How we listen

Following Dan's example, here's my setup:

Sources:

My trusty old Philips CD604. My first CD player. Still with me. Very inexpensive even then, (very surprisingly) fully satisfactory still. If a CD skips in this player, it will skip in every player. Has no trouble with SACDs, of course. Most convenient for listening, because the response time of any command is virtually immediate. Clicking through tracks, before the CD is even read in. CDs read in/start/stop/skip within seconds, the tray opens and closes immediately upon touch. Seems like a minor point just reading about it. But using it, it becomes one of the most important.




My latest addition to the stable: Harman Kardon HD980. Probably as close to Hi-Fi as H/K has yet gotten with a CD player and an incredible value, too. Also excels at error-correction, according to the Audio Magazine (Germany) tests, at any rate. (I've not yet have had the opportunity to see it struggle with anything -- although I sometimes have to open/close when it has to check out an SACD. Never refuses upon second attempt, though.)



The High End setup: Marantz SACD 11S1. SACD, but only stereo. I dare not say it too loudly, but the difference between SACD on this and Redbook on the Philips is marginal. "Listener fatigue" sets in later, though.

Where the sound comes from.

At home: Sennheiser HD 580. I simply love their sound, as long as they are powered properly. Otherwise it's a limp stream of music.
On the go: Etymotics ER6i. Incredibly detailed and clear (and plenty bass!), if you don't mind "in-the-ear" headphones. Such low impedance that they sound great on the weakest source. Also happens to block out all exterior sound. Which is why I can't recommend listening to them while riding your bicycle around town.




Against the neighbors: MB Quart 590 MCS. I came back to these speakers, which I bought as a rather young lad, after 13 years of not having listened to them. I'm astounded how full, musical, bass-rich (too rich, perhaps?) they sound -- and how very little muddle there is.

Much better than I expected, even though I loved them back then, too. (Except I was listening to a bit more AC/DC than Palestrina on them.)

There's a picture of the same type at this link: http://img224.imageshack.us/img224/2708/im000958yl2.jpg (Third from right and left.) They were meant to be shelf-speakers, but I've not met a shelf sturdy enough to host them.

The Juice

Bigguns: The amp that's driving them is an old - but powerful - Philips FA 890. Well, marketed by Philips anyway, but apparently made by Marantz, or so I read.

Smalluns: I still don't quite know how I got the honor of having this beauty built for me - but Lorenzo di Betti at Estro Armonico decided (somehow convinced by a dear friend) that he should build a headphone amp specifically for the HD 580/600/650. Let's call it estro armonico S.N.001 "JFL". Power source (right, next to the 11S1) and tube-amp (atop). The sound they make the HD 580 emit needs to be heard to be believed. It's a dream, really... although it lets you hear *everything* of course, which might not always be desirable. I cherish some of the above equipment. But I love this one.