He'd kill me if I said so,but,"He really liked the Shaded Dog stuff".Also his set-up of RS-1b's are driven by really old Krell bass amps,with a C.J. Premier 8 on top.The pre is an ART with the C.J. phonostage,andVPI TNT with(the piece de resistence)AIR TANGENT arm and TITAN cart.Trust me on this HE KNOWS WHAT GREAT SOUND IS,and gets it IN SPADES.So should you from the direction you're heading.P.S.I have been to quite a few REALLY HIGH PRICED and MEGA-BUCK set ups in the NYC area with owners that were totally convinced that they were audio-gurus,non of them can TOUCH my friend's set-up in terms of real 'HARMONIC ACCURACY" and bloom.My friend could care less about the latest craze stuff,or pricy,shiney,schmaltzy eye candy that is so much "IN" today."think Jonathan Scull here" for his rediculous obsession with everything that GTT AUDIO seems to be Pushing at the moment.My friend's set up is an incredibly well thought out syst.that simply leaves me weak every time I hear it.I have learned(from him) that to get great sound you must be a "thinker" more-so than a spender.