I guess I can be called a hifi enthusiast. My room mate in college was a big klipsch fan and we enjoyed his Forte speakers immensely. To generalize we listened to lots of Allman Brothers type music. My equipment for the following years were evaluated on whether it could knock pictures off the walls in the adjacent room. My roommate is still on this track, with multiple Klipsch horn loaded speakers and an eminent purchase of a pair of the klpschorn models.
My interests took a turn when I visited a business associate in LA who played jazz through B&W speakers. I believe they were matrix towers? 802 or 804? I recall him talking about the mythical 801 matrix speakers and calling them the "R2D2 speakers". Convinced me that Jazz was worth studying and B&W made a very accurate speaker.
My first system I put together post-LA was a set of B&W P4 speakers with a Cambridge Audio integrated amp. It sounded good, and was improved immensely when I added an B&W ASW800 of the matrix period. Now I was cooking with gas! I slowly made changes with interconnects, sources, and cables, trying to learn as I went along.
The next system (put together about a year ago) was based around Matrix 805 bookshelf speakers mated with another of the ASW800 subs. For amplification I decided to go with the NAD class D amp (C298) with their streaming DA (C658). I am really impressed with this and like the room correction part of the streamer.
My latest push is for a surround system that will also be used for music. I'm intrigued by the music being offered on Tidal that has been remastered for Atmos. I am picking up some Matrix 801 (series 2) and learning about them led me to this site (and the crossover correction). It will be a mostly Matrix system, with 805 in the center and surround locations, with ASW800 subs. I used Polk in-ceiling speakers for the atmos speakers.
Some plans for the future are to get the surround system up and running, and probably add a turntable. I plan to drive the 801's with the NAD C298, and the other channels with a Denon 6700H. I am not sure how I will handle room corrections yet, as the NAD streaming DAC and the Denon both have this capability. I would like to maintain the ability to seamlessly transition between 2 channel and surround modes.
Anyway, it is a fun hobby. The test drive of the 801 speakers told me I am headed in a good direction (wow). I try not to get too mired in the minutiae of things, but that can be a challenge.
