Tier Hi · Reference (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Costs appear only as signed percentages against each tier’s (unpublished) baseline; absolute prices are not shown.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 | Koetsu Azule Platinum MC |
| Tonearm | Supatrac Blackbird Farpoint 9" |
| Turntable | Vertere MG-1 MkII (no arm) |
| Phono stage | EAR Yoshino 88PB MM/MC |
| Preamplifier | NVA P50SA MKII |
| Power amplifier | NVA S80 Stereo |
| Loudspeakers | Wharfedale Diamond 12.1 |
| Chain cost vs tier baseline | +0.2% |
71.1
node quality
6.13
edge synergy (raw 6.13, 6 edges)
0.00
drive delta (drive 1.54x)
power
architecture
Feasible; no blockers.
Architecture competition
| Architecture | Quality | Synergy | Cost vs baseline | Feasible | Won |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| integrated | 72.2 | 3.54 | +0.1% | yes | |
| power | 71.1 | 6.13 | +0.2% | yes | ✓ |
| mono | 71.1 | 5.06 | −0.2% | 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Costs appear only as signed percentages against each tier’s (unpublished) baseline; absolute prices are not shown.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 |
| Power amplifier | Rega Solis |
| Preamplifier | Rega Mercury |
| Phono stage | Rega Aura Reference MC |
| Cartridge | Lyra Delos MC |
| Tonearm | SME M2-9 |
| Turntable | Technics SL-1500CS (with cart) |
| Chain cost vs tier baseline | −1.9% |
72.7
node quality
5.57
edge synergy (raw 5.57, 6 edges)
0.00
drive delta (drive 32.41x)
power
architecture
Feasible; no blockers.
Architecture competition
| Architecture | Quality | Synergy | Cost vs baseline | Feasible | Won |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| integrated | 72.9 | 4.41 | −1.6% | yes | |
| power | 72.7 | 5.57 | −1.9% | yes | ✓ |
| mono | 72.9 | 4.94 | +0.7% | yes |