The equipment -- a Basis Ovation TT upgraded with the Debut platter on a Townshend sink on a Target wall-mount; Vector 3 tonearm with the VTA option; the new Orpheus; a Joule Electra LAP-150 tube preamp (this has a phono stage in the preamp chassis and a separate power supply); a pair of Joule Electra VZN-100 100-watt OTL monoblocs; a pair of Klipschorns, with the up-to-date AK-4 drivers and crossovers (rewired with Siltech internal wire) in '62 mahogany lacquer bodies; an ESP power cord on the preamp and NBS power cords on the monoblocs; a PS Audio P-300 powering the TT, and Siltech I/C's and Basis speaker cables.
Non-phono stuff: a Nak CR-7A cassette deck and Wadia 2-box CD player (270 and 27i). Townshend sinks for the CD transport, and preamp as well as the TT. The P-300 also powers the cassette deck and the 270.
LP's -- hmm. I'll select from just a few for an initial impression, e.g., the Reiner Scheherazade; London recordings of the Dvorak last 3 symphonies, Mozart and Beethoven; Berlioz Nuites d'ete; the Muchinger/VPO Haydn Creation, etc. Those are really examples of the initial LPs -- from there, I branch out to an indefinable variety that I think will bring out the advantages of the new item or sometimes that have presented problems that I'd like to see how it will handle or improve the sound and musicality I'd like to hear. The main points here are to either (1) confirm or raise questions about what I think I'm hearing, and (2) see how well the music and its emotion is conveyed.
Larry
