Why did you purchase the equipment you have and what do you like most about it?

mine started on a I wonder what I can really hear with my tinnitus and always having Solid State for mainly Surround for movies.. So saw Raven Audio Black hawk tube amp somewhere and 45 day test and thought why not.So it arrived and was very surprised but also noticed my 30 yr old Mirage speakers were showing signs of decay.. So replaced with cheaper Raven Audio speakers and big difference and now decided to step up to Raven Audio larger amp the Osprey and with some nicer tubes in it and what I was hearing was amazing .. And decided then to go all out and get the best Raven Speakers they had and was not disappointed for 5 years... And started wondering if more could be heard with my hearing issues I have then  decided to try the Raven Audio Reflection and the sounds this produces has me a very happy customer and for sure there are few things to do but working in shipbuilding for 41 years I a blessed to be able to hear the tones I hear even with tinnitus...

I am fortunate to have worked with a good dealer though it took me about 5 years of constant gear churning here on Agon to figure that out! Once the dealer started taking care of me SQ improved immensely as did my self confidence as to what really sounded good. That confidence allowed me to grab a cheap pair of used tubed monoblocks for fun and have them sound amazing. Zeroing in on the sound you want is key to me.

First Pass amp initially bought from friend after hearing it regularly for 6 months. Pass upgrades all from Mark at Reno HiFi - great guidance, pricing, trade in policy, shipping and all returnable...BAT preamp after hearing one in friends system -  bought "open box" with full return privileges...first Cerious cables bought on ebay at great price and was simply curious - many upgrades bought directly from Cerious, Bob Grost takes great care of his customers and everything returnable...everything in main system bought with full return privileges...

@jond not gonna lie when I met Hans at Infigo Audio it changed my life. Designs stuff with low noise floors great soundstages and imaging.  I had already had my gato speakers which were a perfect match. Extremely happy with my system. 

@jl35 agreed Bob Grost is a very fine gentleman not using his cables right now but they are excellent and good value. @calvinj I don't know Infigo but glad it's working out for you.

@jond this audio thing is unique.  We get there in different ways with different people and gear. More than one way to get there. 

The answer spans fifty years and would require a book. It is the culmination of fifty years of learning, listening and investing. What I like most about it is the way it sounds... although it looks great as well. Photos under my userid.

I established a price range at which I'm willing to spend for each component. I've been lucky to be able to listen to components in my room prior to purchase. Finally, I trust my wife's and my own ears. 

@ricred1 correct ! Got to try it in your system and trust your own ears. Some guys want to throw their opinions around when they have never tried stuff. 

calvinj,

We have been friends for several years. As far as opinions go, I no longer provide my opinion or recommendations to anyone regarding audio components. There are just too many variables, including the room to know how a component will sound in one's system/room. 

Gifts and Inheritances have been the major factor in my equipment journey

and gift of 50 water damaged LPs gave me a free way to learn about Jazz.

married age 19 in 1967 while in college, bought 1st system with wedding gift money: AR-2ax speakers, Fisher 200T Transistor Receiver, BSR TT (no memory of what cartridge).

Inheritance at age 25 of my Uncle Johnny’s all tube console was an aural revelation

https://www.audiogon.com/systems/11420

 

New Rosewood Enclosures contain Electro-Voice crossover (tar filled cans)15" woofer, level controls for the tweet horn and 2 way mid horn from that console. (re-coned the woofers a few times over the years) (have spare crossover and set of drivers) (Electro-Voice engineers, still in NYC in those days, helped me design the new enclosures I had made, they have rear ports that are stuffed in this location).

 

 

 

That 15W Woofer, monster magnet weighs 37 lbs by itself

CD Era

Only speakers I ever heard and wanted at all the audio shows and NYC stores

JSE Infinite Slope Model IIs

Played for years with a gift set of SS McIntosh mc2250 stereo amp and C28 SS Preamp.

Sold them when I went back to my very efficient horn speakers which allowed me to go back to lower power tubes.

The Cayin Tube Amp shown above had to have remote volume and sound as good as the original Fisher 80az mono tube amps, happily it does. My choices were limited by the need for 16 ohm taps for my speakers.

chose McIntosh mx110z Tube Tuner Preamp based on:

McIntosh mx110z review by positive feedback

Along the way: Restored a gift set of Thorens TD-124 TT and SME 3009 II, (Shure V15VxMR and AT440ml cartridges). Wow (except my springy wood floors and Thorens bearing did not mix). Used starter TT QLDD AT120 for a few years while mostly buying/playing CDs.

Wanted a long tonearm, to finally try MC Cartridge, asked here, also learned here about advantage of a true Mono Cartridge, ended up with my 3 Arm TT

SACD: asked/learned here about Sony xa5400es

Content: while working for others, hardly any disposable income, until I Quit Smoking, spent former tobacco money on music content (was $700/yr, now over $4,500/yr) added up to quite a lot over 25 years

Reel to Reel Tape: The Fisher console had a Viking 75 (telex) 2 Track Tape Deck and some classical tapes. I added Teac X2000R 4 Track Stereo Deck and bought over 500 pre-recorded tapes (with my tobacco money) when shipping might cost more than the tape.

Started my own business 1997, finally had disposable income, prefer used, vintage combined with my mr. fixit skills. mostly retired since 2010, beginning 2019, joined audiogon and completely overhauled 3 mostly vintage systems and

inherited 4,000 lps in 2021.

my virtual systems here

 

@ricred1 exactly.  We all have different variables.  Equipment, listening environments and combinations etc. I agree 100%. Your system is unique to you. 

First, I don't buy anything that looks wrong to me. Yes, looks. Then, if I can't audition it, and usually I can't, I listen to other people, especially some on Audiogon. Pro reviews are without exception all BS, you never know what they really hear and think. I always buy used by mail and don't communicate with any dealer.

From the 80’s and two decades ahead have been through a more traditional range of speaker brands (i.e.: lower efficiency, direct radiating) like JMLab, Snell, Spendor, JBL, Amphion, Peak Consult, Raidho and S.P. Technology before verging into the moderate to high efficiency segment of speakers from the polish hORNS, the UK-based Simon Mears Audio and now Electro-Voice/JBL/B&C. I’ve used Class D amp variants, Class A and A/B dittos (mostly SS amps, and a few tube-based), preamps from the likes of Electrocompaniet, Cary, Classé and Belles (Power Modules), and went digital source exclusively over 30 years ago. Nothing wrong with an analogue source, on the contrary, but I prioritize differently - i.e.: digital exclusively.

As a fairly young lad I favored speakers like the JBL 250Ti’s for their room filling, fairly live and dynamic sound, and later craved the larger and more expensive siblings - the 4430/4435, Everest DD55000 and particularly K2 S9500’s. Before it came to any investments however JBL "changed gear," went to other dealer hands here in Denmark, and while I liked the later K2 S9800(SE’s) they were out of my budget range. JBL’s horn-based product range these last two decades has come to divert a bit from my taste (I do like the actively configured M2’s and current Everest’s), and I actually find a range of their older models more interesting sonically.

The real change for me came with the "discovery" of a pro sound dealer who himself, more privately, is a true audio nerd and collector that merges the pro segment of speakers (older JBL and Electro-Voice cinema line, Vitavox, Altec and ATC) with high-end digital and analogue sources from Weiss, Bricasti, Mark Levinson (transport), Project (transport, RS2 T) and SME turntables (model 30, of which he has several). Not least he’s running all his setups in his large house/home firm fully actively configured through MC² Audio amps (and previously Crown Studio Ref. 1’s and McIntosh MC-2300’s) and ATC SCA2 preamps.

And so this is where I am now - in the merger of a domestic line high-end D/A-converter with studio amps and actively configured pro cinema speakers + horn-based subs. What I like about this approach is its dynamically uninhibited, effortless, very highly resolved, transparent, tonally fairly accurate and coherent, full-range presentation.

On a side note, if not an appendix: the recently added JBL Alnico tweeters are some ~50 years old, and yet they’re more resolved, smooth, effortless and dynamic than any dome tweeter I’ve heard, sitting up there with modern ribbon and AMT variants. Again: they’re pro segment and half a century old, and yet.. How’s that for the claimed progression of modern drivers?

Started my adult life working American oil fields in the early 80's and when traveling my coworkers were checking out nightspots. Not me. I was hitting music stores, record stores and anything music related. When I first heard Klipsch and McIntosh together I knew my goal. It took 30 years after buying my first Heritage line of speakers before I got my first MC252 amp. 10 years later I have owned and still have ever speaker in the Klipsch Heritage line and now use Mac amps and preamps. For me it's the combo of sweet yet powerful sound, beauty, and reliability. At night sitting in the sweet spot here in a mountain valley of southwestern Oregon, I close my eyes, drink a good bourbon and marvel at the talent of musicians from all over the world throughout the ages. Then I thank God for blessing me.

@jmalen123 great post. That’s what it’s about. Having any band from anywhere in the world right in front of you. 

@phusis great post. Systems are a journey. 

@elliottbnewcombjr a journey through time. 

It was used on sale and I read the reviews including personal reviews of audiophile who owned it.sometimes estate sells have some hidden jems.enjoy the music.

For me it was being in the right place and right time on a few occasions...I just sort of stumbled onto a good path early on, and things evolved from there. After getting my feet wet with a typical receiver, and an above average pair of a Mariah LS-2 speakers, I built a Hafler kit, started an audio club, met Bobby Palkovich and Ken Stevens, had a few pairs of Merlin speakers, several good amps, went to several CES shows with those gentleman, then started building speakers on my own.

By 1989 I was designing the speakers I still use today, which was around the same time my uncle gave me his Dynakit 70. An audio buddy of mine refreshed the Dyna, and I bought a Lazarus tube preamp to complement it. Another factory wired Dyna 70 with only one working channel followed, and I used the two Dyna 70s as single channel monoblocks for years. That setup became the heart and soul of my current system.

Life and family needs prevented me from spending much time on the system while raising our kids, but by 2018 I started looking into refreshing the whole system. VTA mods went into both amps, the Lazarus got refreshed, the speakers got fresh ferrofluid, new copper inputs, and a powered subwoofer got added. By 2020 the amps were done and back in the system, everything had new tubes, I was back into vinyl, and pretty much fully back into audio as a hobby.

The same basic system continued to evolve, and get some refinements. A modified a Hagerman Bugle phono stage got added, then I added a DAC to my old CD player. I modified the power supplies to both new additions. More mods and tube rolling to the amps followed, a new bi-amp configuration with active crossover, along with some opamp mods to the DAC bring me to 2025 as a very happy and grateful listener.

Same as @mark200mph

@mark200mph great. Sometimes you get it how you can get it. 

Research by reading trade publications to determine equipment within my means that have SQ attributes I cherish.  For electrical components, going out of my way to audition that equipment in as a controlled manner as I can, either bringing my current equipment to the dealer and going head to head in their system, or getting a demo unit installed in my system. Of course, this process was not used for speakers do to shipping costs.  Choosing equipment that meets my idea of timbral accuracy, dynamic/emotional expression, and natural staging/imaging in that order.  I only use dealer input for information on compatibility.  

I have two systems that I love. My upstairs system is BAT VK-33SE tube preamp, BAT VK-75SE tube power amp with Shunyata power conditioners, speaker cables and power cables, Focal 1037 Be speakers with Beryllium tweeters and associated subwoofer, Oppo BDP-105D disc player and Steve Blinn stereo rack and amp stand.  My downstair system is BAT VK-31SE tube preamp, BAT-VK 600SE solid state power amp, Ayre CD-5xeMP CD player, BSG Technologies Signal Completion Stage, Legacy Focus SE speakers, Shunyata power conditioners and power cables, Kimber Kable speaker cables, Kimber cable interconnects, Steve Blinn stereo rack and amp stand, VPI Classic turntable. I arrived at these systems over 50 years of listening and upgrading. I am very happy with the sound of both systems. I highly recommend BAT and Legacy to anyone looking to upgrade their systems. Check them out if you are looking to upgrade.  Victor Khomenko at BAT and Bill Duddleston at Legacy are both amazing designers and are willing to discuss their equipment and ideas with you.   

Decided to move on from my 7.2 home theatre in my listening and TV room to a 2.2 music system about 3 years ago.  Visited dealers, online sites and YouTube channels to listen and research.  Upgraded one piece at a time.  Ended up with all separate components.  Now streaming mostly with occasional CD playing.  Bought new and used local and online.  Important that I could buy, listen in my room with my system and return if necessary.  The equipment Has to sound good and look cool.  Even started selling some of my gear along with giving some to family and friends as I upgraded.  Love the sound and look of my current system.  Know I will keep upgrading and tinkering over time.  It’s a great hobby.  Loving my musical journey.  

@inna totally agree! Aesthetics are a big second factor only to sound. Speakers should look like speakers and not robots or spaceships. Sometimes I find myself just sitting and admiring my rig even when nothing is playing😬. So I won’t even audition equipment if it doesn’t pass the eye test. 
 

I have bought most of my gear just based on reviews/advice from folks here and online. It has rarely led to any buyers remorse as I have been mostly pleased with every purchase. I did audition my current speakers (Revel Be) before pulling the trigger. I was out of the hobby for 15+ years (divorce forced me to sell my rig), and just within the last 5 years was in a position to assemble an all new system from scratch. I just went straight back to Dynaudio (their Audience line was to date my holy grail of speakers) without even auditioning, Excite then Evoke. Much to my surprise Excite had a more forward sound than I remembered and then went to Evoke. Although I found Evoke to be warmer and closer to what I remember from Audience, it still wasn’t the same. That led me to start auditioning speakers again, which ultimately led me to Revel. 
 

The rest of my rig (DAC, Processor, Amp) have all been purchased without auditioning and I am happy as a clam-thanks to many here!

Came across a good deal on hifishark I couldn't pass up. Used Audience front row phono cable. Easily the most transformative cable I ever experienced.

Dealer? What dealer! 

I retired.  The plan was to buy a decent set of Bluetooth. speakers, Edifier S2000 Pro.  My son, who also loves music, came home.  Can we listen to music?  The big system is not even hooked up.  The preamp was noisy, it was all unhooked.  We spent an hour trying to hook the speakers up.  We listened to it, not good. We'll I didn't want to spend money on a preamp.  I bought a passive preamp.  I also bought a Bluesound and didn't realize the volume control on the Bs was not good.  Lots of others were still not interested in streamer playback..  I had Klipsch RF3 and an AB International amp so I could play music!  Sounded good.

Then it happened.  What kind of speakers?  I had to read lots.  I ended up with Crites Cornscala, now called Type B.  Sold the RF3 to the guys bringing the new speakers.  These things are efficient. I did have the volume thing figured out yet.  If I played it loud, it sounded better.  The left speaker didn't seem to play as loud. Image was off center.  After I repaired the DIY Marchand crossover that was gone.  New volume controls and RCA jacks.  Oh boy!  Big step forward.  I wasn't a fan of passive preamp with no volume remote control.  Got a tube buffer, didn't like that.

Got a Khozmo with remote.  Amps.  I tried a Schiit Aegir.  My speakers are 99 dB efficient. My son kicked it out.  I did too.  Sold that, got a Pass XA25 and that's it, very good, I mean superb.  Added a Topping D90 somewhere along the way.

Just this past couple months, I got an Innuous streamer and a Denafrips Pontus 2 12th. I am still soaking that in but love the sound.  This all started when I was fed up with the BLUOS app.  Amazon was not that great, so I tried Qobuz. Jammed up with BLUOS.  Now, I can sit down and start it up.  No frustrations.

Along the way, I added several tweeks:  Internet filter, Furman, springs under speakers, sound treatments. All these are worthwhile. 

I am very happy with the outcome.  5 yrs later. 

 

5 1/2 years of delivering the Washington Post in grades 7-12 gave me the means to purchase my first stereo (Advents, Sansui 2000x, Dual 1215S, M91E). I spent months in stereo shops listening first. Reading the very first edition of The Absolute Sound gave me the idea to purchase a second set of used Advents- double Advents. My first Audio show, where I met Saul Marantz, Jon Dahlquist, and James Bongiorno at the Dahlquist/GAS booth from reading an article in Popular Electronics about building the Ampzilla and another in High Fidelity by Bascom King about the amp, led to my purchase of the Ampzilla kit and building it (I still have it) and my first piece of high end gear. That booth led me to corresponding with Saul Marantz about modifying my Marantz Model 7 pre and purchase of used Dahlquist DQ10’s and adding two Dahlquist subwoofers.

 

 latest purchase was preceded by reading lots of comments here and happy experiences with my N100H. I just installed an Aurender N200, purchased intentionally new from a terrific store that I wanted to support- Comman Performance AV in Falls Church, VA. Sorry about the lengthy post but my purchases come from lots of homework and from others being generous with their knowledge with me. Thanks, Jeff!

I’ve been listening, reading, building, selling, swapping and buying hifi since the early seventies and almost every move has been an upgrade, or at least a noticeable change.  I will never stop reading and listening, but other than changing my DAC, I’m really happy with my current setup. And speaking of the DAC, it’s a Pontus ll and I really enjoy the sound of the R2R sound and would love to hear others, but it ain’t as easy as it used to be.