Feet!

Here are some shots of the outriggers for the Dynaudios up close- very nice, as I said earlier.  I've also included a shot of the Tara Labs cones the Rega 1 is sitting on- I removed the stock feet.  The inexpensive stand everything is on is made with glass shelves, which are supposedly terrible for sound.  I've found a craftsman in PA that does amazing stuff- I'll post a link to his site later- but I think I will definitely be purchasing a new stand fairly soon.

Speaking of feet, the Yamaha A-S2000 integrated comes with huge feet that have magnetic spikes one can affix- but I still haven't even taken the tape off them.  Again, when I change the rack it sits on I'll get them set up. . .

Soundocity

Here's the link to the nice folks who made the outriggers that I am using with the Dynaudio Focus 220s, an absolute must on thick carpet. 

 http://www.soundocity.com/

They are very well built and look quite impressive without detracting from the wood of the speaker enclosure.  I found that I needed to use metric hardware to install them in the pre-drilled holes on the Dynaudios.  Let me know if you need the size as the card I jotted the measurement down on is around here somewhere.  I can't really comment on any change in sound- there was none that I noticed.  I am very far behind in writing about some sound changes I HAVE heard (new amp, new CD player, and so on), so that should be next.  I think we will start with the speakers, and work our way from there.

Some hasty shots

A few more quick pictures to provide an idea of how the system has changed.  One close up of the outriggers by Soundocity- I see their site is down, so I will sort through my e-mail and see if they forwarded a link.  These are a must on thick carpet for narrow speakers like the 220s.  I will also edit my full review of the A-S2000 as there is not a lot on the web about this amp.  It's appeal to me should be obvious- but it has some interesting quirks worth mentioning. 

Bad picture from last summer

Much has changed, but here is a grainy shot of the monster Yamaha A-S2000 integrated now running the show.  I have also switched over to all Kimber cable and as you can see, there are outriggers on the Focus 220s to protect them from cats that leap like mountain goats.  More on the outriggers later- they are a super nice piece of kit by an outfit called: Soundocity.