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The most musical system you ever build?

May be there are similar posts before, but could we do it for new comers.

Not the best hi-fi you ever build!
"Musical" means the enjoyment of music for you or your family.
I like jazz/classical vocal, so I list my favorite one for that set up:

SONY XA7ES + P1/P3A DAC
ARC LS-15 + ARC VT-1000-II
Celestion SL600 + REL Strat-III
TMC interconnects + AudioQuest speaker cables
DIY speaker stand + DIY room treatment
Oracle Delphi-II + FR arm + blue point special + ARC PH3SE

Some of them are very old, most used.
But they are very "musical" to me in the things I spin on them.

Try: Ella Fitzerald, Carerras, Jennifer Warnes....
cello is very good also.

LS-15's cap upgrade open up the mid and almost any other brand of tubes improves in the bass area.
Room treatment is very crucial in my small room.
Speaker is tuff to drive, and LS-15's gain is only barely enough for a pretty powerful VT-100.
Will use ProAC 3.8 for chamber music and up, musical too.
Actually, ProAC is easier to drive than the little SL600.
Hear more transpant sound in hi-fi stores, but seldom more musical than this one, IMHO.

Please share your tricks or memory for something you can't forget.
Or something you wish to go back, leaving your state-of-art equipment.
bluefin
frogman
7,454 posts
 
We are really talking about a kind of "loss of innocence" on a level that really has very little to do with the music; but more with personal development and growth(?), and the ensueing need for bigger and better gratification, better toys.

There is no question that the pursuit of the best sound in the home can be be a distraction from the enjoyment of music with respect for it's innocence. Like all art there has to be an element of abandon and openmindedness to fully appreciate an artist's statement. The instant that we, consciously or not, start to think: "a little glary", "lumpy bass", "right channel not loud enough", we lose a little bit of that innocence in listening.

Our big music toys are a pretty cool thing, and they sure as hell can be a lot of fun in their own right, but in a way we should be trying to simplify, not overcomplicate the process of listening to music.

Happy listening.
ejr1953
915 posts
 
PS Audio P10 Power Plant, PS Audio DirectStream DAC, Autonomic MMS-5A Server, McIntosh MC452 Power Amp, McIntosh C50 Pre Amp, Focal Sopra No2 Speakers, JL Audio F113 Sub Woofers (2), Wireworld Cables.
schubert
7,386 posts
 
AR -XA tt with Grado F+
AR 3a speakers
HK Citation amp and pre
jafant's avatar
jafant
19,713 posts
 
My current that starts w/ Thiel CS 2.4 SE loudspeakers.
More to come...
lynott
87 posts
 

Maybe not the most slap-you-upside-the-head impressive rig I’ve ever owned, and definitely not the most expensive, but certainly the most musically coherent and engaging:

Marantz SA-7S1

Coda S12.5

Jena Labs conditioning and cabling

Jena Labs speakers

Rhythmik subwoofing

This setup is highly transparent and checks most of the audiophile boxes, but not to the point where it calls attention to itself. On most days, I think more about how great the music CONTENT is rather than on how great the SOUND is. That is what I struggled for many years to find, even with a lot of ultra-expensive gear. It’s not a rig that, as Parliament so colorfully sang, will tear the roof off the sucka, but it WILL get me grooving and smiling, and that’s all I want at this stage of my life. Then again, maybe that's what the phrase "tear the roof" is getting at: moving like a super-freak and grinning like a fool to your favorite jams!

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