Sorry about the slow reply - I was away, and must confess I forgot a little about this thread.
Exactly right - they're Studio 20s. Most were badged "SE", but those (and mine) are SEC models (C for Celebration - right at the end of production). The C versions have the round HF unit housings. I also have a matching centre speaker tucked away for a rainy day. I didn't know they ever made them, and the factory seemed to think only a couple of dozen were made.
Electronics wise...not too exciting, I'm afraid. I have a Manticore Mantra turntable (the poor man's LP12, or so it was named when new), a Marantz CD-63SE mk2 KI-Sig CD player, and a Pioneer A400 integrated amp. My budget was very, very limited for most of it, with the speakers being my one indulgence. All were bought second-hand at very keen prices. I'm aware it's not great stuff. I would have nicer kit if I had the money to spare, but I don't listen to it all that much, so it's hard to justify dropping hundreds (or thousands) of pounds on better electronics.
Having said that, there is a degree of logic in the allocation of budget. I firmly believe that loudspeakers have the greatest impact on audio quality (just look at the THD figures!), so I spent the most money there. I'm by no means denying that better electronics would be an improvement, of course...but I had to prioritise.
Leaving off-the-shelf products aside for a moment, I think that acoustic treatment of the listening room would have the greatest impact of all. I once listened to a pair of £150 bookshelf speakers in a treated room, and the (subjectively) results were stunning compared with prior experiences of even quite expensive speakers in the average living room. I think that's an aspect that the industry press barely touch upon, and it's arguably the greatest variable of them all.
...which leads us neatly back to cars. The acoustics of the average car interior lend themselves to better quality of reproduction than the average living room...until you start the engine and start moving, of course!
cheers
James
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