Well, I have been imagining this blog post for about 4 years now. Pretty cool to finally have a website on which to post it. 🙂
Having said that, I’m going to try to keep it brief as “The Perfect is the enemy of the Good” as La-Donna often reminds me.
My Top 5 will be a regular feature in our product category here. I’m hoping to share with you my favourite 5 items from our current inventory. They will not always be the most expensive, or best sounding components from the 1000+ pieces we have in stock at any given time, but they will be items that “speak to me”.
As our inventory turns over, I will update this list (I’m hoping at least once a quarter or so, but I guess we’ll see how I do on that front.) I’m also hoping some of my Radique colleagues here will post their own Top 5 lists here from time to time.
So, without further ado my current Top 5:
1) Focal Sib’s. These small bookshelf / satellite speakers make me smile every time I listen to them. Fit and finish are excellent, with Focal’s usual attention to detail. I love the articulated integrated stands that are so easy to adjust to get just the right angle for your listening environment. Most of all, I love the sound. When positioned nicely, I just can’t believe how such small speakers can do such a great job. I’ve enjoyed them both for near field listening, and with a Focal “Cub” sub to fill our primary audition area with amazing music.
2) Marantz 2285B. OK, yes, this is currently our most expensive Stereo Receiver, but it is just incredible. Power and fidelity for the ages, and our master woodworker outdid himself on the beautiful cherry cabinet.
3) Radique Audio RA-Mini Amp. So, this may be blatant self promotion, to list one of our own products in my first top 5, but it’s also the truth. I love it. It never ceases to surprise me, (and it has downright amazed a number of our customers when they’ve had a chance to audition one in person here.) Humble product from a small / humble business, but for its tiny size, it is absolutely lovely. Choice of 5 different inputs is cool as well (including built-in bluetooth.) We’ve paired it with dozens of different speakers here, but one of my favourite combos is with the Focal Sib’s listed above. 😉
4) Martin Logan 60XT’s in high gloss Mahogany finish. If size / budget are not a limitation then these are the best sounding speakers from our current inventory at the moment (I realize this is subjective, and there are lots of excellent sounding speakers that come very close, but this is Mark’s Top 5, after all) Huge and a pain to move around, but drop dead gorgeous finish, and these full range, 4 driver speakers at the top end of Martin Logan’s excellent Motion line, are fabulous and a joy to listen to. We’ll be posting these beauties early this coming week (unless I can convince my wife Lovina to let me keep them), but in the meantime here’s a quick snapshot that Kay took for me. Thanks Kay!
5) Marantz Arch 2.0. The perfectionist in me really didn’t want two components from the same brand in this first post, but there it is. Marantz has made so many great products over the years, and this Arch 2.0 which reminds me of some sort of alien spaceship from 70’s B movies, is way too cool to omit. Yes, the appearance is extremely unique and that is of course a big part of it (I love the downward facing lights mounted underneath). With the lights turned down in my listening area, that little detail completes the spaceship illusion, and listening to the Carpenter’s incredible “Calling Occupants” track through this Arch actually gives me goosebumps.