AudioAficionado.org - A change is gonna come

Strange things do happen and mine came one after the other. First the bad - I had my gall bladder removed, no big deal but if its cancerous, it is! By God's grace, I was given a chance to live again, for a reason as all my pious Christian friends told me. And I am very thankful for that.

Next came my entire system change, or like 90% of it. After a few months of waiting for custom build amps, cables, the wait for the elusive Sliver Oppo BDP105, except for cables, they all came in this week. The entire system is still NOT completely setup as there are still missing XLR cables from Kondo, which I am assured they will be in 2 weeks time. Just nice as I will be leaving for a conference in Ireland tonight. Still, I want to share my happiness. Yes, pictures, and lots of pictures will be posted.

For starters, I have bought a completely restored vintage Thorens TD125 with an SME M2-12R tonearm with Ortofon Rondo Bronze from Vinyl Nirvana. When I received it, I was amazed at the meticulous packaging, the immense beauty of the plinth, yes - SOLID WOOD, in this case Morado (Bolivian Rosewood), polished platter, clean faceplate and everything else. Simply beautiful.

My other turntable, the Dr Feickert Firebird, had a new companion, a 12 inch Ortofon RS309D with a SPU Royal GM MKII. Now the older Triplanar UII MkVII with the Miyajima Shilabe will need to vie for my attention from these 2 competition. Will provide a comparison between all 3 cartridges and arms and post it.

All three arms are routed to the Aesthetix Rhea Signature phono stage and itself a beauty. It even has remote controllable control over switching as well as set up.

The Meridian Sooloss, now better know as Meridian Digital Media System had undergone a major change. The C15 is retained as this is STILL THE BEST PHYSICAL user interface I have ever come across, not to mention the software via the iPad. As I have moved on from the Meridian 808.5 with the built in ID41, upgraded the older Twinstore 3TBx2 to a newer MD600, now with 4TBx2, with matching MS600 (basically doing what the ID41 used to do, albeit the understanding that it is not on par as the ID41) as I do need this to "translate" the files before it hits the pre-amp. Yes, there are many other music files players out there, the newer Aurender W20, with the Calyx Femto DAC, the Lumin Network Music Player which I have considered but in the end, to me, the Meridian combo is still the "best", in terms of familiarity, and more importantly, the ease of use. Meridian just got it right with the user interface!

The Oppo BDP105 replaced the older BDP95, more so I wanted a matching SILVER coloured piece. Oh well, vanity does takes a place in pride of ownership as all my gears are silver in colour. The dealer had been nice enough to get me this coveted piece with full multi code and region done up. Basically, this is for video and not much else.

I have considered getting a SACD/CD player, from a near mint, custom build ALL silver (pillars and body) used Wadia S7, their last masterpiece to the Esoteric K-01 with matching new design Rubidium Clock, but in the end, decision is to "hold" and wait a little longer. A Tuner is no longer on the list, though I did consider the Magnum MD107 & MD108 as the Meridian provided digital radio support. More so, radio listening is for background, hence, its on hold and on the last priority.

As the speakers are the Avantgarde DUO Mezzo G2, in Jacaranda Rosewood finish, ordered the same finish for the front panels on their X Series Amplifiers. To say they are gorgeous is an under-statement as the real thing is so very beautiful, and very solidly built too. The pre-amp works on both current and battery mode, switchable to user's preference. And they ARE heavy. Each weighing more than 40 kilos. And the pre-amp is all XLR. No RCA's. One of the very few marques to go this way (understand Audio Research is one of the few who go this way too). And the system had my name all over it. Yes, they had my name ENGRAVED to the back of the amps as well as the speaker (this one, a special request). Why you may ask, something kinky I would share later in my review later on.

All cables, power and interconnects are from Kondo. Very beautifully hand-made. For the price, I cant complain. Now its just to see/listen if the performance is good. Of course, I am not expecting them to outperform those higher priced ones, but if they are a harmonious match to the system I have today, I am happy. A major change for me as Meridian uses speaker link, basically Ethernet cables.

Power distributor is the Audience aR12 - which I am happy with today. This would probably be upgraded to the aR12TSS after I have done a thorough comparison with the Shunyata Triton+Typhoon combo to which the dealer sang praises of - and he represent BOTH these brands. And the Shunyata combo is the cheaper of the 2 too, although short by 4 outlets.

OK, so much for the introduction on my system change. When I am back a week later, and the remaining Kondo cables arrived, will share my experience with this new system, a first for me, as I have never heard them TOGETHER. All of them were bought based on different equipment pairing. I just hope I wont be disappointed, as these are NOT cheap acquisitions, even after the trade in of my entire Meridian system, to which I must honestly admit, I could not find fault with.

Is this a case of change for changing sake? I really hope not. But then, more often than not, its about the "passion" in changing! What irony. Cheers!