Tier Hi · Characterful (listening philosophy, open architecture)
Costs appear only as signed percentages against each tier’s (unpublished) baseline; absolute prices are not shown.
Forward (source-first)
| Slot | Component |
|---|---|
| Cartridge | London Decca Reference Type II |
| Tonearm | Supatrac Blackbird Farpoint 9" |
| Turntable | AVID Acutus Reference SP (no arm) |
| Phono stage | Michael Fidler SPARTAN 20 |
| Preamplifier | NVA P50SA MKII |
| Power amplifier | NVA S300 Stereo (Artisan) |
| Loudspeakers | Wharfedale Diamond 12.1 |
| Chain cost vs tier baseline | +0.2% |
71.6
node quality
6.12
edge synergy (raw 6.12, 6 edges)
0.00
drive delta (unknown-source)
power
architecture
Feasible; no blockers.
Architecture competition
| Architecture | Quality | Synergy | Cost vs baseline | Feasible | Won |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| integrated | 72.7 | 5.09 | +0.4% | yes | |
| power | 71.6 | 6.12 | +0.2% | yes | ✓ |
| mono | 72.2 | 4.92 | +0.7% | yes |
Costs appear only as signed percentages against each tier’s (unpublished) baseline; absolute prices are not shown.
Aft (speaker-first)
| Slot | Component |
|---|---|
| Loudspeakers | Wilmslow Audio Emmae Reginae |
| Integrated amplifier | Sugden ANV 50 |
| Phono stage | Naim StageLine S (MC) |
| Cartridge | van den Hul The Frog |
| Tonearm | Linn Arko |
| Turntable | Linn LP12 plinth + Majik PSU (no arm/cart) |
| Chain cost vs tier baseline | −30.6% |
71.1
node quality
4.94
edge synergy (raw 4.94, 5 edges)
0.00
drive delta (n/a-integrated)
integrated
architecture
Feasible; no blockers.
Architecture competition
| Architecture | Quality | Synergy | Cost vs baseline | Feasible | Won |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| integrated | 71.1 | 4.94 | −30.6% | yes | ✓ |
| power | 69.7 | 4.66 | −1.5% | yes | |
| mono | 72.2 | 5.29 | +0.7% | yes |