Finally built the new system! Harbeth, Luxman, Border Collie, Marantz

[Andrei]

+1 on the components. Something tells me that the whole shebang would jell quite well. The Luxman got a great write up in Stereophile.

Do you play SACDs? If so I would be interested in your assessment of the SA8004.

TIA

[offthewall]

Nice speakers and stands.

[Reffc]

Well matched system Jack, congratulations. I have a Luxman 550aii amp (sadly now for sale) and they are indeed wonderful amplifiers...built like the proverbial brick outhouse, muscular sounding and a great match for the Harbeths I reckon.

[panos_adgr]

Very nice system!

I wish you many hours of music joy with your set up!

I'm also a Luxman owner, owing a tube amplifier.

[JJack]

Very nice system....can you tell me the precise colour and make of that nice green colour you have on your walls...that is also very nice...

Quite tardy in my reply - if memory serves it's a Benjamin Moore paint. It's sand-based, quite hard to apply because it's so thick with sand, but it leaves a neat color.

[JJack]

Lovely system you have going on there Jack!! Top quality stuff! I'm sure you must be enjoying the hell out of it - as should your lovely "audience" (so, so cute by the way).
What are your thoughts/impressions of the VPI tonearm? I am considering an upgrade on mine - and I've heard and read lots of good things about it. It's Rega geometry, no?

Anyway - enjoy that lovely system of yours!

I haven't been posting in a long time.

Anyway, the VPI arm is the original 10-inch version from the late-1990s. I bought it new based on the Anthony Cordesman review in The Absolute Sound (I think) and my audition at the dealer. I believe the current model is now 10.5 inches, and they also make a 12 inch arm.

I love the arm, and have been using it for about 15 years, on cartridges ranging from a $79 Shure to a $2700 Van den hul. Its signature sound would tend toward the smooth, with a full, warm bass but also tremendous resolution. It's quite different from any Rega arm (my prior table was a Rega 2). I would say it's in another league up from the Rega 300 arm (which is a great arm).

So, as the mainstay of my system for 15 years I can't find fault with it. It's kind of the opposite of the Linn sound, which fits me.

[JJack]

+1 on the components. Something tells me that the whole shebang would jell quite well. The Luxman got a great write up in Stereophile.

Do you play SACDs? If so I would be interested in your assessment of the SA8004.

TIA

Yes indeed I do play SACDs. I was an "early adapter" to SACD, and bought a Sony 555 ES player that I had for years.

The Marantz is certainly an upgrade from my main reference (the Sony). I auditioned a great many players last year before I bought the Marantz. I am a big fan of the format, especially for classical, and I think the Marantz is very tough to beat unless you're spending big, big money for MSB or something like that. I auditioned it extensively against the then-current Oppo (103?) and preferred the Marantz, although differences were slight.