As I start to get into a cadence of reviewing gear, I thought it’d be nice to post the current “state of the system”. As items enter and leave, I’ll post updates. This serves two great purposes.
First, it lets everybody know what’s going on. As I go deeper down the rabbit hole of reviews, things will start to take more and more time. This is especially true if the review is of a component I haven’t already had for some time.
Second, and probably most importantly, it serves as a sneak peak of what reviews are on the horizon. As the title suggests, I currently have the beautiful Selah Audio Ritorno setup for review. While these speakers have been around for a while, I haven’t had the chance to really sit down and get to know them.
First impressions are important, and these don’t disappoint. The bass is tight and digs deep. I’m looking forward to posting a formal review.
In addition to these changes, the Rega Osiris is back in the reference system. It’s not that I don’t love tubes (I do!), but they are fairly impractical for my significant other. As such, those tubes are now part of my office system, where they most definitely outmatch their matching speakers.
The Audial S4 continues to be on digital duty. It is as lovely as ever to listen to and I don’t for-see it being replaced by anything else for a long time. On the streaming side, I have Roon plugged directly into the S4 via USB. I know some will gasp at that solution, but it has proven far more stable than the Roon endpoint solutions I’ve tried thus far.
On the other side, my trusty Rega RP10 and Aria server for analog content. I’ve had them since their release and will continue to have them until my wife agrees to another purchase. But I’m not complaining, they sound great!
Upcoming News and Reviews
As far as upcoming reviews, be on the lookout for one regarding a wall shelf for the turntable. My kiddo, I love him, but toddlers will be toddlers it seems and in the interest of protecting my cartridge, it was decided that we needed a shelf. We’ve had it installed for a while now, and I’ve been compiling my thoughts on the whole experience from beginning to end. I can’t wait to share that in the coming weeks.
There are a few speakers that I’ve never mentioned that I’d love to get into the main system for a proper review. Among them are more speakers from Selah Audio and a selection of others from Arteluthe, Quad, Proac, and Rega. As many of you know, it’s fairly easy to tell if you like a speaker or not in a single session. Putting down those thoughts to paper is an entirely different matter. I’m fortunate enough to have had the opportunity to listen to dozens of speakers as to form a baseline, but every new review still reshapes what is possible at certain price points.
Coming back to the manufacturers. Some of them I’ve had for a good deal of time. As such, it’ll be easy for me to speak of their virtues and short-comings. Others, like the Arteluthe, are brand new and will take some time to review.
Looking Forward
I started the website with the original intention of writing how I feel about specific audio components. Everything that I have here so far is self-purchased. While I’m not against reviewing a piece of equipment supplied by a manufacturer, I want to make the assertion that this is just a hobby and I would never be able to give an un-honest opinion just to make sure I didn’t hurt anyone’s feelings.
Anyways, until next time!