Bluemage
|
I started out with plans to get a full 25th modded torii V with stepped atts, use my old Bellari phono stage and call it a day. After a few weeks of reading the forums, I decided that I was going to also get the ZP3 with the poly bypass. From there, I stumbled across rave reviews for the ZrockII, and given that lots of my late 70s, 80s era records sound a bit thin, decided that I needed it too! I justified this by deciding against tube regulation, but opting for the poly bypass. There ya go, everything was well thought out, so I placed my order.
A few days later, I got the notion to do some reading on the CSP325. What if I wanted to gain ride and add density to certain records? I'm currently running a Sherwood S5000II integrated tube amp, and can significantly alter the weight of records by fine-tuning the symbiotic relationship between the preamp gain and master volume pots. Would I miss not having that? If I did, would I have to wait another year (or more) to get a CSP325? But it ain't cheap. Egads.
This conundrum gnawed at my brain like a starved rat...increasing in intensity until I emailed Sarah and ponied up for a preamp. There. All was well. Right? Well, no.
With thoughts of weakest links, synergy, and all that other esoteric audiophile crap, I began to question a few of the mismatched components that would be in my chain. My Torii would be copper bypassed, and my CSP325 would be copper bypassed, but my ZP3 and Zrock would be poly bypassed.
Research on the forums proved that this wouldn't be a problem at all, and if anything might even be a better thing in regard to ease of listening and hyper-focusing on nuanced details. But the notion of 2 components sporting coppers, and the other 2 wearing polys kind of bugged me. I don't plan on ever selling my system, so why not go "whole enchilada," to ease regrets, if nothing else.
I emailed Sarah for the 3rd time to update my order. God bless her!
The exquisitely long lead times helped me justify the extra $. If these puppies were shipping upon ordering, my order would have been far more lean. So in a way, I'm thankful for the long lead times. Not only does it give me some cushion, but I know that Steve and fam are building the absolute best product that they can.
Now that all is said and done, I'm on the hook for the following:
TORII MKV full 25th, stepped pot ZP3 full 25th CSP325 ZROCK2 full 25th Copper caps and bypass across the board
Can anyone else relate to the mad balance existing between practicality/satisfaction?
|