Latest update(s)...again, thanks for all your collective wisdom and advice; much appreciated!
1. I bought a pair of used Devore Gibbon 9's today that should be here later this week. Admittedly, I'm having a little buyer's remorse simply because I think I paid a bit more than they are worth...but I'm excited to hear them nonetheless. Of course, not one hour after I sent funds I got some really good offers on a used pair of O/93s and a demo set of O/96s, but the 9's were already pushing the budget pretty hard so it is probably for the best. Details to follow.
2. I snagged a Moon 110LP phono stage that was discounted from $700 to $350 from a local dealer just to compare it to the Rega phono stage. Upon listening to a few records through the Moon, it sounds significantly better than the phono stage in the Rega. The Moon has considerably more depth, stereo field is much improved, tonality seems less harsh, etc...Oddly enough, I started getting some static through one of the speakers after a few hours that seems related to the Audioquest interconnect I bought to connect the Moon. When I swapped terminals the static switched to the other speaker channel. Will sort that out tomorrow, but I think the Moon is a keeper.
3. Close to pulling the trigger on a used Line Magnetic 518 to run with the Devores. Line Magnetic seems to be the amp/brand that every Devore dealer recommends, so I have no doubt it is a good bet. I would love the more powerful 508 model, but I will have to wait until I can find a used/demo...at $5k, that is more than I can spend right now. Looking at around $3100 for the 518.
4. Will likely keep the ELACs for my upstairs system as they really are very impressive for their price. Plan to take the Rega Brio back to the dealer this week.
In case you are wondering why I ignored the sage advice of demoing to all this stuff locally before making a decision, what I found is that many of the brands I was interested in do not have a dealer in Denver/Boulder, and even if they do, the store doesn't stock anything. I also feel a bit disingenuous using a dealer to demo equipment that I have little to no intention of buying brand new when I can get it for half the price used...wish me luck :)
1. I bought a pair of used Devore Gibbon 9's today that should be here later this week. Admittedly, I'm having a little buyer's remorse simply because I think I paid a bit more than they are worth...but I'm excited to hear them nonetheless. Of course, not one hour after I sent funds I got some really good offers on a used pair of O/93s and a demo set of O/96s, but the 9's were already pushing the budget pretty hard so it is probably for the best. Details to follow.
2. I snagged a Moon 110LP phono stage that was discounted from $700 to $350 from a local dealer just to compare it to the Rega phono stage. Upon listening to a few records through the Moon, it sounds significantly better than the phono stage in the Rega. The Moon has considerably more depth, stereo field is much improved, tonality seems less harsh, etc...Oddly enough, I started getting some static through one of the speakers after a few hours that seems related to the Audioquest interconnect I bought to connect the Moon. When I swapped terminals the static switched to the other speaker channel. Will sort that out tomorrow, but I think the Moon is a keeper.
3. Close to pulling the trigger on a used Line Magnetic 518 to run with the Devores. Line Magnetic seems to be the amp/brand that every Devore dealer recommends, so I have no doubt it is a good bet. I would love the more powerful 508 model, but I will have to wait until I can find a used/demo...at $5k, that is more than I can spend right now. Looking at around $3100 for the 518.
4. Will likely keep the ELACs for my upstairs system as they really are very impressive for their price. Plan to take the Rega Brio back to the dealer this week.
In case you are wondering why I ignored the sage advice of demoing to all this stuff locally before making a decision, what I found is that many of the brands I was interested in do not have a dealer in Denver/Boulder, and even if they do, the store doesn't stock anything. I also feel a bit disingenuous using a dealer to demo equipment that I have little to no intention of buying brand new when I can get it for half the price used...wish me luck :)