Tsushima1 sez ...
"Does your frame of reference extend to ARC Ref40 or Ref10?"
Exactly! The closest I've heard to real organic music from a stereo system was in the Optimal Enchantment room at the Newport show three years ago. Randy was using all of the very best gear ARC offers including the phono stage. It was amazing ... and I almost took out a second mortgage on the house. The last two years, they used amps from a different Mfg and in my opinion, the magic was gone.
One thing to keep in mind is the fact that no matter how much we spend on equipment, or what our biases are, we are trying to reproduce music through electronic devices. In all cases, we are fooling ourselves. So ... we have to try to try to select the equipment that "fools" us the best. A lot of it is subjective and a matter of taste. My "right" doesn't necessarily make your "right" wrong ... and visa versa.
