On a Desert Island Part 1

It’s the old desert island question: If you were on a desert island, what would you take with you? I could ask you that question but I need a “twist” to make it interesting. Something like, oh, let’s say, a budget. So the new question is, “If you were on a desert island, and had a budget of $1500, what audio components would you take with you?”

Hmmm. Interesting question – because now I have to consider my tastes, bias, the kind of music I listen to, etc – and what can I fit in. I need to start with the hardest component first and work my way back – that is the speaker.

There are speakers from a Chinese manufacturer called BL Audio that fit the bill. They are called the BL Audio Muge. They image like a son of gun and are fussy about the midrange. Drive them incorrectly, and you get a nasal quality. Drive them too hard and you get congestion. Drive them just right, - look out. Total cost for the speakers are: $650.

Oops, just used a big hunk of my spare change. Next would be an amp. I do not need something powerful, so the BADA DC-222 is out. What a pity, with new tubes, it sounds like some of the amps we have for sale costing $1000. Next would be the Ming DA EL34 amplifier. Still too powerful – plus, its push on the midrange bloom is great for Quads, Vandersteens and B&Ws, but not for these puppies. I need something a little delicate in the midrange, yet detailed enough to bring out the speakers qualities, tonally accurate in the high end yet forceful in the lower registers. Plus, I need something where tube life is at a premium. The Shuguang 208B EL84 amplifier is perfect. It has a delicate high end whose detail extends into the midrange. Its forcefulness in the lower registers will add detail and presence to the midrange. Tube life will be great, plus it can take a lot of abuse that a desert island will give. Cost is $530. A total of $1180. I have$320 to spend on a CD player.

Not going to do it. I can’t find a CD player for $320 that will work with this system. I need one that is going to compliment – one that has detail in the lower registers and not too bright, garish or pushy on the top end – particularly the upper midrange and – I do not want CDs sounding like CDs. The MHZS Audio CD 33 is perfect for this and highly underrated for its quality (just Google it, if you do not believe me). This will give me what I need. Plus the up sampling flexibility is something I can tailor to my CDs to get the sound I want. Its cost is $530 – which brings me to $1710. I will just have to go to the island people and request the extra $210 that’s all there is to it.

So there you have it, and there it is – my desert island system under $2k. The BL Audio Muge, the Shuguang 208B EL84 amplifier and the MHZS CD 33. I think I can live with these components for a long, long time.

All the best,

Vic