I am pleased to say that the Supratek Malbec mono block has returned and is now back in the system and performing just fine. However, for a while I have been unhappy with the soundstage being too far back in the image and the centre being recessed compared with the left / right mix.

So I set about re-measuring the room, placing the listening position and speakers according to the 'Rule of Thirds' within the boundaries of the room then positioned the speaker drivers and listening chair in an equilateral triangle. I am happy to report that the sound has significantly improved. One further change was to toe-in the speakers so they crosses just in front of the listener's head. In such a 'cubed' space it looks a little strange & cluttered but the image is now pretty solid and emanates from a plane just behind the fast-disappearing speakers. All albums played, both good and bad recordings, showed clear improvements. Good progress.

I have also installed a combination of Black Diamond Racing cones under the CD & BDR cones & pucks under pre-amp, and VIBRAPODS cones under the pre-amp power supply. Not sure which made the most difference but the combination improved the speed & crispness of the mids & highs. especially noticeable on the finger snaps on Patricia Barber's 'Ode to Billy Joe' from the Cafe Blue album.

And finally, the biggest change of all, which amounts to no more than 3/4 of an inch! Who says size doesn't matter!

In an attempt to height-align the tweeter to the listener's ear level, I placed a disk under the front spikes of each speaker, hoping to improve something, not sure what! Well, I am a genius! The increased air under the speakers unleashed hitherto never heard bass from the rear firing passive radiators. Nothing I have read in reviews or manuals advised this set-up tweak for the Definitions. The sound now is much more coherent top to bottom, with the added air or bass fill making the mids blossom and taking some of the apparent harshness off the treble. I reported earlier that the previous round of changes made most recordings listenable, well now all discs sound full and revealing enabling the listener to focus on the music and not on the quality or otherwise of the recording or reproduction system.

The transformation has turned the system into something special. IMHO.