Downgrading... Is it possible??? Suggestions

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.

Duane, we are Ok with the fires up here thanks, now if the smoke would go away. I was thinking ATC might be a good idea. I've never heard them but it seems like guys go crazy for them. Do you know someone who owns them?

Well I tried a little experiment and brought in some Pro Ac monitors to try out agains my VR4SRs. What a letdown. They aren't even in the same realm. They sound so weak and frail and just plain grainy compared to the SRs. They even make the amps work harder, those little boxes than do the big ol SRs. It's funny when you have big speakers and get used to them you can start to think they don't have all that much bass, but when you take it away for a while and then put it back it really makes you appreciate how much a full range sound adds to a realistic presentation.

I have an Outlaw 2150 reciever that I could hook up to my SRs, but that is probably a waste of time! I don't think it's going to be so easy to give up what I am used to. Only thing I can think to do is just buy a used integrated like the Sim Audio i7 and just see how it sounds.

Thanks for the ideas all.