re: Audiophile/Vinyl Thread - Post Pics, Advice, Questions, Setups, etc.

HerbertFest08...So, even with the speakers not ideally placed, what do you think?...worth the money? When you first plugged them into the amp and played a tune, was it immediately noticeable? Did you feel it?

I ask because every time I made a substantial equipment change (amps, pre, speakers), it was kind of a "holy crap" moment for me. I remember when I replaced my JM Lab (Focal) Electra 926 speakers (1" tweeter, 6.5" mid, and (2) 7" woofers), which are no slouches by any stretch, with my current Focal Alto Utopias (almost 200lbs. apiece), I was blown away within the first 30 seconds of music playing...EVERYTHING was bigger, wider, deeper, higher--across the board. I wasn't expecting that huge a difference. At that moment I told Mrs. Esquandolas "worth every penny!"

About a year later I moved away from an Audio Research 70wpc tube amp to the McIntosh MC501 500w mono bloc amps--again, "holy crap!"...finally having some big time muscle pushing the Focal Utopias took them to a whole other level. I was able to push them to concert levels without any high/mid breakup.

A year later I moved from the McIntosh c2300 single chassis pre amp to the c500 dual chassis reference pre amp and again, the difference was heard within 30 seconds.

Each time I made a change I would begin to listen to my music library as if it were the first time, all the while discovering things on those recordings that I never heard (or felt) in the previous system. The biggest immediate differences were the extreme low end bass (that's what a big speaker will deliver), and a gigantic soundstage--as wide as the entire room (that's what a reference pre amp will deliver).

Since I made the big jumps up a year apart each time, it gave me the opportunity to get used to the system with one component changed out, then get used to its nuances, and then be able to tell the differences when I changed another piece out again a year later.

You have built a darn good rig--hopefully you will enjoy the hell out of it, and down the road, make changes to get even bigger, wider, and cleaner sound allowing you to experience your music library all over again!