Hear Again, i forgot again sorry to be insensitive, I upload 3 images of my home-made stereo, the pre-amplifier is made from kitset, and i upgraded the internals with world-class capacitors and resistors and used six nines copper wires that is 99.9999997 % pure 6 figures of 9's after the decimal point and there's only 2 foundery in the world makes those wires at this purity. It is extremely hard to obtain, it is better than silver wires as the copper modecules straightened via cryogenic treatments using Liquid nitrogen. (interconnects cables wires were also the same, but from a specialist cryogentic treatment plant)
The main amplifiers (i use 2, one for each speakers, so its 2 monos configurated into stereo) uses old fashioned electronics which have valves.The valves are shaped, feels like weird shaped light bulbs with 6 or 8 or 12 steel pins (some are quite fat more like short rods , on smaller valve these are more like short, stiff wires with not sharp edge just chamfered off the edges. These to plug into sockets which connects to various wires in the circuit. (some valve electronics have PCB printed circuit board -fibreglass boards with copper tracks glued on, this is seldom)
I discarded those cheap chinese imitations valves for the real valves from USA or UK, and they are more than 50 years old, but in brand-new conditions -this took a lot of hunting you can by used, cheaper, but i insisted on some of the best of the best. I am using east german valves on my home made pre-amplifer and they sound amazing (i cant listen to it now, see why im getting impaitent for CI but also i realise i have to learn to hear all over again.....groans...)
the speakers are also home made , stand 60 inches high, 20 inches wide and deep. it have 8 woofer cones, and 1 titanium tweeter in a 'dome' configuration. the woofer cones are metal, 5 inch wides which is small but no means its not a slouch, this speakers is serious business it runs of a 22 watts per channel amps but sounds as loud as a 200 WPC stereo. That is because the speaker were engineered to be extremely sensitive (a parrallel of 4 in series circuits are utilised to achieve that)
the woods are PDF with veener which imitate the Rimu look, New Zealand native wood-grain colour and pattern it is Very nice. as it goes will all my other furniture which are also rimu (real rimu).
I have made braided interconnect cables out of 3 wires twinned in a one over two, and repeat order making this pattern, and soldered with 4 different metal in a solder (copper, tin, lead and silver) these are not hard to get but its not common though.
the valves varies in size the 845 stands 10 inch high with 4 inch wide they run HOT when swtiched on. the tiny valves for the pre amplified stand 3 inch high and 1 inch wide, and the better valves for the main amplifer apart from the 845 is 4 inch high but 2 inch wide these run hotter than the tiny one in the Pre. Lastly there is a big grey valves that comes from Britain its is like a large oblongish 100 W bulb, these run fairly cool. they are shockingly expensive at about $500 each - I have 2. In USA they are $ 250 to $300 each depending on condition and grades.
this is a valve stereo system it not designed for rock music, but when i played Eagle's Hotel California, i was shattered, it was good ! When i play piano solos like Choplin, the whole room seem to have a real piano, hell my neighbour unbeknowist to the stereo for first 6 months i lived here, he thought i PLAYED pianos !!
i have power cables that are imported from USA which are 1 inch thick and it looks like a black boa snakes, these are 'super conductors' - hospital-grade power cords. I went way over board.
Now, how's that for quality of 'life in music' ??
but yes i need the CI soon, and i mean soon im sick of this ringing, in this regard i believe i have middle ear damage (the drum) as it seemed to rattle...shake...but need to discuss with the CI team more throughout to be really ascertain of this.
for the description. 
