Mark Massura is an affable salesman by day and an audiophile by night and on weekends. Based out of Chicago, over the years, he has accumulated excellent electronics, hundreds of records, as well as CDs, SACDs, and a lot of loudspeakers.
“I love speakers!” he says with a big grin. “I was 14 years old and couldn’t wait to get a real job so I could buy a pair of speakers.” Now, he has quite a few in his 1920s prairie-style house that he shares with his wife, Amy. “My son, Chad, lives in New York City, where they have great record stores,” he says.
There was a time when I didn’t have a turntable, Mark shared, “And my son asked if he could bring some of my records to college with him.” He couldn’t say no, but he never expected to see them again. However, Chad’s roommate was an audiophile. He took notice of how clean the records were, listened to them, and returned all of them in good condition. Mark was floored!
The Main System
On the front wall of his main listening room, which is located in the basement, Mark has a new pair of bi-amped Magnepan 3.6 RS planar loudspeakers with very sturdy, steel aftermarket stands to keep them rigid (he said that before their installation, they swayed slightly, compromising their fidelity), and a DBX 234 XS active crossover. The bass is driven by a Citation XX amplifier, and the highs and mids are powered by the Audio Research VS-115. There are four tall, blue semi-cylindrical absorption and defusers on the walls upfront, with two to either side of a relative’s colorful painting of a guitar under a centered garden window, with three stained glass decorative pieces that Mark’s father made for him years ago on the windowsill, while the other two hang at the first reflection points to either side on the side walls.
The listening space is situated on a concrete slab with a large floral area rug and a large worn leather couch, “that my son picked up when he used the basement as his party space,” Massura says. Originally, he had placed his two Magnepan 3.6s in their living room upstairs, but Amy said, “Those are huge — not in my living room!” Mark reported, and she suggested that he set up a man cave downstairs for his stereo equipment. The room features a suspended ceiling with acoustic tiles and fluorescent lights.
It also has two 20-amp dedicated lines, he says — one for digital, and the other for analog. To the left side of the room, on stands, he uses an Audio Research LS 27 preamplifier and an Audio Research PH2 Phono Stage. Next to them, he also features a gorgeous Clear Audio Innovation turntable, with a Grado wood body cartridge, seated on spikes atop a wooden platform fitted on a sandbox base that he constructed himself with 20 lbs. of sand in it. There’s also an Esoteric SA-10 SACD Player, Lumin D2 Streamer, PS Audio Direct Stream DAC, a Netgear GS 105 Network Switch, and a PS Audio Ultimate Outlet that he connects to his preamplifier and phono stage for vinyl playback.
To the right side behind the right loudspeaker, there’s a tall CD storage tower, and on the right side of the room, there are meticulously organized shelves stocked with rock, classical, jazz, and other genres. A reel-to-reel tape player, tchotchkes, and assorted other treasures and collectible gear.
Behind the listening space is a small garrison of speakers. Most prominent are the Infiniti RS-1s and RS-2 loudspeakers that he plans to restore someday in the future. And beyond that, in another room, there’s a large utility space.
The Second System in the Living Room
Upstairs in the living room, his smaller second system features a pair of PSB Stratus Gold loudspeakers — that had won some editor’s award years ago — flanking a media console with a smaller center channel, an Anthem AVR receiver, and an Oppo BDP 95 Blu-ray/Universal Player, with a flat screen TV mounted above it. There are two smaller surround channel loudspeakers at the rear of the room.
A Listener’s Delight
During my visit, we listen to several cuts from used vinyl records that I picked up earlier that day from the MoFi warehouse (they are liquidating their used records division), streamed content by Alice Merton and Billie Eilish, a song from an older vinyl album of Eilish’s, samples from an SACD version of the Rolling Stones’ Let It Bleed album, and a lovely orchestral piece with male and female singers. My records are pleasant, but in dire need of cleaning (Mark cleansed two of them in his Kirmuss ultrasonic cleaner and explained the process to me), while the other recordings sounded very nicely balanced and detailed from the lower end on up through the highs. Vocals sounded especially natural. It was a lovely listening session overall.
Several times during our visit, Mark commented on the solitary nature of being an audio enthusiast, and when I mentioned an upcoming listening party and the challenges of trying to listen critically when some people are talking loudly, he offered that when they actually get to spend others who share the same passion, it’s hard not to gush and carry on. He had a point. He also mentioned that he often doesn’t purchase his equipment brand new, but takes advantage of the deals he can get in the used market.
Final Thoughts
Summarizing his views on music and home audio, Mark texted the following later:
“I believe we are living in a new golden age of audio, when for the first time in history the entire wealth of recorded music is available to us at the tap of a finger. We can have Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, Ludwig Von Beethoven, and Jimi Hendrix play for us in our living rooms. I think we owe it to the music, to the artists, to play it back with the best fidelity possible.”
Sounds good to me. Thanks, Mark!