Tier Hi · Romantic (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Costs appear only as signed percentages against each tier’s (unpublished) baseline; absolute prices are not shown.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 | Etsuro Urushi Bordeaux MC |
| Step-up transformer | Audio Note AN-S3 |
| Tonearm | Audio Origami PU8 Reference 9" |
| Turntable | AVID Sequel SP (no arm) |
| Phono stage | EAR Yoshino PhonoBox MM/MC |
| Preamplifier | Quad Artera Pre |
| Monoblocks | Quad 303 (bridged-mono pair) |
| Loudspeakers | NVA Cube 3 |
| Chain cost vs tier baseline | +0.7% |
70.9
node quality
3.48
edge synergy (raw 3.48, 6 edges)
0.00
drive delta (sut-stepup)
mono
architecture
Feasible; no blockers.
Architecture competition
| Architecture | Quality | Synergy | Cost vs baseline | Feasible | Won |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| integrated | 71.2 | 2.63 | +0.2% | yes | |
| power | 70.2 | 2.83 | +0.5% | yes | |
| mono | 70.9 | 3.48 | +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Costs appear only as signed percentages against each tier’s (unpublished) baseline; absolute prices are not shown.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 |
| Power amplifier | Rega Solis |
| Preamplifier | Rega Mercury |
| Phono stage | Rega Aura Reference MC |
| Cartridge | van den Hul The Frog |
| Tonearm | Origin Live Encounter Mk5 |
| Turntable | Technics SL-1500CS (with cart) |
| Chain cost vs tier baseline | +0.3% |
72.1
node quality
6.15
edge synergy (raw 6.15, 6 edges)
0.00
drive delta (drive 35.11x)
power
architecture
Feasible; no blockers.
Architecture competition
| Architecture | Quality | Synergy | Cost vs baseline | Feasible | Won |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| integrated | 70.7 | 5.04 | −30.6% | yes | |
| power | 72.1 | 6.15 | +0.3% | yes | ✓ |
| mono | 71.8 | 5.62 | −2.6% | yes |