The built-in DAC of a $200 AV receiver will destroy the "Magic CD." Jean Marie Reynaud speakers require a DAC with a linear power supply and a good analog output stage. Consider the Chord Qutest or the RME ADI-2 . Without a transparent DAC, the FLAC file is just data—it never becomes music.
Reynaud's signature is the elimination of "box sound." By using resonant, thin-walled cabinet construction (a counter-intuitive method compared to the dead, heavy masses of Wilson or B&W), JMR speakers breathe. They do not "punch" the bass; they bloom it. The treble, often handled by a ribbon or treated silk dome, is airy, fast, and shimmery. Magic Cd Jean Marie Reynaud Flac
But when you sit in the dark, with a verified FLAC rip of a pristine CD, flowing through a quality DAC into those magnificent French cabinets, the speakers disappear. The room dissolves. And for the duration of that album, you are no longer listening to a recording. You are in the studio. You are at the concert. You have found the magic. The built-in DAC of a $200 AV receiver
Because JMR speakers are so transparent and fast, they are ruthlessly revealing. A bad MP3 sounds broken. A muddy CD master sounds like sludge. But a great recording? It becomes a hologram. Reynaud's signature is the elimination of "box sound
If you own Jean Marie Reynaud speakers, playing a compressed file is like driving a Ferrari with flat tires. You will move, but you will not fly.