I just bought an Aesthetix Calypso Signature tube preamp. It will be one of the best pieces in my system, probably the best piece. I'm still waiting for it, sometime this week. I use a Cary PH 301 tube phono preamp, old but very damn good. When needed for my lowest LOMC cartridge, I use an SAEC SUT, very good. My amps are two Parasound HCA 2200 II amplifiers, John Curl design, 250wpc @ 8 ohm. They are very strong amplifiers but getting old too. My main turntable is VPI HW 19, Mk II, was Mk III but had to downgrade to original bearing and spindle. Old but still a very good TT. I use an old 20 bit Denon CD player. Whether any of this qualifies for really good front end, I don't know. It has provided me with many years of happiness. The guys here would have to tell me if it qualifies as "really good". I know that at least the Cary and the Calypso do, not sure about the rest.
I moved to a log house 12 years ago and the 901's have been in storage since then and even some time before, as I switched to AR 9 speakers about 21 years ago. I really appreciate them and their overall abilities but they lack the punching power of 901's. Overall response is far better in AR 9's and plenty of other speakers but the 901's are capable of some things that most others are not. I have never heard drums sound or feel more live and real than from a pair or two of 901's, properly placed and properly driven. Placement and power are key. Many others can outshine them in many ways but they just do some things like nothing else that I've ever heard. They can become "very big", bigger than anything else I've ever heard. Some say "too big" but I think it's all to do with placement and proper usage.
I never used the equalizers either which goes against everything you ever hear. Any time I tried the EQ's, I thought they sounded awful. When I bought my first pair back in 1975, the salesman told me I would not need the EQ because I had plenty of power with a Crown DC 300A amp. I believed him and was very happy with that system for several years. They did have to be played loud to be appreciated. This may be because I never used the EQ but at high volume, they performed just as you say and surprised an awful lot of people over the years. I have moved on but I do miss certain things as mentioned above. Enough so that I bought all the ones that I have now, mostly about 20 years ago.
