Thoughts and Non Thoughts

For a nice Tagaytay experience, Breakfast at Antonio's is a popular destination.   It's along the main highway at the west end of Tagaytay, on the ridge side, so it has some views of Taal Lake.   The food is good, probably at the same level as coffee shops in international hotels in Manila.      There's  nothing like a waffle to satisfy one's palette after the hour-and-a-half drive from Manila. Anotonio's version of Eggs Benedict. Smoked salmon for something light and savory. And you can go with good old BLT and chips for a filling meal. Expect to spend between P400 - P700 per head. The waiting line can be 30 -45 minutes but it passes by quickly in the cool breeze of Tagaytay. Service is quick and courteous. There's also a bakeshop cum deli where you can get bread or their bacon and chorizo if you want to take some home. Recommended to try at least once.

The Denon 16611UD is a Universal Player that can play Blue Ray, DVDs, CDs and, most of all, SACDs.   I use it purely as a SACD Stereo player through its 2-channel analog outs.       It connects via a NAD304 used as a line pre-amp into a Conrad Johnson MV55 tube amp.     This is where the alchemy begins. With the superb SACD playback of the Denon feeding the CJ, it is as close to analog as digital can be.   At the end of the chain are the LSA2 Towers giving out a full range rendition.   The first time I heard SACD many years ago, I was wowed. When I heard this combination play in my system, I felt that "wow factor" again. Priceless. Cables: Acoustic Zen Reference and MIT T5 interconnects, Rega Duet speaker cables  (Shot with a Canon 6D using a 40mm 2.8 STM pancake lens)