Been a while since I discussed my system in full.

Thanks to ST and another site I am a member of, I've tuned a collection of gear that I'm pretty thrilled about.

A big thank you to all your help, guidance and friendship. Especially a few of you that I can now call very good friends.

Been buying, selling, trading, and am pretty much at the point where I'm not looking any more, and concentrating on further consolidating the collection. It will be a nice summer dialing it in.

The Kitchen system consists of-

Sansui TU-5900 tuner
Bic Beam Box antennae
Denon POA 1500 champagne amplifier
Sansui CA-2000 pre-amp
Chase remote volume device
Sony C75ES changer (may opt for a D-113 Luxman single disc)
Adcom GDA-600 DAC.
Technics SL-1300 Turntable
Grado Blue cart.
Awia Cassette Deck (vintage- out right now for repair)
Bose 301 II speakers (ambient listening).
Baltek 30 speakers (desk listening- these are a rare, overlooked Latvian speaker of excellent quality).
iPod dock.

I'm undecided on what will remain for speakers- may switch a few out. I have some Boston Acoustics Micros I love, as well as some Minimus 7s I'll be modding with the cap kit off eBay. The 301 IIs are nice, but maybe taking up space at this point. The Adcom DAC may get swapped for a Parasound D-AC 1100. The Chase is great, but I may pass that along too.

Bedroom system consists of-

Onkyo TX-SR502 HT receiver (modern)
Onkyo DV-CP702 DVD Player/changer
Marantz SR-4320 modern receiver (good with it's remote control and its sleep timer)
Sony C75ES 5-disc CD changer
Royd Seven speakers (best bookshelf speaker from a small british company I've ever heard)
Paradigm Titan and Micro speakers (similar to Atoms) for the HT unit.
Cambridge Soundworks Basscube 8 subwoofer
DAK industries audio timer/power conditioner
iPod dock.

I'll add a DAC to it soon- either the Parasound or the Adcom.May swap out the Royd Sevens for the Baltek 30s in the kitchen.




Living room consists of-

B&K Sonata 442 Dual-Mono amplifier
Denon POA 1500 II black amplifier
Denon POA 1500 II black amplifier, a second one
Denon 2802 HT receiver
Philips SC-80 (same as Marantz SC-80) pre-amp
PSE Studio pre-amp
Sony PS-x5 turntable
Technics SL-1700 turntable
Grado Gold
Audio Technica AT440MLa
Sansui TU-717 tuner
Sony C85ES 5-disc CD changer
Denon DCD-1500 II Single disc CD player
EAD DSP-1000 II DAC
PS Audio Superlink II DAC
Audio Alchemy jitter reducer
Pioneer RT-909 reel to reel
Pioneer RT-1 dynamic expansion unit
Onkyo DV-CP702 DVD Player/changer
Dahlquist DQ-10 speakers
Thiel CS 2 speakers
Vandersteen 2C speakers
a/d/s/ L1230 speakers
a/d/s/ L630 speakers
AR 9LSI speakers
Boston Acoustics A40s for the HT setup
3D Acoustics subwoofer
twin NHT 10" subs with external NHT sub amps
Adcom 515 power conditioner/on-off timed switch (on it's way)
Collection of quality cabling
ipod dock.

As you can see, the living room is a bit over-populated with gear. BUT, I've thinned it out lots- really. At one time it was 49 pair of speakers, and gear literally stacked to the ceiling in a few spots, with more in two or three storage locations. So, I've done good, I think.

I'd like to thin the big speakers down to two pair, but I'd be lucky if I can get it to three. All of 'em are fantastic so it's no easy choice. But I'm really torn as to what to keep.

The pre-amps (PSE and Philips) are both fantastic, so we'll see what happens there.

Do I need two POA 1500s? No. Might sell the champagne one in the kitchen, keep the two black units. I dunno.

May swap the Paradigms in the bedroom HT for the Boston A40s in the living room HT.

The Pioneer RG-1 is a neat device, but time will tell if it will stay or go.

The PS Audio and EAD DACs are both excellent- I may not be able to part with either.



In the wings, I've got four Luxman CD players- a single disc, and three single disc/6-disc changer combos. One for work, the rest, I will probably let go.

Two Sony 308ESD CD players. Fate unknown.

A stack of Sony C75ES 5-disc changers, for repair/parts.

Two pioneer audio timers- also fate unknown.

Two spare Sony PS-X5s- hope to make two working units out of the three total I have.




So what's the plan? Weed out a few things, repair a lot (ailing DQ-10s, ARs awaiting foams, need to repair the Audio Alchemy unit, repair the 3D sub).

And set up the system- the Denon HT is a new addition, as is the B&K amp, and awaiting the Adcom 515.



Picked up a $400 Salamander rack for $100 to better organize as well.




All in all, I am quite satisfied.

What do I miss? The Boston Acoustics A150s and A200s. The DCM CX-27s. The TimeWindow 1s that were loaned to me. The Ohm Walsh 1XOs that were loaned to me.

The Marantz 1060 and 105 I have loaned to a good friend for a bit and partly came from an AKer.

The Sansui 317 integrated.

Some Onkyo gear from a good friend that was put curbside by an unknowing relative in a foggy faux-pas.

I had a Yammie 810 from a good friend that I repaired but developed problems, as well as a Marantz receiver that basically blew up.

Other stuff I'm surely overlooking. Please forgive me for that. It's been a stressful few years.


What would I like to acquire?

An external crossover.

Another spare Sony C85ES for spare parts. Maybe a second Adcom 515. A spare Luxman D-113, perhaps.

Speakers? Oh, nothing really- planars are a desire, but not in my current home. Ohm Walsh I XOs or IIs would be hard to pass up, especially XOs. IIIs and IVs? Oh, joy! DCM Timewindow 3s- even the 1s. Any Royd speaker.

But they'd have to "fall into my lap".

I'd like to hear some Fried or IMF transmission lines. Not own 'em- just hear em. Too big for my place.





The grea-*test*-('") thing now is I can spend more time tweaking the system to work best for me. Add room treatments. Build a sandbox for the TT. A record cleaning machine. Veneer the A40s. Clean up the BIC Beambox.



Build a few of my own speakers.



Repair the gear that needs attention.




Buy more records. Listen to more music. Hunt Netflix for DVDs of music documentaries.



Invite friends over for beer and shrimp boils. Torture them with my eclectic music tastes.



And enjoy my ST brethren.

Some would say that's the inventory of a very discriminating audio chain.
That is to collections what the Borg is to social clubs.

I'm thrilled you are thrilled.

Thanks for all of your contributions, Paul.

dennis

for speakers, I would think you would keep your thiels of course as they sound very, very good to your ear, I have never heard any, and the DQ10's, very nostalgic, for a lot of reasons, and for personal reasons the vandersteens, i feel with the right setup they have a lot to offer.

turf the all the rest.

elroy

The DQ-10s are the king here, for sentimental reasons. Only way I'd part with them is if it screws up my TV, but I'm working overtime to prevent that from ever becoming an issue.



Of course I'm in love with the Thiels, but need to see if I can tame the occasional issues with the highs. The sound from them is amazing.



The Vandersteens are nearly neck in neck with them however. What a darling speaker! Only potential issues are the passive radiator on the back- will I be able to place them properly.



The ARs need a refoam, but may have more issues. I am a bit worried about the drivers. I'll know more once a friend stops by to lend a hand as to what awaits these monsters. They are another speaker that's top notch.



The a/d/s/ L1230s are a great speaker, and my favorite of the line. I'd be disappointed to see these go, especially since I have spare parts for them. Placement is easy, despite the wide shoulder of them.



The L630s are out of the way and easy to place for me, on this shelf above the other gear- but I dunno if they'll see much use any more. I may list them tonight on Craigs....

I'm just amazed, "dazed & confused" with all your gear.
Many tanx for sharing it with us.

I have a store and not that much inventory.

Paul, if you ever tire of the 1230's, put me on your short list of new owners.

I will indeedy, Scott.

It makes me a bit queasy thinking of selling them, I just can't realistically keep 'em all.


If you ever find an orphan, I could always ship the spare to you.