TWOCHANNEL REFERENCE BUILD
AI-generated approximation — the photo is a staged composite for illustration (relative sizing of the components may be off) and the write-up was drafted from the component specs. Nobody has listened to this system.
For someone who streams classical, jazz, acoustic and electronic music in a medium living room, this stack pairs KEF Reference 3 Meta floorstanding speakers with a Parasound power amplifier, ATC preamp and Lumin U2 network player. It delivers balanced tone, clear dynamics and detailed imaging at the expense of deepest bass below 40 Hz.
STREAMER
LUMIN U2$5,500
PREAMP
ATC CA2$3,734.20
POWER AMP
Parasound Halo JC 1+$8,500
SPEAKERS
KEF Reference 3 Meta$16,000
Traits and placement
Read from the component list, not from listening.
Price$33,734
$2,769$127,475
Bass extensionNot applicable
47 Hz18 Hz
Lowest frequency response across the system’s components. Approximate — a component is excluded only when it declares an amplifier wattage without also declaring a sensitivity figure, so an amplifier that happens to report a sensitivity slips through and can pull the reading down.
Drive difficulty87.5 dB/W
99.0 dB/W85.0 dB/W
Speaker sensitivity normalised to 8 ohms. Approximate — we do not record whether a figure was quoted per watt or per 2.83 volts, so a non-8-ohm speaker can be out by up to 3 dB.
System Components
Signal Chain
Scroll sideways to follow the chain from source to speakers.
Signal chain complete — source to speakers
Accessories
Sources
Processing
Control
Amplification
Outputs
Cartridge
Tonearm
Turntable
Tuner
Music Server
Streamer
U
CD PlayerTransport + DAC
Digital Audio PlayerPortable Source + DAC
Phono Preamp
C
DAC
Surround Processor
Preamp
C
Stereo ReceiverTuner + Amp
AV ReceiverProcessor + Amp
Power Amp
H
Multichannel Amp
Integrated AmpPreamp + Power Amp
Headphone Amp
C
Floorstanding
R
Bookshelf
Subwoofer
Center / Surround
Atmos
In-Wall / Ceiling
Powered SpeakerAmp + Speaker
Over-Ear
On-Ear
In-Ear
System Visualization
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Built September 2026 · Updated 9 days ago · v1