What happens to an audiophile when they grow up? Do they surf the forums at Audiogon? Well, for me, practicality won. I didn't get rid of my McCormack/Linn/Krix/Parasound set up. I moved it downstairs. The buttons and mechnanics were just too appealing for LVK. Betty and I were also looking for a slightly different arrangement upstairs. The cherry console looks like it really belongs downstairs in it's new home. So what audio set up would satisfy our needs upstairs? Betty wanted a radio. We both wanted something small. I turned to Tivoli Audio. Tivoli was designed by Henry Kloss. It may have been his last product contribution before his death in 2002. Kloss brought us Acoustic Research in 1952. Then, it was on to KLH, Advent, and Cambridge SoundWorks. A prolific and legendary member of the audio community. The Tivioli has almost reached iconic design status. The basic format is a cherry wood box about 8 1/2" x 5" by 5". Like all audiophile gear, there are very few parts. A speaker, a volume knob, and a tuner. If you don't like the sound of the Tivoli, you need to find another vendor. There's very little besides positioning that will allow you to change the sound of the Tivoli. Fortunately, I like the sound of the Tivoli. I've added the right speaker, the subwoofer, and the CD player. All of them appeal to the woodworker and the audiophile. The right speaker has no features except the input cable. The subwoofer adds a volume knob and a power supply. The CD player includes a credit card romote. The RCA jacks have mostly been replaced by 1/8" Stereo Mini jacks. The input/output selection includes: Aux In, Mix In, R-Spk Out, Sub Out, Rec Out, Headphone Out, and Antenna. If you followed along, the two inputs are Aux and Mix. They are the same channel. So that means the CD is "Aux" and the AirTunes is "Mix". Both can play at the same time. There is no remote for the main unit.

Is it worth it? Yes. This is a great system. Could it be better? There's a mess of cables and although Aux+Mix is clever, I'd like one more input source.

manual :: manual :: manual

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