The room does seem small, I would move all those records somewhere, not much of a breathing space for the speakers.
As for the equipment choice, well, he is a reviewer and it is possible that it influenced his decisions of what to keep. He might've had a different or partly different set-up if he was just audiophile.
I definitely approve Continuum turntable with SAT tonearm and Ypsilon phono stage. Not sure about the rest. But I definitely disapprove the absense of a Studer deck. This is not serious for a reviewer of his rank. Still, I would expect all tube or hybrid electronics and much stronger digital front end.
