Big rig didn’t change at all; it’s exactly where it needs to be and at this point I’m more likely to mess it up than anything.
Small rig (office system) continued to be my "sanbox" for a 2nd year, and I went through a TON of stuff. It’s setlling down now, and has ended up with a couple old favorites from past iterations of the big rig.
- Ortofon SPU was my favorite "new find" and a good daily driver for focusing on the "passion" of music rather than the "details". Carries some of the aspects I love about Koetsu. Nothing fancy, just basic Classic models. Their combination with Hagerman Piccolo Zero head-amp (cheap at $270) is a revalation!
- Re-bought my old Tannoy Canterbury SE speakers (I run GR in the main rig). Surprisingly, they work wonderfully in a smaller room!
- Meridian digital (500 CD transport, 808, UltraDAC). I really like these for digital playback; they are not as sterile sounding as most DACs, and can hang with good vinyl.
- VAC Statement 450S amp (older version, before "iQ" auto-bias). This was definitely a splurge pickup. Decidedly an improvement over the VAC 200iQ monos.
- Rogue Hera II preamp. Re-bought this. Used to be my preamp in prior iterations of the big rig. I really missed it, and it hits the spot here. It’s got its faws for sure, but in some ways I like its sound better than $20K - 30K preamps.
- SOTA Cosmos. The small rig poses significant energy-management issues for turntables. Finally had to give up on various Clearaudios and VPIs; they just won’t work here. The SOTA works beautifully!