I'm in grad school right now, so stereo funds are extremely limited. Also, I move around a lot; I've lived in five different places in the past two years, so I need something small and reasonably portable.
As for a source, I just use my iPod for now, but I have a Quad 99 CDP/2 on the way, so I'm excited to hear how a quality CDP will sound.
The photo above shows my stereo in my place for the summer. I moved from Colorado to Delaware to do an internship, and I'm living in a really crappy student apartment. My system sounds alright in this setup, but would love to have better acoustics.
System edited: I've moved back to Colorado after an internship in Delaware this summer, so I uploaded a pic of my stereo in its new home. It sounds much much better now in my bedroom. My room is about 12'x18', and the B&Ws really sing in here now. I also finally bought a quality interconnect: the signal cable silver resolution. It added a lot of width the soundstage and much depth. Seems to be more neutral than my old copper monster cable too.
From what I've heard, the Panache is very good for the money. I bought a demo model, so it's $500 off of a new one, which is a great bargain. It sounds smooth and airy, throws a huge soundstage too. Sounds great through headphones too.
I just got the Quad 99 CDP-2 today. Hooked it up and it blows my iPod and MacBook out of the water. The optical in feature of the Quad is great, and I've hooked my MacBook up to it. Playing Apple Lossless files with iTunes through a quality DAC is definitely an improvement, and is the ultimate in convenience. Also, the remote that comes with the MacBook is very handy for controling music, and I can use it (abeit slowly) to access any album in my 40 day collection.
I am happy with the quality and features of my system right now for its size. I have two boxes and two small speakers. The Quad's ability to serve as an external DAC is killer, it gives me a huge amount of flexibility for my current setup since it's so easy to control music with my MacBook.
I am also a graduate student. Panache and 601 seem like a great combo to me and you have chosen a very very good CD player. Let us know how it sounds. A link to my system is next to my username.
You might condsider using your computer's hard drive as the music source rather than the ipod - if only to make it easier to control the sequence of the music, etc.
Interesting looking system (I love your speaker stands). I'm in a similar position, as I'm moving to Chicago for grad school, and I don't know what to do with both a limited amount of space, and a limited budget.
How do you like the Panache? I've heard many good things about it. I'd like to hear any ideas you have for a small system for a small room.
