Sorry if the subject title sounds like a riff on "How Stella Got Her Groove Back" *cringe* but I wanted to post a general summary of my experience as a complete neophyte to audio hi-fi, putting together a system for the first time, so that other newbies can gauge from my experience what their process might be like, in putting their systems together. Hopefully it will help them in the process, save them some grief & time.
On the Cowboy Junkies newest album, "Trinity Revisited" they celebrate the 20th anniversary of their landmark 1988 album "The Trinity Sessions." Even going as far as returning to Toronto's Church of the Holy Trinity, the sight of the original recording. At first blush this sounds like possibly the worst idea of their career. The original is a certified classic, whatever they did with it they were bound to ruffle lots of feathers.
With such an endeavor there were two courses that were the obvious ones. First they could try to meticulously duplicate the original. But what
this guy is saying POWER is what makes lifelike home reproduction....his stuff is way over priced, but he is on teh right track with WATTS. And TAS and Stereophile like him too, why do I get beaten down when i inist WATTS, is what it's all about, and the speakers to make use of it. Told ya nah nah nah nah.
The new Korg MR1000 is slick, tiny lightweight, super easy to use, and sounds great. Yeah, lets keep thinking vinyl is music for the 21st century, this little box is what modern electronics is about, smaller, cheaper, and super performance in a small package. It just keeps getting better and better. Well made unit, super bargain well under mfg suggested price, found a great deal under $1000. Not quite half price of teh suggested list of $1499...is it that much, no way. 
In the April issue of <I>Stereophile</I>, John Marks talks about using Sony's original Playstation as a CD player. What's the most unusual source you've ever used in your system, analog or digital?
Hi Guys,
I recently came across a Music Hall MMF-7 for ~$600.
I would really appreciate any opinions or feedback on this unit.
This will be my first TT, and is at the top of my budget, considering all the ancillaries I will need such as a good record cleaner and such. I was also thinking I could recoup a decent amount when (not if....Hey, I am a realist 
)I decide to upgrade.
TIA
Good morning audiophiles of the world. You have been demonized at the 1000 demons blog.
Enjoy!
In reference to John Atkinsons reply to letters about the loudness wars, where JA stated he first mentioned the issue in 1999.
This problem has been going on since the mid 80's. If you compare the 1983 CP35 japanase jazz releases with the 1986 CP32 releases, the later are louder, compressed and have been eq'd to bring out the upper mid range.
Same thing with all remasters, which started in the mid 80's. This is the old frog in warming water phenominon - people are complaining today, because weve reached near boiling point.
Dave
have a technics sl-d202 running through a yamaha htr-5660 with very low & poor quality audio at my jamo speakers. have not used the turntable in many years but all seems to be fine except for poor audio. all other audio options (dvd,cd) work great with my receiver. am no expert & may have not provided enough info., but any help would be greatly appreciated
I'm looking for a small receiver/integrated amp to run 3 sets of speakers (1 indoor, 2 outdoor). I'd like to keep it small in size (and price) as the cabin I am putting it in is small. Will run mostly an iPod. Please help.