Tier L · PRaT (listening philosophy)
Voiced for timing, drive and momentum.
One certified system per brief. Costs appear only as signed percentages against each tier’s (unpublished) baseline; absolute prices are not shown.
The certified system
| Slot | Component |
|---|---|
| Turntable | Technics SL-1200G |
| Tonearm | Technics S-shape magnesium tonearm (SL-1200G) |
| Cartridge | van den Hul The Frog |
| Phono stage | Rega Aria Mk3 MM/MC |
| Preamplifier | NVA P50SA MKII |
| Power amplifier | Audiolab 9000P |
| Loudspeakers | ProAc Tablette 10 Signature |
| Subwoofer | KEF KF92 |
| Whole-system cost vs tier baseline | −15.6% |
Amplification: preamplifier and power amplifier — an outcome of the search, not a requirement.
How the money is shaped
How the budget is shaped here — each share is the portion of the whole build this brief aims at that position. A position marked free is left to find its own level.
| Position | Share of build |
|---|---|
| Cartridge | 15.6% |
| Tonearm | 4.5% |
| Turntable | 24.4% |
| Phono stage | 15.2% |
| Loudspeakers | 21.5% |
| Preamplifier | 7.2% |
| Power amplifier | 11.5% |
Why there is a subwoofer
A subwoofer is fitted. Below this loudspeaker’s natural reach there is real musical content — organ pedal notes, synth bass, the lowest drum weight — and the coverage arithmetic says a dedicated bass cabinet genuinely extends the system rather than doubling what the loudspeaker already does.