Synergistic Red Fuse ...

Tommylion ...

I could not agree with you more. That's exactly it.

This morning I had an early morning listening session. I love listening to the system with the purity of the power that comes into the house around 5 am or so.

Two nights ago, my good friend "Mister Record" (Robert) dropped off a rendition of Tchaikovsky's "Nutcracker" with artur Rodzinski conducting the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.  recorded in 1956. This is a CD transfer from a Westminster stereo analog tape recorded in 1956. I already had a budget CD of the work that I thought was pretty good. In fact its very good,. BUT ... while listening to Robert's CD this morning, I was transported right into the recording venue. What a beautiful performance. This is the best Analog tape transfer of the work that I, or Robert, has ever heard. Yes, there's a small amount of tape hiss, but that's a good thing as the highs aren't rolled off. 

Then, I put on the Reference Recording of John Rutter's "Requiem" performed by the Turtle Creek Chorale. Wow! That chorus was spread out from wall to wall ... and so believable. And so utterly beautiful. I haven't played this CD in a couple of years, having put it on the back burner. It has never sounded as good as this. Its a reflection of the improvements made to the system over the past year, with a big jump due to the SR Black fuses. 

This is the budget version I already had. Its quite good. I found it on Amazon. Its a two CD set.   This is a must have. You NEED this CD. :-)

 https://www.amazon.com/Tchaikovsky-Nutcracker-complete-Symphony-No/dp/B00005OLDM/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&...

Here's the Requiem CD. If you like choral music, you'll need to jump on this one. 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/John-Rutter-Requiem-Five-Anthems-Referecne-Recordings-RR-57CD-Still-Sealed-/...

So many recordings in the collection ... so little time to listen.

OP

Tommylion ..

That Nutcracker I led you to on Amazon isn't the budget version, its the version Robert brought over. Honestly, its a CD that should be in every classical music lover's collection. 

OP

Tommylion       9/20/16

" There's a line where what you're listening to stops being a recording, and becomes a musical event. That line is not always clearly marked or defined, but you know when you've crossed it. For me, that's what this hobby is all about; turning recordings into musical events"

This is what this tread is all about.  This is  what our hobby is about. What a beautiful .way to say it. 

Yes nyame, Tommy summed it up succinctly and beautifully.  When you're able to say this you've assembled an audio system in the right direction. 
Charles, 

^^^ 
One way to determine when your audio system has "arrived," is when your friends stop saying "Hey, your SYSTEM sounds great," and instead they begin to say: "Hey, those GUYS sound great."