Hope this is a useful set of observations, as my 'alchemy'...it has taken me about 10 years to refine my thinking on this...and i have a list of the full dream system in my blackberry...and as components appear (demo or second hand ONLY!!!!! cannot afford new and disciplined to wait even if it takes years) out of the blue, i tick off each item...one at a time...
Personal approach...begin with a 'voice' i like and then ensure it gets to the other side in tact as much as possible, with endless dynamics, power, whatever it takes to ensure the signal comes thru exactly as it came in from the original systems 'voice'. and particularly no loss of purity of tonality which matters to me.
Zanden DAC - far from the most detailed, clean, lowest noise floor anymore...like everything in the digital world, it has been quickly surpassed so that not even 5 seconds of listening makes it clear Scarlatti, Wadia 7, perhaps the newer/higher end Esoterics ( i have not heard them) possess greater delineation, separation, detailing, quieter presentations, blacker backgrounds. But the Zanden makes music with a lyrical element i have not found yet in another piece of digital equipment.
Note i use an Oppo blu-ray transport with a Nordost valhalla BNC digital cable...because for years i have held off putting money into transport...but with transport prices dropping, a 1,000 CDs and my complete satisfaction in playing an album all the way through while i work (i do work 7 days/week and so it is pure enjoyment late at nite weekdays or all day Sat/Sun to just push play and keep working for an hour while system goes, without obsessively switching tracks.)...i am now starting to 'break down' and consider trading in my old ACT2 and Antileon (once its fixed) in for old Zanden transport...based on feedback from 5 Zanden owners who've insisted nothing goes with this DAC better than transport. and these guys have tried them all...mbl, kalista reference, esoteric p-o1vu, etc.
CJ GAT - i'm a big CJ fan going back over a dozen years...so that's my admission right up front. in this case, the old ACT 2 provided great extension, very, very grainless sounds (more so than ARC 3 to my ears), surprisingly extended bass...though a touch stiff in the highs. The CJ GAT is far more grainless, more extended though i did not look for it...but it is dramatically different as a preamp in the upper mids through treble...perhaps 35% more detailed in the treble, 15%-20% more extended and at least 100% more natural in treble. Suddenly i felt like the ACT2 treble was actually STRIDENT...unbelievable. The mids, the domain of CJ, maintain the CJ purity of tonality but they have managed to carve away any golden hue while leaving the tonal purity in tact. an inspiring achievement.
Gryphon Colosseum - i was simply looking for a pure energy source to push the pure signal through as exactly as it was originated from Zanden/CJ as possible...without failing, buckling under dynamics or pressure, or losing detailing at low levels, or dropping of bass or weakening it either at whisper low levels or outrageous volumes. I have been a "convert" to SS Class A since hearing the Antileon...which worked quite well with the ACT2 because while the ACT 2 felt quite stiff in the treble, the Antileon is quite dark. so a good complementary set of skills there. No longer with the GAT, the Colosseum is the equal of the Antileon or its superior in all the major aspects of dynamics, range, power, effortlessness, etc...but its treble is no longer dark...more recent SS Class A (which historically across most manufacturers was a touch dark in the treble, incl Krell, Gryphon and others)...i now note is no longer this way...designers have managed to figure this out. So the purity of tone is clear from top to bottom and effortless. 2560 watts continuous power into 0.5ohm load, and over 100 amperes peak power.
Wilson X-1/Grand Slamms. 14 years old...sitting in a warehose somewhere for 12 of those 14 years until the Seller elected to trade them into my local Dealer...mint and it cost me the price of shipping and trading in my old Strads...a dream. They are effortless in delivery, passing signal through like wind...sound just comes thru the towers. And as the distributor said while installing them (8 hours)...once you have the knowledge as to how to re-solder in new resistors to each speaker cone, change the angle of each speaker cone (let alone each speaker)...he can "make the speaker sound pretty much however you wish".
so you can calibrate what i am saying...i used to own Celestions, then guaraneris and then SF Strads...so i like my midrange...and these speakers are at least the equal of the mighty Strad in that domain...but it needs to be set up right to achieve this. To be fair, 55% of the Wilson is set up...i first heard them in the store, and they nearly ripped my ears off they were so bright. i almost told the Store owner not to bring them to the house unless he fixed it...and the distributor said he was so confident, he would carry them out if he could not readjust them to 'perfection'. He was spot on right...and Wilson later told me the guy who did the work, they consider to be one of the best in the world, and perhaps the best, for setting up Wilsons. (Transparent Audio said similar things about this guy...a bit of a legend apparently.) Having gotten to know him myself over the years...i could believe it.
what's also nice is the X1 Series V upgrade changes all the cones, modules above the bass to X2 Series 2...cones, resistors, crossovers, casework, everything...so 85%+ of a new X2 Series 2 i am told. so a nice long-term option though i feel no need to go there...i have rec'd all the paperwork from Wilson recently on the upgrade and what it entails.
Cabling - Transparent Audio Ref (XL generation). I like the black background, powerful bass and generally rich tonality without being at all muddy.
And a new cable designer, Sablon Audio. SA i find superior to my older generation Transp Ref cabling...equally natural, much more detailed, much, much, much quieter...though less liquid...so i am 6 cables Transp Ref and 1 SA.
Unfortuantely, i need longer cables with new amp...10' minimum but ideally closer to 15' so i dont have to get longer ones again (lesson learned).
Power cables are purist audio dominus/ann contego and Sablon. I also like Nordost Qx4 and TA Ref Power Conditioner...might consider Tripoint Troy some day a long time from now given pricing.
Hope that is a useful set of observations, as my 'alchemy'.
