Tier Lo · 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Costs appear only as signed percentages against each tier’s (unpublished) baseline; absolute prices are not shown.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 | van den Hul The Frog |
| Tonearm | Linn Arko |
| Turntable | Technics SL-1500CS (with cart) |
| Phono stage | Rega Fono MC Mk4 |
| Preamplifier | NVA P50 MKII |
| Power amplifier | NVA S80 Stereo |
| Loudspeakers | Wharfedale Diamond 12.1 |
| Chain cost vs tier baseline | −0.6% |
66.4
node quality
5.75
edge synergy (raw 5.75, 6 edges)
0.00
drive delta (drive 2.50x)
power
architecture
Feasible; no blockers.
Architecture competition
| Architecture | Quality | Synergy | Cost vs baseline | Feasible | Won |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| integrated | 66.9 | 4.41 | +0.9% | yes | |
| power | 66.4 | 5.75 | −0.6% | yes | ✓ |
| mono | 66.0 | 4.63 | −1.5% | yes |
Costs appear only as signed percentages against each tier’s (unpublished) baseline; absolute prices are not shown.
Aft (speaker-first)
| Slot | Component |
|---|---|
| Loudspeakers | Epos ES-7N |
| Power amplifier | Roksan Caspian 4G Power Amplifier |
| Preamplifier | NVA P50SA MKII |
| Phono stage | Cyrus Classic PHONO |
| Cartridge | Rega Nd9 MM |
| Tonearm | Rega RB330 |
| Turntable | Rega Planar 3 + RB330 |
| Chain cost vs tier baseline | +0.3% |
66.5
node quality
4.29
edge synergy (raw 4.29, 6 edges)
0.00
drive delta (drive 1.79x)
power
architecture
Feasible; no blockers.
Architecture competition
| Architecture | Quality | Synergy | Cost vs baseline | Feasible | Won |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| integrated | 67.1 | 3.41 | +0.3% | yes | |
| power | 66.5 | 4.29 | +0.3% | yes | ✓ |
| mono | 67.2 | 2.83 | −1.2% | yes |