- Sugden Headmaster headphone amp.

- Ars Sonum Filarmonía SE tube integrated

Sennheiser HD600 Headphones.

- Sony CDP X707 ES player used as CD Transport.

- Museatex Bidat (John Wright mods) DAC.

- Marantz CDR-631 recorder

- NA Acespace tonearm.

- Shelter 901 cartridge.

- Denon 103 Cartridge.

- EAR 834P Deluxe phono stage with Telefunken ECC83 tubes.

- Sansui TU-919 tuner (probably the best of my sources).

Dedicated power line from break box to equipment outlet. Salicru Voltage Stabilizer (at 230V) and common mode noise filter (80dB).

This room is quite complicated for bass response, I had to sell a pair of SF Amati speakers since I couldn't get them sounding right. I'm using a long wall placement with the speakers 6.5 feet in between them, 4 feet away from the front (long) wall and more than 12' to lateral (short) walls. My ears are right at the height of the middle point between tweeter and midwoofer, about 7 feet away from the speakers front plane. I sit on a coach placed against the back wall, so no need to treat the space behind me.

Since I have the Merlins, the system doesn't have a signature of its own, it's very transparent to the recorded music, so rock sounds sparky, alive and hard if required, small chamber works sound delicate and moving, symphonies huge and dynamic. Every kind of music sounds as it should.

Sounds like the music. It's unbelievable how the system can rock, or make a string quartet sound as it is, delicate if music is, or extremely dynamic and robust sounding when required. I couldn't say the system is better or worse for any kind of music.

Balance, the system sounds the same playing very loud or at quite low levels. Stage, tonal balance and dynamics are kept, it doesn't matter how loud or soft you play.