a 120db S/N ratio, and vanishingly low levels of distortion. Are there better amps? Most certainly! For the money though, hard to beat!
Sources:
On order: Red Wine moddified SB3
Tuner: FM : Advent 300 reciever. This Tomlinson Holman designed unit has a cult status for its phono stage. It has a sweet FM tuner and I picked it up at a thrift store for $5.00
AM and Shortwave: Sangean ATS-803A. This unit has its own Yahoo group.
Current CD, SACD, DVD, and DVD-A playback: Toshiba SD-6980
Switching: Creek OBH12 passive remote switching and volume control. I used to use preamps, but most sources have enough output to drive amps to full output. I find ALL preamps add a layer of grunge.
Interconnects: Whatevers on hand as long as its got sufficiently low levels of inductance, resistance and capacitance.
Speaker cables: I used to spend money on speaker cables. Got 2-39" pieces of DNM cable Louis was kind enough to include with the A8s. They'll do.
Speakers: Omega A8s. I've been discussing an add on super tweeter for the A8s with Louis. As he's been so busy lately hes not had a chance to impliment the design. As we are on the same page on the design and driver, I'm VERY excited about the pospect. These will not be expensive and can be used with all of Louis' designs. Look for word on these in late Jan or Feb.
Subwoofer: AV123 UFW12. This sealed 12" powered sub is as musical, articulate, and distortion free as the B200. I was lucky enough to get a rare B stock unit for $799.00 +$90.00 shipping. List is $1099. I'm using an old Behringer CX2300 electronic crossover at 90hz and the transition is seamless to the A8s. The Behringer needs to be upgraded to a different unit.
I couldnt be happier with my present setup. I'd put it up against systems costing many 1000s more. I'm looking forward to the further refinements of the hard drive source, the super tweeters, and a different electronic crossover.
