My journey has included separates and integrateds, ending with an integrated.
First good system, late '80s: Rotel receiver (forget the model) and Allison Acoustics CD-7's. Following the good advice from a dealer, I spent my entire budget on just those, saving for a CD player later. Luckily, there was a quality FM community radio station for eclectic listening nearby (WYCE).
It was not until many years later that I really began to upgrade:
*Cambridge Audio AV receiver (not sure of the model). I thought a 5.1 system was the way to go, but it didn't last long.
*Sticking with Cambridge Audio next was their Azure 840 integrated. Nice and powerful, sounded great. I sold it to my business (a sprawling bakery/cafe with many zones), and upgraded to separates. (NAD plus Parasound)
*Next was the beautiful Luxman L550-AX. Happy with the phono stage, loved the tone controls, beautiful fit and finish, and could have lived with it for a long time. But my ATC's sure do like a lot of juice, and I sometimes like it loud!
*In exploring options for my next, more powerful integrated, and with a bigger budget, I brought my speakers to one of the three audio dealers in my greater area. I had arranged to listen to a Plinius Hautonga. I was really prepared to love it; I had done my usual 'research' but surprisingly it didn't have great synergy with my ATC SCM 19's. Then my dealer hooked up a demo Calyx The Integrated to my speakers and THAT was a great match. This Calyx has a damping factor of 4,000, and it really had great control of the ATC 6" Super Linear mid-bass drivers (with their huge magnets). Minimalist in look, minimalist in features, great build, good USB input, and $4,000 less than the upper limit of my budget, I took it home.
*The Calyx is a superb unit, I'll be hanging on to it and have some good ideas in how to put it to use, probably at my restaurant. But in browsing around various classifieds I saw a unit that I just had to have: an Accuphase E-470. The seller had it posted with really terrible pictures; poor lighting, a messy garage in the background, and no power to it showing off its jewel like fascia. It was listed for $7k and I offered six. He took it and my upgrade journey (at least as far as my amp goes) is complete for a long while!
*Accuphase E-470: So impressed I am that I went ahead and bought the DAC and Phono modules. My system is simpler, and better sounding, and better looking than ever before. I couldn't be happier!
~Oran
|