Dream System

If you have unlimited money to spend, what kind of system will you buy? (cd player, pre/power amp, speaker and other accessories)

Just want to have some idea what to buy if I hit toto mega jackpot tommorow.

Always been curious about the big bad B&W Nautilus. Costing as much as a luxury car and needs 4 exotic power amps (Krells maybe?) to drive so this one I would consider a dream system for me because I know I will never be able to afford this unless through divine intervention. CD player of my dreams, something from Wadia.

CDP : Bladelius Embla / dCS / Burmester
Pre-Amp : MBL / Mark Lev. /
Pow. Amp : Pass Aleph / Gryphon / Gamut / Halcro / Bladelius
Speakers : Grand Utopia / Dyn. Consequence / Genesis / Marten / Revolution / Piega
and so much, so much more to list ...

However, realistically only the cdp can fit into my small hut

TT: Latest Linn LP12 and Michell Orbe...TOGETHER
Phono: Pass Lab XONO or Klimo
CDP: dCS will do just fine.
Preamp: Some passive model with multiple input selector
Amp: McIntosh MC275 re-issue monoblocks.
Speakers: Harbeth SHL-5 or Dynaudio Evidence (mid sized)

THATS ALL I MAY NEED and its surely ACHIEVABLE.. Being realistic and fit into my sound room nicely. No need to reach for the sky. I could specify heaven and earth and that'll be only nice to dream on..doesn't make sense to me at all. I try to be realistic and pragmatic, not really a dreamer, even if I've money unlimited. The rest I'd use for my golden years and tour selected places in the world. I still drive a 10 year old national car banger you know...without fear of it being stolen...heheh.

have you all really listen to the system before? or they are chosen based on review? i have been to a few highend show but most of the time cant even remember the model that i have listened to.

to have a dream system, 1st u must have a dream room, bigger better

if not any system also cannot perform

Lamkochai wrote:have you all really listen to the system before? or they are chosen based on review? i have been to a few highend show but most of the time cant even remember the model that i have listened to.

Most of it but not all

Anyway, as per the topic - DREAM SYSTEM
Everybody can DREAM of a setup ... unless the author change the topic to
1) The best setup you've ever heard
2) The setup you are saving money to buy
3) The setup you think you can afford in future
4) The best setup based on reviews you've ever read

M7 wrote:to have a dream system, 1st u must have a dream room, bigger better

if not any system also cannot perform

Hi M7,

Could you please indicate the ideas of ' dream room ' ?
Lots of ppl including me also DREAMING to have a dream room, probably you could help guide us.
TQ!

Yes, this topic would be a lot more interesting if it is about the best sounding system(s) or perhaps the highest-end system(s) we have personally experienced. That related to actual 1st hand experience. Dream system tends to be based on reviews or even an assembly of components 'in the head', not a real system. Often it does not promote healthy discussion because different people's standards differ.

For e.g., one of the best sounding systems I have heard comprises the following

Clearaudio Master reference, forgot tonearm, Vandenhul Grasshopper,
Krell KRC-HR with Clearaudio Reference phono preamp
Krell MRA monobloc
JMLabs Utopia

in a room around 35-40ft long and 20-25 wide. with dedicated 3-phase power supply.

This system taught me the meaing of "putting the listener in the recording venue" because when the owner obliged with some well recorded LPs, the room literally dissapeared and I felt as if I was in the recording studio.

djdyks wrote:

M7 wrote:to have a dream system, 1st u must have a dream room, bigger better

if not any system also cannot perform

Hi M7,

Could you please indicate the ideas of ' dream room ' ?
Lots of ppl including me also DREAMING to have a dream room, probably you could help guide us.
TQ!

1st, must have a room solely for hifi, bigger is better

And proper acoustic tuning

I have listened some setup with very good acoustic treatment, and these system can be giant killers!

It took me months to get my room sounded right! Have to trial & error to get the best sound.

Previously, I have read many guides on the web about room tuning, but couldn't help based on that.

Have to be hardworking to squeeze every juice from your system.

m7, what have you done to your room? any pictures? need sifu to teach in this aspect.

different room will have different treatment

there are many cheap things ppl didn't know which are very effective

things like styrofoam, cotton can be used & put at appropriate places to delay echo so that u can feel your room is bigger and your system is more transparent. (size of 2 x 3 or 4ft put on side walls and front & rear walls). have to trial & error to achieve desired result

boxes filled with scrambles newspapers are used to absorb boom bass, put behind the speakers or corners.

these things are almost free for room tuning

Besides reducing echoes, certain design of stick on foams are supposed to tailor the reverberation time to a more manageable level. Older persons are more likely to be affected by reverberation time than much younger listeners because the brain could account for the overlapping sound in the room and does a compensation for the younger listeners, but not the more elderly persons where this ability is being slowly eroded away, hence the elderly persons will still hear the 1st tone/ note while the 2nd tone/notes comes in, confusing the listeners. There are certain designs used for hearing disable children in classroom which can be used in a listening room as well. This design however will help the older listeners but/and will not do much for the younger listeners hence they are not affected. With this room treatment in place the young and old will tend to hear just about the same sound.


This may help to bring out the best perception of sound of one's dream system to the host's vistors! You could google for more information with "room treatments for classroom of hearing disabled persons" or "elder persons are more affected by reverberation time"!

We started off with our ideal "dream system"..............when we were...

-young, with plenty of energy and time but no money!

-then we grow older, earn plenty of money & energy, but no time for anything else including ourselves!

-finally, we grow even older, accumulated plenty of money, have plenty of time, but not enough energy to do wha we want to do!


So how does one enjoy his 'dream system'?!

uncle_vic wrote:We started off with our ideal "dream system"..............when we were...

-young, with plenty of energy and time but no money!

-then we grow older, earn plenty of money & energy, but no time for anything else including ourselves!

-finally, we grow even older, accumulated plenty of money, have plenty of time, but not enough energy to do wha we want to do!


So how does one enjoy his 'dream system'?!

Well, if you've grown old and accumulated plenty of money and have plenty of time, you could always pay someone else to do it for you. The worst case is when you've grown old and have no money. That's the one that really sucks.

Try not to get broke by the time we get old and feeble.......from spending too much on upgradings and sustaining too many losses thru tradeins of older hifi gears! Just listen to the music lor! put in some imaginations to boost one's ego while listening to one's hifi setup, may make us think many times b4 we consider upgradings! We may want to think we are listening to the best setup!!!! then the $$$$ can be put aside for upgrading to that dream system when we get older. But then again we may forget we start to be not able to hear very well!!! Aiyah....die die....

once the dream-system becomes a reality.. it stops becoming your "dream system" and very soon you might get bored of it eventually. Jaded is the term.

On another note...
I am reminded of James May (of Top Gear fame) and about how the Lambo Countach was his dream car in his teenage years... until he finally got to test drive one and realise how horrible it would have been to really own & drive one.

and that's where the word "Upgrade" will start to pop up.

I know of a good friend to whom his motto in hifi is "my system sounds the best" ! However, this is not his way of being ignorant or burying his head in the sand, far from it. It is his way of avoiding himself from being seduced by the never-ending assaut of 'newest and greatest' hifi equipments. Of course like all hifi enthusiasts, he will eagerly audition those equipment. But his mindset always starts with "my system sounds better" and then he listens intently and lets the newest and greatest equipment prove they are superior (with as much of an open mind as he can lar).

I like his approach though unfortunately while I adopt it I can't get it to work all the time. This is because until recently most of the newest and greatest almost always sounds better than my system (despite the best of my efforts) !

But I find this friend's approach allows him to immerse himself in the music. I.e. he never bothers that there are newer and supposedly better things out there since he allows himself to be satisfied with his current system's sound. It's like the guy who says "I acheived my audio nirvana" in another thread. I think he doesn't mean his system is 'audio nirvana' in the absolute sense, just that given what he has, he is delighted with it. And once we are happy with whatever we have, we can finally get down to the more important thing : listening to the music. I have been working hard to acheive this for years.

Wah... Your friend has achieved something.
I cannot resist the itchiness even after using Mopiko.

Maybe he is seeing that the buying chain will go on forever and never stop.
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If I am that friend of yours, I will be glad to write down the recipe and pass it to you.

No secret really. His system is very very high-end. So I guess the trick works only when we have reached a certain level.

If I had unlimited money, I'd travel the world touring jumble sales, car boot sales, for vintage stuff (not just hifi), most desirable CD's and LP's I know I can never get here, live classical concert at Vienna on New Year's day, tour Nashville USA... so much more where my energy permits, its NOT always the money thats the ultimate means and solution.

cmboy wrote:If I had unlimited money, I'd travel the world touring jumble sales, car boot sales, for vintage stuff (not just hifi), most desirable CD's and LP's I know I can never get here, live classical concert at Vienna on New Year's day, tour Nashville USA... so much more where my energy permits, its NOT always the money thats the ultimate means and solution.

Errr... and how does this relate to yours or anyone's "Dream System" ?

mugenfoo wrote:

cmboy wrote:If I had unlimited money, I'd travel the world touring jumble sales, car boot sales, for vintage stuff (not just hifi), most desirable CD's and LP's I know I can never get here, live classical concert at Vienna on New Year's day, tour Nashville USA... so much more where my energy permits, its NOT always the money thats the ultimate means and solution.

Errr... and how does this relate to your "Dream System" ?

hahaha...how come?

Are we talking about our own 'dream system' or a 'dream system' that suits everybody else, (which would be nearer to 'an ultimate system')?!! It's 2 different thing me think, but then i could be wrong! I'm getting more confused as i read further down the thread!!!

kancan wrote:

mugenfoo wrote:

cmboy wrote:If I had unlimited money, I'd travel the world touring jumble sales, car boot sales, for vintage stuff (not just hifi), most desirable CD's and LP's I know I can never get here, live classical concert at Vienna on New Year's day, tour Nashville USA... so much more where my energy permits, its NOT always the money thats the ultimate means and solution.

Errr... and how does this relate to your "Dream System" ?

hahaha...how come?

My opinion clearly means I could have other things to do and IF I had the money. Meanwhile I won't dream of ANY system, ultimate or otherwise UNTIL I've the money. Dreams can sometimes complicate my life. OK..I'm not going to lecture about how I perceive issues, IF and WHEN I've the $$ or what dreams do to me. Could it be I've already achieved my dream system, its quite possible. Till then. You all carry on.

i dream of jeannie

azri wrote:i dream of jeannie

With the dark brown eyes? Or the spouse of a former statesman??

bimmerman wrote:

azri wrote:i dream of jeannie

With the dark brown eyes? Or the spouse of a former statesman??

Larry Hagman !!

So has anyone here gotten his dream system yet? Or better still put it as "Has anyone here gotten his dream sounding system yet?" Can share share or not?