Synergistic Red Fuse ...

Nyame,
I would have loved to hear that system you've described. 
Charles, 

I knew Lars and his wife for a while before knowing he was THAT Lars  (we lived in Redding, CT), and also met Tom Gillette at a neighbor's party. Tom's cool...One thing Lars and I joked about regarding the Mpingo things was the fact that because I had a lot of guitars around, the ebony or rosewood components of those should theoretically have the same effect as Sun Mook's imaginary and expensive magic tweaks, and the discs cost about the same as a good guitar (!)…I keep my guitars in humidified cases generally so I never tested that theory, and it's clear I'm not prone to waste time on silly or useless nonsense like Mpingos...

charles dad 7.30.16

" What you say about the LINN is true and it was a standard bearer for generations,  yet I still found the Well Tempered table better in my system." 

Charles, my post was intended to be about the direct to disc record.  I mentioned the LINN because I thought you might be interested in knowing why I liked it so much. I already accept the fact the the Well Tempered table outperforms the LINN. Remember, I was enamored by the LINN in 1982. It is not surprising for it to be surpassed by many tables that came into existence in the 3 decades since then. 

Since I am not really seeking to build a state of the art system, I do not have  strong motivation to travel long distances to hear equipment I have no intention of purchasing.

Take care.

Oregonpapa

I will purchase the Von Gaylord IC you recommend. My initial reluctance to purchase an IC without an audition is because of my experience with the Audioquest Cheetah.  It performs excellently only when connected between the CD player and the Pre-amp. It simply does not work between the pre and power amps. Earlier this year I made the decision to upgrade both interconnects and so I began the search by auditioning The Wywires Platinum IC and the High Fidelity CT-1. The Wywires defeated the CT-1 by a wide margin. The connection between Pre and power amps is secure.

The designer of the Wywires cable ( I have forgotten his name ) was adamant that best results would be obtained if I connected his IC between source and  preamp, so I know it will work well there. When I get the Von Gaylord IC I will first try it between Source and preamp. It is my belief that the best IC should go there.

A quick word about the Wywires Platinum. It is truly awesome. Every now and then, I hear a component that is so perfect, in every possible way, that it
is a joy to own. The Wywires platinum IC is such a product. Enough said.

Just knowing you are using and enjoying the Von Gaylord IC is very reassuring.

good luck

Interesting stories, Wolfie.  Redding is a beautiful town, of course.  I'm not far from there, as I mentioned.

Re the mention by the other gentlemen of "For Duke," I don't have that recording but I do have another M&K Realtime direct-to-disc recording of that era, "The Power and the Glory (Volume I)".  It is a recording of classical music for organ, that was recorded in a large church that apparently has one of the world's largest organs.  I'm hard pressed to think of superlatives that would do justice to its sonics.  However I only played it via speakers once, as it is the only recording I have ever played that caused paint chips to fall from my ceiling :-) 

Best regards,
-- Al