Tier M · PRaT (listening philosophy, open architecture)

Costs appear only as signed percentages against each tier’s (unpublished) baseline; absolute prices are not shown.

Forward (source-first)

SlotComponent
CartridgeMiyajima Madake MC
Step-up transformerAudio Note AN-S3
TonearmSupatrac Blackbird Farpoint 9"
TurntableMichell Revolv (NEW Oct 2025)
Phono stageMichael Fidler MM Pro MkII
PreamplifierNVA P50 MKII
Power amplifierNVA S80 Stereo
LoudspeakersWharfedale Diamond 12.1
Chain cost vs tier baseline−0.3%
69.2
node quality
4.31
edge synergy (raw 4.31, 6 edges)
0.00
drive delta (sut-stepup)
power
architecture

Feasible; no blockers.

Architecture competition

ArchitectureQualitySynergyCost vs baselineFeasibleWon
integrated69.73.03+0.3%yes
power69.24.31−0.3%yes
mono69.13.02−0.8%yes

Costs appear only as signed percentages against each tier’s (unpublished) baseline; absolute prices are not shown.

Aft (speaker-first)

SlotComponent
LoudspeakersRogers LS3/5a Classic SE
Power amplifierChord ULTIMA 5
PreamplifierNVA P50SA MKII
Phono stageMusical Fidelity M8x Vinyl
CartridgeHana SL MkII MC
TonearmProJect Tonearm 8.6 Carbon (Debut PRO)
TurntablePro-Ject Debut Pro (with cart)
Chain cost vs tier baseline+0.6%
68.9
node quality
6.78
edge synergy (raw 6.78, 6 edges)
0.00
drive delta (drive 1.13x)
power
architecture

Feasible; no blockers.

Architecture competition

ArchitectureQualitySynergyCost vs baselineFeasibleWon
integrated69.95.63−0.4%yes
power68.96.78+0.6%yes
mono68.06.33+0.4%yes