Downgrading... Is it possible??? Suggestions

I am doing the same thing. My system is being migrated from the living room to either the loft or a small den. My problem is that I would like to keep all of my components which means the only area of change are the speakers. Going to some stand mounted speakers will give the visual perception of a smaller speaker but in terms overall foot print and usable space, I dont think I will be gaining anything. The toughest part of my downsizing is actually being able to let go of my gear. Arrghhh this is going to be tough!

I hesitate to chime in since you have tried alot of gear i can only dream about and i've only heard a system w/ATC active speakers once. They are not inexpensive, but they might help knock down the space hog factor. I think there is a pair of scm100s posted for a good bit less than retail right now.

PS Hope you guys catch a break on the fires!

Unfortunately for you the two biggest space saving moves can have a noticeable impact on your sound quality. The VSA speakers work best when positioned out into the room. Nearly all stand mounted monitors also need to be positioned in this manner, so they really won't save you much space even if they can be a little less visually imposing. You need to look for a speaker that works well when positioned close to a wall. The speaker doesn't have to be small, particularly if its finished as fine furniture. There are several threads on that topic; you should search them out. Your mono amps are very large and your preamp has a separate power supply. That's a total of four boxes. An integrated amp would generate big space savings. You'll have trouble finding one with as good a phono section as your Whest unit.

At this point I'm thinking Rowland, Gryphon, BAT, Leben or McIntosh (tubes) coupled with Gradient, Tannoy, Guru or Klipsch speakers. Alternatively you could get a preamp w/ phono and run it directly into a powered monitor (ATC, Genelec, etc.) Place the speakers on a stand with rollers and move them in and out of position as needed.

Easy moves would be to dump the cassette. Is it really necessary? Same for the Masterlink. Record directly to the computer and burn CDs for it. Combine the A/D and D/A converters into one unit. Apogee Digital makes an excellent product along those lines.

In short, the answer is YES, it is very possible, but you will face some obstacles. You should be able to create a great sounding smaller system, but it probably won't sound just like what you have. It doesn't have to be worst.

Well I definetly did not down grade but actually upgraded the Focals/Cary SLI-80F1 is much more transparent and dynamic than the big Thiel/cj combination with smoother high end extension. I am very pleased with the result. Smaller monitor speakers and one box (all tube :)) in the cabinette. Wife is happy I am happy.......Horray.

If you want to go stand-mounted, maybe something like Merlin TSM-MXes, with a great integrated? There are quite a few good integrateds available. You could even try the Ayre if you like the Ayre you have.