Just arrived. NAD 3120. Harman Kardon Citation 17.

Update: NAD dead, returning to whence it came.
Further update: Ditto HK Citation preamp.

Denon PMA-830 photos.

From The Vintage Knob:

  Apparently, the looks of the series turned a few customers away... way too serious looking, especially considering the period during which these were introduced. But once you let any of these warm up - bang !... you'd almost wonder what hifi did do for the past thirty years to bring you a better music reproduction ; hook it to a decent LP turntable and you really start wondering.

I couldn't have said it better!

Check out the incredible history of Denon.

Just look at that transformer! The controls have that super silky (expensive) feel. It has a serious, lab equipment vibe that I find irresistible. In class A, driving the Mission Argonaut Reference speakers, with vinyl or digital, it's sounding very, very good.

B&W DM580 update.

The B&W DM580s remind me why older vintage audio gear makes me so happy. It's not that they don't sound good...they do. Compared to older B&Ws that I've enjoyed (these, these, these & these), they leave me a bit cold.

  I know, these are from the late eighties, but they're part of the continuum of B&W engineering and design that flowed through the seventies, like the Matrix series. It's my duty to check them out carefully, so I will. They've been sounding good since yesterday afternoon, but today I'm going to turn off the computer and spend time with my favourite vinyl, and try to really get a sense of them.

Referring to this incredible translation, I learned that the midrange dome is titanium, the tweeter aluminum.

B&W DM2 mk2 pictures.

The new speakers are here.

  Coral CX-77s & B&W DM2 mk2s. Lots of fun awaits.
  The Corals are the ones that left much too quickly when I had them in the spring of 2009. I've heard a lot of speakers since then, and am excited to hear them again with better amplification and sources.
  The B&Ws are beautiful 3 way 8 inch systems with integral (bolt on) stands. I expected that they would be similar in size to the DM14s & DM1400s that I've had before. They're taller, deeper and heavier. They sound really inefficient compared to the Corals, but I've got the amplification to handle that. I'm going to enjoy getting to know them.

First post of the month.

Not good that it's 9 days in. Things have been really good musically, but fairly static, equipmentwise. The Marantz 1200 has taken it's place at the heart of my system, often driving the Mission Argonauts or Spendor BCIIs, when not driving something new (like a just refoamed pair of Sound Dynamics 500 Concert Monitors) or what I feel like (right now the upgraded Mission 710s). The Spendors sound beautiful, but are the epitome, to me, of what is meant by 'politeness' when talking about British speakers. So this week I'm saying goodbye to them, and welcoming some new speakers, a set I've never had or heard before, and one of the best I've ever heard here, that left far too soon the last time. That won't happen this time. Stay tuned, I'll have them soon.