Note: our music room (the living room at the front of our 1898 frame “historic” home) is 15.5 by 12.5 but the computer would not accept the fractions; and the room is open, the music is not confined. This presents challenges but I am pleased to say we have finally placed the speakers correctly to get a great soundstage in an unconventional room ... a big thank you to Dave Weintraub of Synergistic Research for coming out to our home and getting this done!
Building out our evolving system the last three years has been nothing but fun and interestingly our taste in music has evolved too. We always liked classical music, but classical music (including opera) is now 75% of our listening, if not more, which is a long way from our rock-n-roll days. Opera in particular benefits from a better system. We went all digital as we sold our old scratchy vinyl at least 30 years ago and don’t see how we could possibly replicate the thousands of albums we have enjoyed on Qobuz since starting this adventure. We initially bought an Oppo 205 to play CDs and SACD but it couldn’t compete against streaming once we upgraded our DAC, and so we used a professional service to “rip” our discs and they now live happily on our Statement (and the Oppo has moved over to our TV system, where it belongs, to play Blue Rays). I recognize our comfy old 1898 home might not be exactly an audiophile’s dream but we probably aren’t moving. The pro’s that sold us our first system placed the speakers for the music to flow through the home. I think we made the right choice.
Someone whose opinion I highly respect, the president of D’Agostino amps, told me that sooner or later, the law of diminishing returns sets in, and it’s time to declare victory. If we had to declare victory today, I think we would be very happy ... but heck, it’s more fun planning the next move.
Also a big thanks to Audiogon Member Charles Miller for reviewing our virtual system and offering great advice.
Input welcome. Thank you all.
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