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I am in constant search for the (near) perfect speaker. The perfect speaker doesn't exist at any price— or so I have determined from my research. So I am in quest for the best front-channel speaker from a manufacturer which also offers a center and surrounds. So far, Thiel 2.3s, McIntosh L340, L320 and center, Revel F30 line, Vienna Acoustics are the contenders in my budget. But how do you decide? So I have spent the last year upgrading to Linn Ikemi CD, McIntosh MC352, MC7205 amps and MX132 Pre-Proc, Naim Stageline/Flatcap and Audio Magic Cables. So whats left? The speakers. Now, if I can just get them all in my living room for an A-B-C-D-E test.

My CD player is the oldest component in my current system. I've neglected digital because of my preference for analog. Now I'm just waiting both for money to come in and for a player that will upsample CDs and play SACD, and DVD-A.

My current CD player (Pioneer Elite PD-R19RW) is the weakest link, so I am shopping for a souce component. With one eye on the future (two possible futures, at least), I am hoping to audition the recently announced Pioneer Elite DV-47A, the new Universal player from Pioneer. Failing one of the new high-resolution format players, I have been smitten by the BAT VK-D5SE. If I haven't found a DVD-A or SACD player in a couple of months, I'll probably get the BAT.

My room is probably my biggest problem, but unfortunately there isn't much I can do about it (need more space). However, the next in-line for improvement will be my amp, so I have picked that instead.

My British loudspeakers remind me of actress Heather Grahm, flat in the bass and nothing spactacular up top.I'm buying a pair of Dunlavy's.

I have a very decent CD and amplification system consisting of QUAD 99 components. The weak link are my main speakers, which are Bang & Olufsen Beovox CX-100s, very nice speakers for casual but not critical listening.

My wife & I are expecting our first baby, so this is as good as it gets for a few years.

Everything and nothing. Living in southern california,where the cost of living is skyrocketing (there's no inflation,everything just costs more!?#**)the cost of living digests the bulk of my income,If it did not I would be constantly upgrading my system's componants. So as it stands now, my system isn't bad. So my "WEAKEST LINK" would be dirty records. I plan to purchase a record cleaner in the near future. In my own investigations I have come to the conclusion that the "Nity grity " style of record suspension during the cleaning process appers to be the most logical of the types that I have seen so far. If Stereophile were to do a comparison of the different types available, I think it would be a worthwhile read,

What do you think?

As I can

The source material. Red Book CDs in general, and the plenitude of poor recordings in particular. What I did about it was buy an expensive turntable and a bunch of very expensive records, which taught me a lesson—namely that a turntable isn't the solution. And of course, "audiophile" formats remain in total confusion unto a state of chaos. So I continue to buy Red Book CDs and listen to Red Book CDs and be grumpy about it. I'll live.

As I have not enough money to replace my old Harman player (low end) now and I also worry about the future standard (SACD? DVD-Audio? xx??) I'll buy a mid price player now (Marantz?) and upgrade it with a d/a-converter which can work with all the standards (MBL 1521D?) next year.

My Apple Macintosh, running OSx, is feeding very high bit rate MP3s through a $35.00 D/A. Need a better D/A!

The speakers/room interaction will, I guess, always be the most compromised part of an audio installation. And I think it will continue to be even more so with surround. Room/speaker corrections systems might significantly alleviate some of the problems, but not all of them.

My room is multi functional and that requires speaker location in less that the ideal, althought my wife would never agree. Next the room is to reflective.

We're seriously shopping for a new home. One of the primary considerations: a properly sized listening room.

I have Definitives with scrapped and rebuilt crossovers. They are better than they should be. But listening to the little Missions that came with my Denon Microsystem brought me around to all the talk about small speaker imaging. They couldn't handle 130 watt amp though. Are there any standmounters under 2K that can equal the power and detail(yeah I said it, detail) of the Definitives. I'm not opposed to fully actives from my preamp. Say so Kingjrg@aol

I'm currently stuck in a glorified bedsit that is almost perfectly square in plan and has a very high ceiling into the bargain. It's been tough getting a decent sound. I moved in there due to the fact that there was hardly anything else available at short notice, but I don't care any more, 'cause I'm moving out this year. Rest assured I'll be taking a tape measure with me when I'm house-hunting THIS time around.

People who think audio is an endless series of purchase options. I will be kind and gentle.

Waiting for JA's review of the Wilson Sophia's. These speakers would fit my room size perfectly.

Saving for top notch SACD player.

I want to upgrade the capabilities of my digital front end. I feel the ability to record is one of the overlooked virtues of the CD format. Most cars come with CD players and everybody has a walkman. A stand-alone CDRW deck seems like a logical inclusion in a complete system, just like a cassette deck was 20 years ago. Some of the new CD recorders have 24-bit AD converters and recording level controls in both digital and analog realms. The pro units even skip over SCMS and use data discs. And they all cost less than some "mid-priced" interconnects! You can't beat that for convenience and value. Just hook up the coax digital outs to a quality jitter box and DAC and you're in business.

Phono preamp. Until I buy one, I can see my records, but I cannot listen to them. This became painfully apparent to me last night while watching a program on the Miss America Pageant that ended with background music I recognized (by an 80s band called Colourbox). I told my wife that I have the record, but I couldn't play it. I'll have to buy one soon before she sees Michael Fremer's interview with Sundazed Records (she's a Bob Dylan fan)!

Treatment,treatment, treatment . . . . I have all the hardware, I have all the software, so 10% of the problem's out of the way! Now for the other 90%—the listening environment. There is a reason for the high end shops to have that equipment in rooms especially designed for optimal playback. In my lifetime I have witnessed first hand many sub three grand systems blow systems two and three times their value out of the water, so to speak, and it was all due to the room architecture. I am a firm believer that the room is 60% of your system. Clean dependable power is another big one, but it says choose one, therefore I must leave it at the room which is IMHO the single most important feature of your system.

Professional audio reviewers: they tell me one month what I have is the best bar none, then later tell me how unbelievably colored, etc, what I have is.

You can buy gear till the cows come home, but if the room doesn't sound good, you are pouring your money down the big black hole.

My downstairs neighbors are very sensitive to the slightest noise. I even have to make sure I walk quietly. I do my critical listening when they're not home. Can I do something about it? I can move, or make them want to move!

Buying a pair. But replacing Quad ESL-63s is challenging. Particularly without the space for the new Quads.

Living in the real world, I suffer through having to use the same electronics for home theater AND audio, so my Onkyo TX-575 receiver is my weakest link, but replacing its bang for the buck is going to be damn hard, but eventually necessary. (Sniff sniff. . . bye bye money)

My old Lady. So I turn up the volume up a little more