It has been almost three years since I have had a chance to really enjoy music, the way I like – pure fidelity. My music system had been kept in storage in New York City for almost three years, and I had to make do with mostly computer based music playback. Sure I had Sonos, and had my iTunes and iPod, but it never sounded as good as my B&K Components’ audio system.

It is a fairly simple set-up: a pre-amp couples with a 200 watts per channel audio amp. Nothing fancy – just pure sound. It was hooked up to a pair of powered Definitive Technology Bookshelfs, but they are in transit. (How does UPS do this – deliver one half the shipment, and not the other part, even though two packages left New York at the same time, and left for delivery this morning at the same time. What a mess!)

Since most of my music collection now resides on three network attached drives – about 1.5 terrabytes in total – I have no need for my Marantz CD player, which is still cooling its heels in the storage locker. (My songs are ripped at 320 kbps and sound fantastic at least on the iPod.)

I had no idea how the digital music is going to sound with clear, crisp and almost pure B&K bliss. Of course since the speakers I am using now are a pair of powered Paradigms, the set-up is not the right comparison, but Robert Cray is booming nicely. Sonos II is playing nice with the new set-up, and listening to Gnarls Barkley.

Hopefully, I will have the other package delivered on Monday by the latest, and then I can let Etta James really belt it out. There is a big collection of chill out tunes I want to listen to as well. Now that the baseball season is almost over, it is good to find other distractions. Or as they say, let the music play.