Well, I like good sound, but don't like to pay crazy prices. Sometime you have to build it yourself

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What I use:

My system probably costs less than what the crazy folks spend on a stylus for their turntable...certainly less than a top-of-the-line amplifier. But it'll raise the hair on the back of your neck. You can hear the breath of the jazz singers as it whispers over their lips. Really.

The system emphasizes a less-is-more philosophy. After listening to a lot of preamps screw up the sound, and speakers that color a bunch, I went for the least amount of mucking around in the signal chain.

• NAD C541i - a good CD player, not many frills (HDCD), very nice detail, enough signal for the next piece...

• Monolithic Sound PA-1 passive preamp...volume, four inputs, two outs & a tape loop. It does buffer the input & can give a bit of gain, but I never turn it up that much, the NAD has way too much signal to require boosting. So, no coloration from the preamp, period. Good support from these guys, by the way.

• Acurus by Mondial A100 power amp. Huge transformer, massive capacitance (it plays for about 5 minutes after you turn off the power), no frills but GREAT sound. Transients, no problem. Mondial got bought out, don't know if you can get this any more, which is too bad.

• Vandersteen 1C speakers. Simple first-order crossover, 2 drivers (tweeter & 8-inch), you get your lows from a transmission-line port on the 8-inch which gets you down low enough for acoustic (and electric) bass. They won't shake the house with rock or techno, but that's OK with me, I'm a bit past that now. The 'Steens are a laid back speaker for detailed, cool music. Acoustic, jazz (I like Cassandra Wilson among others), chamber, classical, etc.

Projects: The Lemur Headphone Amp

This little guy is a build of the CMOY pocket headphone amp from Headwize, with the Meier enhanced-bass crossfeed filter (switchable, by the toggle on the front) designed by Jan Meier. Sounds great, though it is a pain to do IC work on a perfboard. With this, I can hear the ice cubes clink down the side of the glass when someone spills his drink in the background of Patricia Barber's "Nightclub" album. Very cool.

The crossfeed filter is subtle but certainly worth the extra effort. It puts some more ambience into the music, which I like, at the cost of a little bass response. I find this is actually a good thing with my 'phones, too much bass is hard on my ears. Here is my schematic, as built.