High End and Classical Music

My college degree is in Music Composition, and I listen solely to "classical" music--mostly modern stuff. I have found that an excellent hi-fi system has been, in addition to a great provider of enjoyment, an educational tool. As a composer, it is extremely important for me to listen to a lot of music, and there is so much more to learn when the music can be heard clearly. I also have a lot of friends who are musicians, and most of them don't have decent hi-fi systems because they are poor and they waste too much money on coffee. I don't think, however, that being a musician or even loving music is the only prerequisite for being an audiophile. From reading a lot of posts here, I have gathered that one must also have technophile leanings. Many of us have always been fascinated by technology, as demonstrated by the "What kind of watch do you have?" post.

First, if you are "completely satisified" and it "sounds tremendous" to you, you've achieved what most audiofools are aspiring to. Sit back and enjoy. Second, even though you say you are new to the hobby, you will soon find out that there are ALWAYS better combinations, the search for the best is much of what the hobby is about. Your gear is high quality, and you obviously enjoy it already. If you've ben bitten by the search bug for perfection, hold on to your hat, and wallet. There is a fine line between happy exploration and obsession. In my experience your gear is extremely resolving and detailing, and if you like that great. For a predominantly classical menu, it may lack some warmth,depth and tonal balance, particulalry on strings.Just my experience. Adding some tubes in the pre-amplification or amplification and different cabling might lend a more natural resolve to the type of music you prefer. I know what I like and hear, but wouldn't venture to suggest what gear is best for you. There are far more knowledgeable members on this site who could do so, you may learn a great deal from their suggestions, and use them as a springboard for your own research. A cautionary note, if you truly love what you already have, the grass is not always greener.... Have fun and good luck.

BTW, in response to your first question, I listen to predominantly classical and jazz, with a dollup of rock and roll thrown in.

My music library is 60% rock/alt and 40% classical. Don't need any special equipment as classical recorings almost always are much higher quality than main stream rock. Enjoy the good gear you have now and fine tune with cables and isolation devices. Times have never been better for classical lovers as back catalogs of major labels are being released in excellent remasters at mid price or lower.

I listen to about 68% Jazz and 30% Classical (2% other stuff). I do think there are systems better suited to Jazz, Classical, Rock etc. That is if you are working on a budget. If the sky is the limit there are some fine systems that can do all quite well. As an example, in my youth I listend mostly to rock. In general this music is highly compressed and requires a very dynamic system to bring out these compressed recordings (it also helps if it can be played loud). I had Klipsch LaScala's--very loud, very dynamic--very good for Rock music. Now try to play a Eto Emma's performance of Bach's Goldberg variations. The tonal quality is there, but the nuances and the imagery of the piano just aren't. Female vocals, which I love now on Martin Logan speakers, were terrible on the Klipsch. My music tastes have changed over time, as have my system to accomodate my tastes. My current system is not as good as my Klipsch system was for rock. But that's not what I'm listening to these days. My current system's forte is vocals, jazz and classical. Hope this helps.