HOW DID YOU END UP WITH YOUR DREAM SYSTEM?

I absolutely love my dream system which took 68 years to come to the present state of “almost done”. All that is missing now are upgraded power cables. In 2022 at the age of 84 and assisted by a small inheritance i decided i was going to put together the best system I could afford, something I would enjoy for the rest of my life. I refurbished my turntable and my tape deck and bought a new amp and preamp and newly rebuilt Quads.  My main system now  revolves around the US Monitor version of Quad ESL -63 electrostatic speakers and Luxman MQ- 88uC tune amp and Luxman CL-38uC tube preamp. . The combination is magical!  I mainly stream my own collection of ripped CDs via a Roon Nucleus > Audio Alchemy DMP-1 > Berkeley Audio DAC Series 2. My main system also includes a Bang & Olufsen turntable I had fully restored, an Ayre DX-5 DSD SACD Player, a Triode TR5-CD5SE which has a tube option I like to use, and a restored Nakamichi DR-1 tape cassette player that sadly never gets played.

Before I go on here is a little history:

My audio journey all started with my first acquisition in 1956 at age 17, a Webcor portable turntable. In 1963 I married and replaced the Webcor with one of those furniture like pieces that when you lifted the top you had access to a turntable and AM/FM radio inside. That was followed in 1978 by my first serious audio purchase, a Pioneer SX-1050 (which I still have) and made-by-me Bose 901 Direct Reflecting Speakers. I know those Bose speakers are much reviled by audiophiles but they stood me in good stead until I imported my first pair of Quad ESL-63 electrostatic speakers in 1985 from England and acquired my Audiomat Arpege tube amp. A lot of audio gear has come and gone since but many of my displaced gear has been put to good use populating my other systems.

I have a very nice second system for TV which is also in a final state and may or may not get the last thing it also needs which is replacement power cables instead of the stock cables. It’s a two-channel system to which I could add four Spendor S3/5 speakers but I’m just not tempted. The speakers are one of my prize acquisitions, very special speakers from Sony, SS-NA5ES. They cost me $3000 used and I feel they were worth every penny,. Their bass is really remarkable! I have an Audiomat Arpege tube amp driving those speakers. There’s quite a lot of gear here; an Oppo UDP-205 DVD Player, an Audio Alchemy DDP-1 DAC and an Audio Alchemy DMP-1 that I use as a Roon endpoint and streamer, a Pioneer Elite CLD-99 laser disc player, a Panasonic VHS/DVD player, a ROKU, and a DISH Hopper DVR. I actually listen to very little TV , relying on my Oppo and Roku for watching movies and opera.

I also have a complete audio system at my desktop computer and at my husband’s, which I have left intact.

Roon allows me to play in each of those four systems as well as some or all of them, but I usually just play Roon in my main system.

Thinking about it and unbeknownst to me at the time, my HiFi journey began when my father would play his limited vinyl collection at the weekends after returning from the pub. Moody Blues and Rock Follies would fill our small lounge and shake the bay window next to the front door. Similarly, visits to my grandparents revealed my Grandfather had a Bang and Olufsen “all in one” playing classical and standards from the 50’s and 60’s which further helped shaped my appreciation and of course, no one apart from my Grandfather was permitted to lay small fingers on his pride and joy…
 

As I became a teenager I had an “all in one” record player with built in speaker where I would constantly play Michael Jackson’s Thriller whilst competing with the melancholy sounds of David Bowie that would regularly drift from my sisters adjacent bedroom.

My record player ultimately expired which coincided with my first job, giving me the funds to purchase an Aiwa stacking system with giant foil speakers, record deck and a 5 compact cassette programmable cartridge. 

Life and some 20 years then got in the way with 2 marriages and 5 kids, ultimately returning to HiFi in 2010 with a recommended review from Whathif for a Yamaha AS-500 Integrated amplifier paired with Monitor Audio BX2 bookshelf speakers. The kids were still reasonably young so any real critical listening was not possible so I decided to go sideways in to headphones for a few years and experimented with headphone amplifiers and a whole range of different headphones until just 5 years ago returning to 2 channel HiFi.

Initially I rekindled my love affair with vinyl but quickly slipped in to high resolution streaming with Chord Electronics DACS and streamers. My system has evolved quickly by watching selected YouTube reviewers and of course the buying and selling of gear merry-go-round coupled with the discovery of room acoustic treatment for my now dedicated listening space, which has significantly enhanced my listening experience.

I have just now discovered the wonders of vacuum tube amplification, moving from a Chord SPM 1050 mkii power amp to a Willsenton R8 integrated amp and subsequent tube rolling exploits which has further moved my appreciation dial for HiFi forward once again.

Given the emotional connection a great HiFi can achieve with the listener, at 55 years of age, I’m fairly certain my journey still has a few twists and turns to go yet and I welcome what’s just over the horizon…
 

@everyone. My journey actually started with my uncle gifting me a turntable and an Alexander O’Neal album! When I was about 9 years old. That was the very beginning. Some of your responses made me go back to the very beginning. 

Great stories everyone.  One of the most enjoyable reads in my multi-year A'Gone experience.

Thanks for sharing.

OP -- good topic.  Well done.

music is my medication.  Keeps me calm. Allows me to think clearly. Takes the stress of practicing law away. It allows me to reflect. It allows me to put life in perspective. It’s not just gear and songs. It’s an escape.

@Calvinj, you hit the nail right on the head.  I too am a trial lawyer, very busy practice, lots of stress, lots of hours, good disposable income . . .  My dedicated music room is right next to my office in the house, and I often start my day by putting on some jazz and relaxing before starting the day, and listening to some tunes at the end of the day as well. I relax, think clearly, and reflect on a difficult case or two.  One of my cats sits on my lap and purrs.  My music room is definitely an escape.

How did I get to that point?  Just upgrading equipment as I made more money, until I had everything that I liked.  I am not sure if I will ever be convinced that this is my "end game" system and there is nothing left to improve, but I am close.  All my cables are upgraded to Shunyata Sigma's, ARC REF 6, Pass 250.8, and an MSB Discrete DAC with a Premier Power Base, REL s/510 sub, Wilson Audio Sabrina X's. My system has never sounded closer to that ideal sound that I have in my head!  Surprisingly, and I have said this in other posts, I finally broke down and bought a Shunyata Everest power conditioner, which I thought would be a ridiculous expense, but I settled a good size case and figured that I would splurge.  Honestly, that singlehandly added a new dimension to my sound, making the soundstage deeper, and the instruments better placed against a black background.  So, through evolution, I have a system that to my ears, sounds really good.  If I get a bigger dedicated music room, I will think about getting Wilson Sasha DAW's but for now, very pleased!