How many of us have a system where we can get lost in the music?  I mean really lost where time goes away and all we want is to listen to recording after recording.  This system doesn’t have to have the finest resolution or the end all in imaging-just so you really enjoy the music.  My point is that our systems should be about our enjoyment of the music, not the detailing, resolution, etc.  Those attributes are nice, but not necessary to getting lost in the music.  Our mind is a wonderful tool in that given the right cues, it fills in the information anyway.  It is just that I have heard $3000 systems blow away $100000 systems in just the pure enjoyment factor of listening.  To me a great system sucks you in to listening to recording after recording, with no fatigue at all, where you just cannot stop.  If you have a system that does this-DO NOT CHANGE IT.  It may take you years to get it back.
Suggestion:  If you are changing it because it doesn’t float you away-look at cables and interconnects first.  This is assuming you already have good sources and speakers.  In my experience, cables and interconnects can give you magic when properly applied without lots of expense.  Tweak items (Isobearings, Enacoms, cones, etc.) can make up for  substandard stands to a point and are inexpensive.  We have a selection of cables and tweaks to try.  Give us a call  if you need help.

We are getting in the new Denon Headphones this week here in Roseville.  We will be carrying the Music Maniac AH-D600 (MSRP $499) and the AH-D7100 (MSRP $1199) using the Cary Audio CAD 300 SEI as the headphone amp to drive them.  They are a sharp contrast to the AKG, both are excellent with very different presentations.  When I heard the AH-D7100 with only 8 hours of breakin time I was astonished to hear a 3 dimensional soundstage with lots of air, wonderful extended bottom end, and a precise layout of all the instruments.  I am not a headphone guy, but I am buying a pair of these to keep.  They were substantially better than any headphone I have heard, including my old Sennheiser 600′s.
A note on Exemplar:  We now have the tube staged Exemplar 95 in the showroom.  It is a two part piece with a separate power supply, Class A tube outputs on the RCA Left and Right outputs, and Class A operation on all of the other outputs.  It has the detailing of the previous version, but much better timbre accuracy and more air with greater depth of stage.  It is very close in performance to the Light Harmonic Da Vinci DAC if memory serves me well.  Its retail is $4499, and has all of the capability video-wise of its parent Oppo, as well as the ability to be used with NAS drives in a network.  It is the closest I have heard digital to an analog source such as a well setup turntable and phonostage to date.  Honestly, digital is getting much better, but I still love my ‘tables.
Come in, spend some time, and enjoy the music!