Stereo Times Five

Some audiophiles go all in on a single, hyper-sophisticated sound system. Listening becomes something of a ritual, prepared and planned and carried out in a dedicated room with precisely-positioned chairs and acoustic wall treatment. And that's just fine and dandy for those who want it, but that just isn't me. I love a good listening session, but I don't have to build a cathedral in my house to do it.

That's because I prefer to have listening opportunities all over the house, and not just focused on a single master room. Not being made out of money, I can't trick out all of my listening areas with high-end audiophile stuff. Not that I would, anyway; I am highly suspicious of about 99% of the 'audiophile' stuff out there.

With that in mind, I have five sound systems in my house, each with its place in the scheme of things, and each with its level of sonic splendor. They are all part of a network, fed by a Mac Mini M4 computer running Roon Core; the server taps into my home audio library on a Synology NAS (about 7 terabytes of FLAC audio files) as well as pulling stuff from both Tidal and Qobuz. Every system in the house is a Roon endpoint, so each can play either on its own or in concert with the others. (Hooking all five together to blast something through the entire house can be a real hoot.)

The systems are as follows, in order of exaltedness:

Family Room (my home office): Top Dog

It's a pip of a system, consisting of a Bryston BD-19 preamplifier that takes its signal from a Schiit Audio Yggdrasil+ digital-to-analog converter, fed by a Bluesound Node that does the honors as a Roon endpoint. It outputs to a pair of Schiit Audio Tyr monoblocks, each with a solid 200 watts of power. The Tyrs power the speakers, which are the system's pride and joy: Bowers & Wilkins 803D models, used as reference monitors in some of the world's finest recording studios and wonderful home products as well. This is by all measurements a fine audiophile system, and it provides me with tip-top audio, beautifully balanced, powerful, warm, detailed, subtle, you name it. Great soundstage. This is the system I choose for most of my listening, and with good reason. All in all it cost about the same as a new Toyota Camry, but it's a lot more fun.

Media Room: Multitasking Workhorse

This is the sound system for my home video room, a large bedroom in the front of the house that sports a large flat-screen TV. Electronics are first rate: Bryston BDA-3 digital-to-analog converter, Marantz theater amplifier, Bowers & Wilkins speakers throughout: 805D for front, 603s for rear, a 600-series center channel and subwoofer. In addition to an AppleTV and the flat screen's optical output, a Bluesound Node acts as the Roon endpoint, outputting pure digital to the BDA-3. I also use this room for vinyl playback, via a VPI Scout turntable with Grado cartridge, playing out to a Musical Fidelity phonostage. Very good system, detailed and clean, with an excellent soundstage. The Marantz amplifier is tuned for movie/TV sound and works its best in that capacity, but the system can kick some serious booty with music streamed from the Roon Core.

Living Room: KEF Miracle Boxes

In the living room, flanking the fireplace, one finds a pair of lovely white KEF LS50 II speakers on matching white stands. These aren't just speakers; they're complete sound systems in and of themselves, with their own embedded streamer, DAC, preamplifier, and power amplifiers. They're Roon endpoints all by themselves, requiring no separate streamer box. They access the home network wirelessly. So they require nothing more than being plugged into a power outlet and pointed to the home WiFi. Lovely sound from these, detailed and clear. We've come a long way since wireless audio meant compromised sound; these puppies can play high-definition bit streams up to 192K. If I had to dispense with every other sound system in the house and keep just one, I think this would be it, given its extraordinary capability but minimal physical presence. At $2000 plus $300 for the stands, KEF LS50 IIs are an astonishing bargain in high-quality audio.

Library Room: Doughty, Capable AudioEngines

AudioEngine 5 speakers are heavy-duty powered jobbers that require a wired signal but offer amazing audio for their small size. Purchased originally to be my sound system for my classes at UC Berkeley, I have plopped them atop a pair of bookcases, and feed them from a WiiM Pro streamer that is also a Roon endpoint. Just for fun, this is the room with a Rega 78 turntable and my collection of 78 RPM discs; I can play them over the AudioEngines with sound quality nobody could have dreamed of back in the day. Mostly I use this system to stream nature sounds from my iPad over AirPlay, where is serves as a soothing backdrop to my evening reading sessions prior to bedtime.

Master Bedroom: Inexpensive but Plucky

A pair of cute little Edifier powered speakers are fed from another WiiM Pro. Despite this being a system that cost about $500 all told, it produces darn good sound. It's a Roon endpoint, but most of the time I use it to play those same kinds of nature sounds via AirPlay as the Library Room. Once in a while I've challenged it to play something like Steve Reich's Music for 18 Instruments at a goodly volume, and it's fully up to the task.