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Reviewer's Bio
Derek van Veen
I've been a music lover and concert-goer most of my life, starting with spinning LPs on my parents' GE low-boy solid-state console as a toddler in the early 70s as well as being taken to the Oregon Symphony by my parents on multiple occasions. This was followed by many years of playing violin, double-bass and electric bass through primary, junior high and high school and a multi-year stint as a college radio DJ during the rise (and fall) of grunge. In the 20 years since college, I've been broadening my musical tastes and library while trying to share my love of music with my wife and two children.
Front End
By and large, I listen primarily to LP. My existing analog front-end is a Nottingham Analogue Interspace with an Origin Live OL-1 arm and Denon DL-103R cartridge. For digital playback, I use a Linksys DMA-2200 Media Center Extender (also allows playback of ripped .WMA files from my home network) through a Meridian 263 Delta-Sigma DAC. Additional front-end components include a Nakamichi LX-3 cassette deck and a Harman/Kardon TU-920 tuner.
Pre-Amplification
For a pre-amplifier, I use a classic Kenwood Basic C2 from the early 1980s. A killer phono stage on a beer budget. This is channeled through an Outlaw Audio ICBM that splits out everything below 80Hz to the subwoofer.
Amplification
My default amplifier is a classic Fisher 800c that I picked up for a song a couple of years back and rebuilt. Other amplifiers that occasionally get face time are a point-to-point Dynaco ST35, a (free!) rebuilt Magnavox 9304-20 console amplifier and a DIY Millett DCPP Compactron amplifier. As you may have guessed, I have a fondness for tubes.
Subwoofer
Low frequencies are driven through a Hsu Research STF-2. I haven't found anything at its price point that touches it.
Main Speakers
Frequencies above 80Hz are pumped through a pair of Klipsch Heresy II speakers in walnut. So far, modifications to the speakers include new capacitors and titanium tweeter diaphragms from Bob Crites as well as titanium midrange upgrades from Klipsch. They can be driven quite loudly and cleanly on just a handful of watts and with the addition of the Hsu, their lack of low bass is no longer noticeable.
Music
I'm pretty open to most kinds of music - from classic punk to hip-hop to opera to bluegrass. The notable exception is that I have very little patience for the cult of the "audiophile" artist. I'd rather listen to a warped LP of No Sleep 'Til Hammersmith than a pristine 200g copy of Jacintha's Lush Life. Favorite artists among more recent releases include Fleet Foxes, Corin Tucker Band, The Thermals, The Decemberists, Golden Bears, Belle & Sebastian, Janelle Monaë and Lykke Li.
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