GregWormald

Ha, ha, ha. Good? You've got to kidding, right?

AFAIK "3.12" indicates success—at least it did for me.

Replacing a surround is fairly straight-forward but fiddly and positioning is critical. Any speaker reconditioner should be able to do it if you aren't prepared to DIY. I'd be giving Epos a ring re: parts and recommendations.

Syringes of all descriptions are available at your local chemist. I'd suggest a small syringe with a large diameter needle as the glue is pretty thick.

Can you explain what you mean my ergonomic? The best tonearms are a tube about 10 to 13 inches long with considerable inertia, bearings as frictionless as possible, and balanced to within 2 grams or less with an extremely delicate cartridge on one end. Other than a finger tab and a little lever/button for raising and lowering what would make them more or less ergonomic?

There's a limit to "worth it" for everything that depends at least partially on your disposable income as well as the quality of the item and your preferences. You'll need to sort all that out for yourself. And there's nothing like a proper sit-down audition to help that sorting. Do try and enjoy the process.

I'd seriously consider giving up on analog so as not to be disappointed with having to go all digital.

Yes, in SA. PM sent.

PM sent.

It seems to be a money grab at every level of the music chain, and is basically something that nobody really wanted or needed—another lossy compression scheme. Of course it was promoted as something everybody wanted—a way to get closer to the original performance—but extensive testing showed it was actually not that at all, so many people and companies where music came first said "not interested".

Sometimes extra headroom in an amp can make a difference, especially if the lower powered amp is distorting on peaks. Since Crown says that the two amps are identical except for power output, I'll be interested to see what the audible difference between them is for you.

If it's only the look you want to change and not the sound, you could have the current speakers painted any colour you want at an auto body shop or get them wrapped. I agree with @cheekyboy about the sound and placement.

Just a heads-up: MQA has gone into receivership.

600 isn't too much (unless you turn it WAY up) but 400 should be enough. It really depends on which amp you like better for the way it sounds at your common listening level. 400 'good' watts would beat 600 'poor' watts anytime.

I hope they come with instructions - Don't sit in the lounger!

(It's been a while since I did this so comments from any are welcomed.) Without the original box, and providing you are transporting it carefully on the seat of your car you can get away with— be very careful to not touch the cartridge and stylus with ANYTHING (hands, sleeves, foam, cardboard, ...) disconnect all cables secure the tonearm from moving out of the 'clip' with cable tie, twist tie, rubber band, string, or ... remove the platter mat and outer ring and drive belt place folded cardboard at three equidistant points under the inner platter ensuring it is lifted a bit from its normal position remove the lid, or put foam pieces where it meets the wood and then tape lid in closed position put everything in the car carefully and ensure nothing will move in a sharp stop or corner put it where you want it and re-assemble enjoy! I think that's it.

I was thinking that myself, but because I am far from an expert on non-human ageing, I didn't comment.

Yup, those are the files I got, and I'm now sure everything is OK. The issue I had was that my resulting DAC identity differed from the one in Alvin's computer screenshots. (It was identical to yours though.) I ran the DAC and the source (but not the pre) about 20 hours and then put on one of my favourite albums—Meshell Ndegeocello, Peace Beyond Passion—where bass depth and delineation, the impact of drum hits, and the ability to portray the female voice are all vitally important. When these (as well as other things of course) are done well by a system my critical facilities disappear and I'm left with enjoyment. I've heard other systems where that has not been the case. I'm pretty sure the bass lines were clearer, the drum hits more like the analog ones I love, and her voice was controlling me more than previously. Of course I can't guarantee any of that, as beyond three tracks where I focussed on the reproduction at the beginning, the rest of my time I was enjoying without analysis. So far I'm very happy with the upgrade.

I've stuck with Amarra Luxe because I love the sound but it does have some bugs and hasn't been upgraded or changed in 18 months so it may not be a good choice for a new option. There is a trial period though.

I did mine this afternoon and when checking that it had been done, the software numbers were different from those provided in the directions. They do match what you have above (whew—relief!) so I guess I'll connect it all up and run it in for a while. I've been enjoying the upgrades to my analog source exclusively for weeks now so I'm not sure I'll be able to discern a difference in the short term. My long-term satisfaction is really my main assessment tool but I'll give it go.