Start over--HiFi rig ---clean slate


I'm interested in the thoughts of this forum.
All seem to be well read and informed.

IF YOU WERE TO START OVER:

Cost would be a variable and you were to pick the pinnacle of your desires,(& hopefully listened to them) what would it be: Speakers,amp,preamp & source

The format:
1) speaker brand and name
2) amp
3) preamp
4) source

My wish:
1) Thiel cs3.7
Add two velodyne DD-15 subs
2) Devaliet 400 mono-2 ( not listened to)
3) above
4) computer audio- mac with amarra symphony & Dirac IRC

Jeff
frozentundra
Jeff-

you will not need (2) DD-15 subs. Instead, (1) REL of any size -these are the very best, most musical sub(s) on the market. Everything else does not compete! Keep us posted and Happy Listening!
Jfant;

I like your comments 

I like CJ
I like Pass
I like CS2.7
I like subs

i just did the Pass Lab xa30.5

holy crap! what a difference from class d amps?

next is a CJ pre

& A CS2.7 or Treo CT

have you upgraded you system ?
take pics

jeff

Depends very much on the room, but I would start with about $1,000 of acoustic panels and bass traps from GIK Acoustics, and work my way out from there. :)

Speakers, if I had to buy them instead of make them, Monitor Audio, Gryphon and Marten would be on my short list. Also possible Sanders Sound. I know this covers a lot of ground and price points.

Subwoofers: Sure, Velodyne is good, Hsu is cheaper and since I like to have a lot of control, I'd rather have a pair of Hsu's and do my own EQ with a miniDSP unit. But this is in an ideal situation. In a living room / family room type of setup, a sub at all might be too much.

Amps: Conrad Johnson Premier 8’s, Ayre, Parasound or ICEPower/Hypex based amps. Depends.

Preamp: Ayre, Audio Research Reference, Sonic Frontiers, Conrad Johnson or Parasound. Would have to listen again. :) I"m out of touch. What I miss a lot really are good tone controls.

Source: I’ve heard several DAC’s driven by a Mac Mini that sounded less than stellar, so I would probably avoid a Mac as a source. I’d love to try the Auralic Aries, but it has no Android app, so that’s a no go. For now, I’d stick with a PC and Squeezelite, or even a Rasberry Pi as my source for my music library and streaming. I can spend a lot more, but damned if I can find a product I feel really deserves my cash. I usually just feel insulted.

Right now I’m really loving my Mytek DAC, and given it’s range of compatability I’d probably stick with it. I might try a 3 Mytek stack for 6 channel DSD or movies though. :)

Cables: Solid silver core, silver Neutrik connectors or Cardas. Made in home. For speaker cables, I’m using cheap stranded copper and staying with it. Everything else has to revolve around them. :)

Best,


Erik