Big Picture Big Sound founder, Chris Boylan fell in love with music at an early age and discovered the joys and obsessions of hi-fi audio shortly thereafter. At age 6, he was convinced that his sister's plastic battery-operated portable record player was the best music reproduction system known to man. At age 6 1/2, he began experimenting with an acoustic isolation platform made entirely of Silly Putty to tweak the sound. Around this time, his parents also bought him his first set of drums so they could get their pots and pans back.

In the early 1980s, Chris' passion for film naturally led him to the wonders of home theater, which back then meant a Hifi VCR, a huge 25 inch TV, a receiver, 4 speakers, and an outboard Dolby Surround Sound decoder hooked into the receiver's tape loop. Chris was an enthusiastic fan and owner of the original Yamaha DSP1 - the first true home theater processor that also happened to be packed with cheesy multi-channel surround modes. Chris admits he took guilty pleasure in his misspent youth, playing punk music through the DSP1's "Cathedral" setting.

Boylan's musical taste is as eclectic as his system, spanning from modern and classic rock, to jazz, to electronica, to orchestral music and even opera. "There's nothing like Wagner's Der Ring Des Niberlungen, followed by the MFSL Ultradisc of Rush 2112, with a dab of Kraftwerk thrown in to put a system through its paces."

Current Reference System: an Eclectic Blend of Analog, Digital, Tubes and Solid State

<>Source Components:
Systemdek IIx turntable with Rega arm and Linn K-9 cartridge
Sony ES DTC-59ES DAT recorder
Pioneer Elite DV-47Ai DVD player (DVD-Audio, SACD)
Panasonic DMR-E100H DVD/Hard Drive Recorder
Samsung SIRT351 HDTV Receiver (Set Top Box)
Sony ES TCK-707ES Cassette Deck
Pioneer CLD-D604 Laserdisc Player
Pioneer Elite PDR-W37 CD Recorder
Onkyo Integra T-9090 II FM tuner
JVC S-VHS VCR

Pre-amplifier:
Outlaw Audio Model 950 Surround Sound Processor/Preamplifier

Amplifiers:
Conrad-Johnson Premier 11a stereo tube amp
Marantz AV500 Monoblocks (X3)
Outlaw Audio Model 7100 7 Channel Amp

Loudspeakers:
Martin Logan Aerius (Front Left/Right)
Martin Logan Cinema i (Center Channel)
Martin Logan Fresco (surrounds)
Outlaw Audio LFM-1 Subwoofer

Video Monitor:
Loewe Aconda 9383 38" 16:9 HDTV

Other accessories and tweaks:
Adcom Line Enhancer ACE-515
Little Sorbothane feet thingies under several source components
Radio Shack Ferrite RF Chokes around power cables and some interconnects