Hi Welfred: We share a common history in that I stopped owning decent gear and pretty much listening to music from 1985 up to the year 2000 (it's a long story). When I started to put together a system earlier this year I was faced with digital as a source which was new to me. I have gone through three sets of speakers in the past eight months and three CD players as well. The system that I now have, though it is both SS and digital (the opposite of what I have owned and truly enjoyed in the past), is at the point at which I am more enamored by the music than the gear (it has finally reached it's turning point, so to speak). I did not attempt to reproduce the low registers, which to do so would be far beyond my budget, but instead have focused on what is left and also the musicality of the system Vs sound stage, imaging and the other visual aspects of sound reproduction. These aspects are not really lacking, but were not first on the list as was tonal accuracy and the rightness of vocals and instruments on a whole. I, like everyone else have my own interpretation of what music really sounds like and follow this (my own) mind set on the matter. I decided to go with a SS amp due to practicality and cost. What I first noticed about budget SS amps was that many seemed to accent (boost) the mid bass frequencies as did most of the mini monitors that I auditioned. The combination of the two though "snappy" sounding was a little too much for me and I also was unable to differentiate many of the lower bass notes (their pitch) from each other (I believe that this is referred to as "one note bass"). Anyway, the amp that I selected is not known for it's bass slam and has a very linear output in this region, which is why I also believe that the midrange of the amp is so open and "tube" like. The midrange is what sold me on the amp as well as it's cost. It also operates primarily in class "A" at the sound levels that usually listen at, but so do many SS class A/B amps as far as my understanding goes. When selecting a CD player I was torn between detail and musicality and also disappointed at the LF response of most players when compared to good vinyl. All of the detail was new to me and was very impressive at the start, but eventually began to wear me out as the auditions progressed and I was thinking boy this is entertaining, but where is the music? The player that I opted for was somewhat laid back and analog sounding. The laid back part of it's character was easily remedied with the use of power conditioning, silver analog IC's and the addition of an upgraded power cord. The end result was that it still sounded "somewhat" analog but with increased dynamics and detail. The player/source was then upgraded by the addition of an out board DAC which brought it to a new level of performance that I am currently very pleased with (most instruments are "right on". The DAC's power cord was also upgraded with a significant improvement in overall dynamics and the new micro wire digital IC (being used in conjunction with the silver analog IC's) also seems to be a very good match. My current speakers are French mini monitors on 29" stands, that I could not be more pleased with as they are the most musical speakers that I have owned to date and this includes a pair of Rogers LS3/5a's in my history of ownership (this is also the sound that I have been trying to match, but with better overall performence). Without going into detail I am also highly pro on the use of isolation devices as well as room treatment (I admit to doing the bare minumum with what I have in this area) and of course speaker placement. Until the addition of the DAC and the last digital IC the system was good enough to impress friends, but did not offer me enough listening satisfaction. The current set up (when playing well engineered CD's) allows me to forget the gear and enjoy the music. It is also relatively kind to lesser source material which means that it would most likely not offer enough detail for many of the Audiophiles at this site. At this point I will experiment more with isolation devices, speaker stands, cables and cords as my budget allows (the Cable Company offers cable comparison without tying up too much money in the long run). But for now I am almost afraid to touch anything. Total system cost is a little over $3K. PS: I have no gifts to open this morning, I have already been listening to them:-)
