Welcome newcomers!

[bottleneck]

Thought this would be a good place for new people to come and say hi, tell us what kit theyve got, the music they like introduce themselves basically.

Also a place for people we may know from previous flora and forum (ahem) to come and say hi Ive joined, even if theyve got no hifi post to make right now.

Look forward to friends new and old.
Cheers

Chris

[TonyL]

I'm here!

I'm running a LP12 / Zeta / MC25FL / Microgroove analogue front end, Marantz 4100 DVD player for things digital (probably a temporary measure), a Densen Beat 100 amp and Harbeth Compact 7ES speakers.

Music is pretty much across the board; rock, pop, Krautrock, indie, jazz, reggae, African, classical, electronica etc etc etc...

Tony.

[Robbo]

Tony,

I see you have got rid of the Nait. How are you getting on with the densen? If my dpa kit goes tits up I might well try densen. I reckon it has a similar sound (maybe not a smooth at the top end though)

Robbo

[TonyL]

I see you have got rid of the Nait. How are you getting on with the densen?

I love it – I actually landed it for a fair bit less than I got for the Nait 2 and it is definitely better in many areas and no worse in others (the Nait really is a great little amp). The Beat is very free of nasties – very open and clear with bags of power and it grooves like a Naim! There is no harshness or brightness to my ears, the preamp section being totally passive adds no grain and the power amp has plenty of poke (60 watt into 8 Ohm and double into 4). I’m only commenting in the company of the Harbeths, and it is a know good match here.

Tony.

[TonyL]

PS it looks cool too...

[Robbo]

Good stuff,

Im glad you like it. Ive always loved the minimalist look of densen kit.

edit: ugh, whats that horrible looking teak thing in the top left of the picture :JOEL:

[wadia-miester]

Have to say, I've almost converted Mr softy to The Densen himself, little more work, and we'll be there, they sound good groove not too bad either

[julian2002]

i've posted my kit in the other thread but to re-cap it';s mostly naim on the music side with b&w speakers.
music wise i'm pretty ecclectic in my tastes from metalica to infected mushroom. frank zappa to nina simone and alison krauss to rush. the only genres i've not yet managed to enjoy are classical and opera and i'm going to make a concerted effort on the classical front hopefully with the help of the classical section... i didn't know gershwin would be classified as classical and i do rather like rhapsody in blue hmmm...
cheers


julian

[amazingtrade]

Hiya, I like it so far, I see its the same furom software as GH etc. Keep up the good work.

My kit:
Marantz PM6010OSE
Semi damped Sony CDPXE530 CDP
Sony STE-300 tuner
Project Debut II turntable
Eltax Monitor III's
Yamaha KX380 cassete deck
Decent £20ish interconnects
FFRC speaker cables

err thats it.

http://www.robertsonnet.co.uk/hifi.jpg

[bottleneck]

Ju,

Graham N is coming to the bake off next week, Im sure hes going to give heathens like me and yer good self an intro into decent classics...

Well, I guess we'll see about that one! lol

Thats my hope anyhow.

Also hoping for new jazz of the non-wacky variety from Ian... u never know..!!! lol

just teasing, dont throw wobbly, take me to court etc etc etc :JOEL:

[Robbo]

Im sure hes going to give heathens like me and yer good self an intro into decent classics...

As long as you like Mahler at warp factor 11:D

[Robbo]

I run a dpa/proac system, have done for many years now and still get a lot of pleasure out of the system.

My musical tastes are pretty eclectic, ranging from pop, rock, indie, electronica (including ambient and some trance). I have tried to get into classical, but it is not really my thing. Cant really get along with jazz/plink either, but maybe I have been listening to the wrong stuff.

Robbo

[wadia-miester]

WM does listen to a wide varity of music, and for quite long periods too, some classical is cool, very moving, can't do Jazz, at all, like a bit of Reggie to, most music with body and soul is good, sometimes even the odd dance track. Music is a personal thing, like kit it's played on, but as long as you listen to it, I feel it doesn't matter, and If i don't post about it, doesn't mean I don't listen and enjoy it any the less.If factI listen to about 4 or 5 hours of music a day not including the radio. Tone

[ram]

hi there, this place looks remarkably similar :)

[kermit]

thanks to michael for setting this up .
one thing though .... this all seems very familiar , but i can,t seem to put a finger on why.....:D

hang on , wheres the sheep ?

[lAmBoY]

No sheep.....but one big LAMBOY!!!!

Ta da.

Can we have a change of colour scheme please????

Its like ive moved house and the decorations are the same.

[nsherin]

Excellent work Michael, mate! Good to see the regulars too!

I listen to a wide range of music from rock/pop to classical and jazz. My system is a combination of AV/HiFi kit that I think gels well together:

My rig:

Hardware:

CD Player/CD Recorder: Sony RCD-W3
Interconnects to/from Amp: QED Qunex One

DVD Player: Pioneer DVD-350-S Multi-region
Digital Interconnect to Amp: Vivianco Co-ax
SCART to TV: ProWire Gold

Turntable: Pro-ject Debut II
Phono Stage: B-Tech - this is the next thing to upgrade!
Interconnect to Phono Stage: Integrated into the TT
Interconnect to Amp from Phono Stage: QED Qunex One

PC: AMD Athlon XP1600+ with NVidia NForce Chipset, 512MB PC2700 DDR RAM and 40/80GB Hard Drives
Interconnect to Amp: Thor 3.5" to 2 Phono
This is mainly used for sound editing when recording from vinyl

TV: Toshiba 14N21BS 14" TV

AV Receiver: Yamaha HTR-5540RDS

Speakers: Mission M70
Speaker Cable: QED Original

Headphones (gotta keep the neighbours happy at night): Sony MDR-CD480

Software:

Over 400 CDs and 100 LPs and still growing!

Short-term upgrades: New phono stage
Long-term upgrades: A pair of Mission m70s for rears, a centre speaker and maybe a sub!

Posted on the 'My Kit' thread as well.

[HenryT]

Am I a new member? It doesn't feel like it with all these familiar faces popping up in every room! :cool:

There's no problem with the colour scheme from where I sit, nice clear lines, easy on the eye, just like the old place. Although, I do have to admit, I do prefer the (common) smilies from HFC as they look much more like what they're supposed to represent! :D <--- That's a big grin? Looks more like Bugs Bunny asleep to me! :p

As for music tastes, I'd say mine are really quite catholic. I'll give anything a go at least once. Rock, pop and classical make up the bulk of my collection of about 1600+ CDs and 400 (or so) vinyl discs - I really don't know exact number as I haven't counted recently! Also have a few ethnic/world music and jazz albums, but have barely scratched the surface with these 2 genres, so always looking out for new suggestions. Electronic music from the old masters of the likes of Jean-Michel Jarre, Tangerine Dream, Art Of Noise and Mike Oldfield are favourites, but also like some of the modern ambient stuff too (e.g. Shphongle) and commercial trance.

Styles of music I'm not particularly keen on include country'n'western, rap, post 80's R'n'B (R'n'B use to mean something totally different years ago :rolleyes: ), indie pop/rock, grunge, nu-metal, teen pop or anything which is complaint or "noise" oriented i.e. doesn't really have a decent tune! Although, there are always exceptions.

Oh, and I don't mind admitting that I'm a bit partial to the odd bit or 3 of "cheesy" 80's pop. :MILD:

[Steven Toy]

Same as it was in the other place:

Boxes: Naim CDX/Densen Beat B200/B300XS/Rega Naos speakers.

Supports: Quadraspire Reference 4-tier black with black rods, Mana Sound Bases under speakers.

Wanky wires: Chord Anthem DIN-RCA, and RCA.

Cables: Trusty ol' Naim Naca5 but in short lengths that may stress Naim amps (going by their own advice.)

Mains: Still using a ring mains circuit but Music Works mains block and leads makes it all sound much better, and the mains round here is pretty quiet anyway - I used a Noise Sniffer TM to test this out...

Also: Rega Ear (Mk1) h/p amp, Sennheiser HD600s, Nordost Solar Wind i/c to hook up to preamp.

Oh, and I don't mind admitting that I'm a bit partial to the odd bit or 3 of "cheesy" 80's pop.

Me too! It's amazing how this kind of stuff sorts out wheat systems from the chaff unlike tinkly-plinky-plonk music that works on just about anything ;)

[lordsummit]

Oh, and I don't mind admitting that I'm a bit partial to the odd bit or 3 of "cheesy" 80's pop.

I could start to feel quite at home here, might go and but ABC or some New Order on in a minute:D

[ReJoyce]

Wotcha one and all, hopefully this forum will capture all that was best from GH. I am looking forward to some good discussions with you all.

My Kit at Zero Gain (http://www.zerogain.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&postid=207#post207)

Cheers

Jason

[voodoo]

Woa !

Parallel dimension or what :D
You never now, B Tone might like Jazz in here ;)

Good too see/hear the ship is still sailing albeit under different captaincy.

[HenryT]

Originally posted by Steven Toy
Me too! It's amazing how this kind of stuff sorts out wheat systems from the chaff unlike tinkly-plinky-plonk music that works on just about anything ;) Yeah, I know what you mean, if a system (especially CD based) can't play my favourite 80s tracks then its failed. Lots of "tune" interest to follow too, eh? :)

Originally posted by lordsummit
I could start to feel quite at home here, might go and but ABC or some New Order on in a minute:D It's always occured to me how much in common some of the classic 80s acts have in common with classical music i.e. that they have at least some idea of how to really develop a tune (or idea) as well as the harmonic interest. :cool:

[timpy]

Congratulations Michael and thank-you.

All looks strangely familiar doesn't it, like we've slipped into a parallel universe. ;)

Cheers

[badchamp]

Wonderfully familiar :) and kudos to Michael for opening the bar so quickly ! Many thanks.

No change in my system since the old Groovehandle days :eek: but upgrades will happen as and when affordable (or when I delude myself into thinking they're affordable :rolleyes: ) CD and pre in no particular order.

Musical tastes for me anything with passion and feeling from grunge, orchestral (romantic/ early 20thC), opera, late 60/70/80's rock and cheese (is this a new genre definition?)/ 90's rock/ HM / punk / bit of jazz/ bit of funk/ bit of rap. I do however struggle with country (although Lucinda Williams does come close I suppose) and most current "manufactured" pop. Overall though I guess I always feel most connected with 70's rock - the music of my youth :cool:

Anyway hi to all, let the future commence !

[domfjbrown]

Originally posted by lordsummit
I could start to feel quite at home here, might go and but ABC or some New Order on in a minute:D

Cheers dude! Another 80s fan then - sweet!

New Order are credible though...

Mind you, every time I hear SOS, Poison arrow, All of my heart, The look of love, The night you murdered love etc, I get a huge rush and a big cheesy grin - something about those phat 80s synth lines and overproduction really cuts through the modern synth pop drivel we get these days!

You're right too - 80s tunes are surprisiingly hard to get right on a system - any sibilance or thin-ness REALLY makes them sound bad.

I wish they'd issue all the early NOW CDs again as doubles, to match the vinyl versions...

[johnhunt]

gentlemen

good morning

[voodoo]

Originally posted by domfjbrown

I wish they'd issue all the early NOW CDs again as doubles, to match the vinyl versions...

Dom, did they not do something like this back in about 94/95 when they issued them all as double CD compilations for the years e.g. Now.....1990/1991/1992 etc. ?

I remember my sister having the 1990 one and it was excellent; "Dub be good to me" and "Nothing compares 2 U" were some of the standouts. Not exactly the same as the original compilations but a good compendium for that kind of music.

Surely loads available s/h :) .

[zanash]

Hi, chaps and chapesses.

Come on! move along there and give us some elbow room.


Oh yes and thanks for the life raft, rats leaving a sinking ship and all that.

[Joolsburger]

Morning... It even smells the same here...

[ANOpax]

I'll put my hand up as another 80's cheese merchant. There are clearly more of us than we thought. Perhaps we need a dodgy handshake to identify each other.

AFAIK, Dom has been the only one to 'come out'. But with lordsummit's revelation, I feel more comfortable owning up to this personality defect.

It's no good, Dom, trying to rationalise the stuff in terms of the production values and equipment used. Cheese is cheese. My wife can't stand the stuff although I sometimes catch her bopping along to a bit of Alison Moyet...

Perhaps we should start an 80's cheese thread in the music room.

reg

[themadhippy]

Originally posted by Joolsburger
Morning... It even smells the same here...
yea its all that 80's cheese

[michaelab]

Originally posted by timpy
DIN in = Din Out

ROTFLMAO :D

Michael.

[timbo]

Hi All

Another Groovehandle refuge.

System
Rega P3/Dynavector 10x/Creek phono stage
Arcam Cd72/Tag DAC20
Arcam A85/P85
PMC FB1's

Various bits of string tying it all together and a wobbly rack to stick it all on.

Music, anything involving guitars from the mid 60's onwards.

A bit like when at Groovehandle, I won't be joining in the rack wars or dissing stuff I've never heard, but on the odd occasion I can chip, or have something to say I will.

Nice one MichAEl.

timbo

[wadia-miester]

Reg, I feel the closet is widening :)

[ANOpax]

Blimey. Not you as well Tony?

reg

[Bob McC]

Hi all. Another welcome hi fi forum. Look forward to reading/contributing.
Lots of silver bumper Naim stuff with Linn.

Bob

[michaelab]

Welcome Bob! - Are you a refugee from GrooveHandle aswell or really new (if you don't mind my asking)? If you are "really new" then you're probably the first true new member we have! In which case, I'd be interested to know how you heard about this place for the benefit of future recruiting campaigns :D

Michael.

[Bob McC]

Michael
I'm an ex Groovehandler, current PFMer and Naim lurker!

Bob

[dominicT]

Hi you guys!

My musical taste started out with electronica and new vaew circa 1979 and this is still with me. Am now more into 70's disco (BeeGees, Tavares, Jacksons, Shalamar etc) and lots of jazz funk from 70s 80s and 90s. Really into people like Herbie Hanock, Chick Corea, Al Dimeola, Paco de Lucia, Stevie Wonder who are all virtuosos. Am also into lounge, the grooners like Tony (not WM) and Frank etc and the Jazz legends. Stray off into classical occasionally and hoping that Graham N can educate me beyond Motzart and Bach which my mother brought me up on. Am also into a lot of more recemt stuff like Air because the have the same keyboards as me and write the same stuff (did i tell you that I have a recording studio with lots of vintage stuff?), Mirwais, Daft Punk, Steps (that was a joke) the latest Blondie stuff is great, Formica Blues, Mark de Clive-Lowe (absolutely brillant dance/jazz album and he bought my old ARP synth), Badly drawn boy, etc etc etc. Pretty much everything unless it it thrash.

DominicT

[adam]

Hi everyone,saludos desde españa,


I,m another one into 80s music,especially early 80s and the 2 tone era, madness,clash etc,great memories!

[michaelab]

OK - my musical tastes. Well, all good music :D

I was brought up on classical and didn't become corrupted by "popular" music until I went to boarding school in England aged 11. I won't bore you with the whole bio but basically I now like pretty much all kinds of music.

On the pop/rock front I'm currently into alot of the ambient/chillout/lounge music that's around Nitin Sawhney, Gotan Project, Air, Bent, Koop, Tosca, Kruder & Dorfmeister, Thievery Corporation etc. I'm into a load of other stuff too though, just a random sample would be Air, Daft Punk, Tracy Chapman, Michael Jackson :shame:, Madonna, REM, Radiohead, Fun Loving Criminals, Massive Attack.

On the classical side it's mainly romantic stuff, post 1850 really and a lot of early 20th century music - Wagner, Brahms, Chopin, Liszt, Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninov, Sibelius, Elgar, Delius, Puccini, Verdi etc. Quite like some of the more recent classical music aswell but can't really handle Boulez and other seriously random avant-garde stuff.

Jazz I'm only just getting into. I guess I like 'traditional' jazz (the kind of thing you get at the 606 Club in London) and I can't really handle the more avant-garde stuff yet. Saxophones sounding like tortured cats is not really my bag :D Big bossanova fan - have quite a number of Jobim, Getz and Gilberto CDs.

I'm into "world music" (what a horrible term - ugh!) aswell. African, Latin (Buena Vista Social Club) etc. And, since moving to Portugal I've listened to quite a bit of "Fado" aswell which I quite like (in reasonably short bursts though).

That's about it.
Michael.

[TonyL]

…and he bought my old ARP synth

Which Arp did you have? I owned an Odyssey ages ago and loved it. I’ve always wanted a 2600!

Tony.

[Phil Craddock]

Hello Everyone.

I didn't manage to get on to the GrooveHandle in time. Didn't seem much point in joining just for the remaining couple of days.
A lot of members here seem to go by an alias. Hat's off I say, to all those who are using their real name - no hiding place!

In order of preference, I peruse most of the main forums - Mana, PFM but now rarely on Naim. I like to see what's goin' on without expressing fierce devotion to any one camp. Having said that, most of my gear is Naim but I spend the least time on their forum... Far too predictable in my opinion!

Phil

[Neil]

Hello,
Here from GH -

My kit: DPA E-transport and DAC to either DPA renaissance integrated (underrated (IMNSHO!) or 200S pre-power or AVI pre and monoblocs. Speakers based on Dynaudio Foccus kit (front ported contour) with kimber wire and hovland musicaps in the crossover.
Power via RA (:rolleyes: ) purifier block and hi-current powercords or DPA "the power" conditioners and clearaudio cables.
interconnects - either Kimber or DPA black slink
speaker cable - Townsend isolda

Music:

Lots - depend on mood eg yesterday crowded House/Tom Waits/Led Zep/Groove Armada/Madonna/Bing C etc..

Look forward to lurking and occasionally contributing. Glad to be here.

Neil

PS - i also have lots of music on an ipod - rather cool thingy.

[michaelab]

Originally posted by Neil
Speakers based on Dynaudio Foccus kit (front ported contour)
It seems like every week I hear about a new Dynaudio speaker variant :confused: A friend of mine in Portugal recently got a pair of Crafft's which I thought were front ported Contours!

BTW, I have Contour 1.3MkIIs (which I bought off the above mentioned friend) - and they're an outstanding speaker :cool:

Michael.

[bottleneck]

Ok, time to answer my own question..


I grew up in the 80's listening to rock and heavy metal. Iron Maiden, David Lee Roth, Metallica - you get the picture.

Went to college and discovered all sorts of new music - stone roses, the beatles, the smiths etc.

Got a good stereo, and got into pretty much everything else - like Julian said earlier, Im also still struggling with classical and opera.

Hifi preferances are valves and vinyl, but accept recording quality as the real deciding factor on my systems performance.

Biggest system mods planned are changes to my CDP, and the listening room wants knocking down and starting over (but I never will).

See you on the site.
Cheers
Chris

[liamjf]

Hi y'all, :) I'd also like to put my hand up for a sneaky liking of 80s stuff - Fgth, Propaganda (Actually anything on early ZTT), Tears for Fears, ABC, Depeche Mode, Duran Duran, etc. etc. :D :eek:
Must be my age...
Liam.

[joongul]

Hello from Seoul!

My music is mostly classical. I have recently ventured into Baroque choral music, and I hold tones responsible ;)

I use roksan turntable, 47 labs digital front, exposure amps and neat speakers.

Joongul

[GAZZ]

Hi guys, I take it this is the new hide out

GAZZ

[Neil]

Re the Dynaudios - I really like them. I auditioned the contour 1.2s and loved the sound but in my room they had to be placed close to the rear wall so the bass was a little "boomy". Most other stuff I heard and liked was way too expensive and I was thinking of 2nd hand kit and fell upon the Wilmslow Audio site. i spoke to them about things and they had the Foccus kit available - Dynaudio were pulling out of the DIY market at that time (2000) - a real pity as their drivers are great - and I bought the kit with upgraded tweeters and replaced the caps and internal wiring. The front port takes care of the boom but I am looking for a slightly "faster" bass. I was keen to listen to Proac after advice from Robbo but am still looking at present!
Neil

[davidcotton]

Hi

Yep another ex-groove person here.

Music is pretty much prog rock. Now before you all go "isn't that a bit limiting?" You could well be surprised at just how wide the boundaries that make prog are. Current bands that I'd reccommend to check out are :-

Landmarq - Thunderstruck

Galahad - Year Zero

Karnataka - A Delicate Flame Desire

Mostly Autumn - Passengers (when it gets released, I got a pre-release copy early, in the mean time check out the last studio album Last Bright Light or The Story so far to get an idea of their sound)

Glass Hammer - Lex Rex. Concept album with lots of analogue sounding keyboards. If you like yes etc then get into this lot.

I will give anything a go (hell I got into Nightwish by doing that), its just that todays "music" leaves me cold. Whether its the amount of times it gets played to death on the radio or whatever I just find most of it today really really irritating. Having said that I never go "oh its crap" just because I don't like it I just say its not my cup of tea. Although I do quite like the evanescense single atm.

Whew, sorry for such a long winded "first" post!

Cheers...

[michaelab]

Welcome david - I'll let you know when you mention a band I've heard of :D

Michael.

[iancity]

Another rat from Groovehandle, who was a rat from HFC before that!!!
Good to see the regulars here, I may not post much, but do spend a bit of time here reading the comments (SWMBO now laughing at "a bit":rolleyes: )
Hope this place goes from strength to strenght and has none of the probs GH apparantly did.
Into metal mostly (latest Metallica cd on as we speak) but tastes slowly being broadened - oh and eternal thanks to Robbo for without him I would not have the ProAcs:D

[grav888]

Hi all.
Followed a link from another forum I belong to. (MBCLUB.co.uk).
This forum makes for interesting reading.
No doubt I will pick up a few tips on sound systems here, as just starting to build mine.
Currently running a kenwood and marantz set up, but have got to improve it. (SOON)



Graeme.

[Robbo]

Hi Graeme,

Welcome to the forum, I hope you enjoy your stay here:MILD:

Cheers, Robbo

[My name is Ron]

Well hello there…

I've been paddling around on HFC for a while now (as They call me Ron – the username field was a character short, blast it all), but I thought I'd come over here and dip my toe in the water. I used to watch all the big boys splashing around and playing rough on Groovehandle, but so far you lot seem to be able to play together nicely.

I'm not going to list my kit, but I am reasonably proud of the fact that I just replaced an ancient CDP/amp/speaker set with a combo that cost under £500 and sounds simply super –_at least to my ears.

Never thought this forum lark would be my sort of thing, but I work from home and sometimes one needs a bit of distraction, and I've found this to be a throughly enjoyable substitute for the coffee-machine natter. Actually, it's better in many ways.

By the way, my name is not really Ron.

[michaelab]

Originally posted by grav888
Hi all.
Followed a link from another forum I belong to. (MBCLUB.co.uk).

Welcome Graeme - a link to ZeroGain from a Mercedes forum? :eek: I sense that Robbo, a recent new Merc owner, must have been involved :D

Michael.

[lowrider]

I enjoy all types of music, always keep the radio on with the new popular music, but my CD collection is mainly classical, quite varied, Mahler being my favourite composer, followed by Sibelius...

Nowadays I enjoy the most watching musical DVDs, jazz, opera, rock, whatever... :MILD:

My system is posted in the KIT thread, and you can see more on my web page:

http://sapp.telepac.pt/lowrider/hifi.html

http://sapp.telepac.pt/lowrider/speaker.gif

[dominicT]

Originally posted by TonyL
Which Arp did you have? I owned an Odyssey ages ago and loved it. I’ve always wanted a 2600!

Tony.

Hi Tony, I had an Omni II. It had the same filter as the Odyssey but obviously less controls but a fab string machine and bass synth. I was kicking myself as soon as I sold it and Mark started playing it but at least it went to a good home. I went and bought an MKS80/MPG80 to cheer myself up! Do you have a mark one or two? I was seriously thinking about getting one because I can't find another synth that can do brass type leads like the Odyssey, the softward version sounds nothing like the original. Great to see another synth guy here.

dominic

[merlin]

Ah there you all are you scallywags;)

Just thought I would drop by GH to check things out:eek:

Glad to see all you shining wits have found a new home, and delighted to see business as normal.

System is as before, totally satisfactory,giving time for upgrades elsewhere (car, bike, life etc!). I like to think of myself as a reformed hifiholic, so I'm afraid I doubt I will be able to add much to the forum. But hey, it's always interesting to read of man's persuit of Nirvana.

Good luck to this place and to all of you.

I thank you;)

[Robbo]

Thanks Merlin,

Welcome to the forum:D

Robbo

[michaelab]

Yes - Thanks Merlin. Welcome back! How was the cycling?

I'm sure we'll be able to get you out of that TacT gear and fall off the wagon back into hifiaholic-ness :D

Michael.

[julian2002]

merlin,
welcome back, hope you enjoyed your holiday.
even though you have jumped on the box waggon and are riding off into the sunset i hope you'll contribute to the music area of the forum as you had some interesting musical tastes that ran fairly paralell to mine.

once again welcome back and see you arround.
cheers

julian

[Sid and Coke]

Hello all,
Sid is in da new house, very nice (and familiar) it looks too, well done .
My music replay is split 60/40 between CD and LP. i tend to buy most of my new stuff on CD as i can listen to it at home, car, and work. Work and Car being really, really painfull experiences but help me to appreciate my fairly modest Home Hi-Fi that much more. If I really like an new album it is also bought on sparkly new vinyl and cherished to death. Front end is Linn LP12/Valhalla/Akito/1012Gx all very recently, fully dealer serviced and brought back to original Linn spec/parts. CD is via a current , but bargain bucket Sony DVD transport and Rotel DAC. These feed Rotel Pre/Pwr into Mission 782's. MF X-can and Senn HD580's regularly give me head. All this is powered off a DIY dedicated Hi-Fi mains spur and active filter network. I've even bought a couple of aftermarket mains leads , maybe you where right after all tony ;) .
i like all different kinds of music Modern Brit Pop Oasis, Blur, Shed Seven, etc, etc being faves. All kinds of Rock music, NWOBHM being fave, I'm also regularly watching the new rock and punky stuff on Kerrang, MTV2, etc. I hate and despise boy bands and girl bands, also pop idol types , exept for Darius Daneesh (?) as he's kinda outspoken and he plays and writes his own stuff. If you fancy a small smirk but not a full blown laugh , switch on to one of the music channels where they are playing this boy/girl band stuff then mute the sound and watch them do their dance routines, pathetic with no sound but sort of funny all the same, OK then I'll admit it is uppose some of the birds are a bit tasty :p I like some classical music but not that modern Chaotic Noise stuff ( last night of the proms 1995 -you get the (aural) picture ? I love Opera music only since Italia '90 though and only really the well known common stuff ( discovering Opera was a great magazine cw/CD series of a few years ago that i collected).
The only music genres that I really don't like are Country Music (of any flavour) apart from Ryan Adams and some modern rap/gangsta/R&B/in fact pretty much anything that would get played on MTV Base, MTV dance or Kiss satellite channels.

Tunes that are getting played to death and driving 'er indoors up the wall atm include :
Strokes- This is it ( every single track !!), Coldplay- A rush of blood , Good Charlotte - young and hopeless , Paul Weller- days of speed. Eva Cassidy's songbird and Ryan Adams - Gold, are always near the front of the record pile also.

After re-reading the first post;

Thought this would be a good place for new people to come and say hi, tell us what kit theyve got, the music they like introduce themselves basically.
edited to add:
I live in Scotland, originate from the British Midlands and have lived far and wide, including UK, Europe and the Middle East. My second Hobby is keeping tropical fish. i work as an Aircarft Maintenance Engineer working on all Airfarme , Engine , Electrical and Avionic systems but only really enjoy doing Airframe and Engines, Unfortunately all of the problems seem to be with Electrics and Avionics, 20 years in the business now and still learning lots!!!
Catch you later..

[merlin]

Awww Shucks Guys! Thanks!

The cycling was great, decided to get a power supply upgrade for the bike. Made quite a difference, I can now enjoy riding for a lot longer without rider fatigue setting in:D

Soundwise, I can now just concentrate on adding to the CD collection, the system now allows me to listen to anything ( including 5.99 cheapy compilations) and enjoy the music. I reckon that should be the goal. Although a few weeks of listening to a discman whilst eating fresh food overlooking French vineyards was possibly more pleasurable.

Anyway, I'll post the final musicmaker on the other thread for those interested in alternatives to the endless boxshifting;)

I thank you

[bottleneck]

power supply upgrade?? on a pushbike??? whats that mate, a new pair of legs? :D

Good to see you back on the forum.
All the best
Chris

[HenryT]

Hi Merlin,

Welcome back and good to see you around these parts again. :D

A nice long holiday is the best upgrade there is (for the soul as well as a good cure for audiophile-itis), and so is spending time away with nothing more than a Walkman for music. You really get to appreciate the main rig when you get back home.

I'm planning to go away for a whole month in December, looking forward to it already. :cool:

[SCIDB]

Hi Everyone,

I thought I'll put down a few things as well.


I also collect various bits of hifi. This adds to the fun element of this hobby. I also has allowed me to experience many different combinations. It also allows me to see how they tick.

I have a science /engineering background, I work at a University in the Science department.

I have always liked music from quite an early age. My (joint) first love was Ska/ Rocksteady / early Reggae. This was played alot when I was a kid. Also the radio was always on so I picked up the music of the day.

I latched on the soul, funk of the late 60s/ early 70s as well as the pop of the day. (glam rock etc). One of the best presents I got as a kid was a radio at Christmas 1973. Spent many hours listening under the bed covers. Radio 1 & Luxemberg were the first choices.

I developed a liking for 70s music taking in Disco (other first love), Soul funk, Pop, Punk/New wave etc.

As I got older, I had more money & I tried to dip my toes into as many styles as possible. And, I'm glad to say, I have done.

Being a DJ has help my musicial knowledge & my record collection. Also good for winning pop quizzes.

I have well over 12,000 records & CDs. ( I need to got all these logged) covering many different styles & artists.

I have a big Disco collection, a big funk, soul RnB (old & new) collection & a fair size Ska/reggae collection & a good hip hop/electo collection. I have a very good dance & house music collection. I have a huge 70s/80s collection. The 60s side of thing is getting bigger all the time with a good diversity of 90s modern/ recent stuff. I do have bits & bobs from the pre 60s era, some rock n roll, Rhythm n Blues, Blues & Jazz.

There is very little I really don't like. I don't listen to classical much ( I do have quite a few albums), Not too keen on a lot of country and western. I do certain Jazz styles. Prog rock can be hit or miss plus some experimental stuff can be found to be wanting. If the music has a groove, a funk, some soul, it will get the thumbs up from me.

All I need now is a bigger house. ;)


SCIDB

[MO!]

Originally posted by SCIDB
If the music has a groove, a funk, some soul, it will get the thumbs up from me.

Here here!!! :dj:

[skyman]

Hello,
I lurked a lot on Groovehandle but never got round to registering but I thought that I might as well register here :D.

I have a very modest system:

Rotel ra-01
Marantz cd4000
B&W 601s3
FFRC cables
QED Qnex2

I mostly listen to bands like Coldplay, Aqualung, Delirious? and Turin Brakes. I also like the two most recent David Gray albums :o. I am currently starting a 10 week holiday after GCSEs so I am looking into getting into some good ol' BIY maybe making a gainclone amplifier and possible some speakers if I can find the cash. :cool:

[cookiemonster]

Welcome to the forum skyman.

You'll have to post your potential amp and speaker projects and ideas in the DIY section.

cheers

[MO!]

Originally posted by skyman
Hello,
I lurked a lot on Groovehandle but never got round to registering but I thought that I might as well register here :D.

I have a very modest system:

Rotel ra-01
Marantz cd4000
B&W 601s3
FFRC cables
QED Qnex2

I mostly listen to bands like Coldplay, Aqualung, Delirious? and Turin Brakes. I also like the two most recent David Gray albums :o. I am currently starting a 10 week holiday after GCSEs so I am looking into getting into some good ol' BIY maybe making a gainclone amplifier and possible some speakers if I can find the cash. :cool:

Skyman! Hello and indeed welcome! Have you tried filling your Marantz wit blu tack yet :D

Going by the bands you list as some of your fav's, Nicolai Dunger sounds right up your street! May be worth checking out if you've not already.

[titian]

Hi everyone,
just a quick post to say that I just became a member of ZeroGain.

enjoy life

titian

[I-S]

Greetings all.

Some familiar names, some not.... Some of you will know me, many won't. Hello anyway. :D

[cookiemonster]

Welcome to the forum Isaac :D have a nosey about. :MILD:

its a safe, cosey place......


cheers

[lowrider]

Welcome back Titian... :D

[michaelab]

Originally posted by lowrider
Welcome back Titian... :D
Yes indeed - welcome back :)

Michael.

[jshack]

Originally posted by SCIDB
Spent many hours listening under the bed covers. Radio 1 & Luxemberg were the first choices.

SCIDB

Funny that,

I had a tranny, must of been 7 or so.

It has a headphone socket, and I had the phones. I just used to sit on the wall down the cul-de-sac and listen to Radio 1. Hours on end.

Of an evening, the thing used to be on speaker for Radio Luxembourg. It was the only way I'd get to sleep. Me Mam used to come in and turn it off when I'd hit nod.

So there you go. You must be thinking of "compulsive obsessive" who has had a bit of a sad childhood.

and you're probably right.

[lAmBoY]

I wasnt into trannys when I was 7 (Linda lusardy was more my cup of tea:p )

However, I did used to listen to Luxembourg and also Radio Stoke!! (Lee Finan I think). Ho hum, those were the days.

[jshack]

Originally posted by lAmBoY
I wasnt into trannys when I was 7 (Linda lusardy was more my cup of tea:p )



:)

[sideshowbob]

Originally posted by SCIDB

I also collect various bits of hifi.

I believe this is what's known as an understatement. :cool:

-- Ian

[MO!]

Originally posted by jshack
Funny that,

I had a tranny, must of been 7 or so.

soooooooooooo many jokes!

[vb58]

As I am new here I thought I had better introduce myself.

My name is Vance, I am into just about every kind of music you can think of, not big on classical or modern jazz though. I guess the most often listened to is rock, reggae and r&b.

I work as an IT manager, and am based out of Hampshire.

My system is pretty much standard flat earth. LP12/RB300/MC15 super, CD3.5/Hicap, Nac102/Hicap/Snapsc, Nap250 feeding into Dynaudio Audience 70's at the moment. Although I have and am 'sorting' a pair of Linn Isobariks.

I also have a modified 42.5 with 'upgraded' snaps, a pair of monoblocked 110's with IBL's. This currently is fed from a Sony SACD, can't remember the model, I am in the office currently.

I also love 'trying' to play bass, drums and a bit of keyboards. Amazingly I haven't had any complaints from the neighbours yet.

So that's me, speak to you all again soon.

Vance

[cookiemonster]

Welcom to the forum Vance:)

(Is it me or do 98% of the population seem to work in IT now?!)

[vb58]

Although I love the money, which I don't see enough of, my ex see's that:grrr: I have been in the IT game too long now and am looking for a way out. I am thinking of going into the pub game. Done it before, private club, forgot how much I really enjoyed it.

But yes, there are a lot of people in the IT game, but also sadly, a lot of good IT people are un-employed.

Vance

[MO!]

Originally posted by vb58
feeding into Dynaudio Audience 70's at the moment.

Now them there is some tasty speakers!

[vb58]

I do like them. They do most of the things I look for, they just don't quite fill the room like Briks. The only trouble is, I don't feel I will get the Briks sounding good in my current room.

One thing is for sure though, I am not selling them. They are one of those speakers that you upgrade something else, they just get better and better.

Vance

[HenryT]

Hi Vance! Welcome! :) Sounds like you're a one man band, do you play in a band and/or do you record your own material?


Originally posted by cookiemonster
(Is it me or do 98% of the population seem to work in IT now?!) More like 98% of this forum which isn't representative of the populas as a whole :eek:. Mind you, I do think there is a strong correlation between those who work in IT, their strong needs for music and the need for slightly higher standards of replay equipment than those who are into music but less technically inclined. There is a whole world outside of IT, but what else I'd rather being doing, have yet to decide on that...

[vb58]

Hi,

I'm not in a band at the moment, I have filled in for a bass player when he was ill recently but that's all. In the recent past anyway. I have written a couple of 'melodies' for want of a better word, the music is there, just no lyrics. Not one of my stronger points words !!

A couple of guys at work that I jam with occasionally like the music though, but it will never be top 20 material. I just do it for the fun of it more than anything.

One of the things I enjoy doing is picking a song or two from the bands that I am currently listening to and try jamming along. One thing I do have is an ear for picking out the right notes, normally anyway. Depends how much alcohol has been consummed :)

Vance

[technobear]

Originally posted by vb58
Although I love the money ... I have been in the IT game too long now and am looking for a way out. Snap! Join the club. I used to really enjoy software engineering. Since I became a systems engineer and project manager, it's all gone downhill. I can do the job and the money is fantastic but I am as soooooooooooo bored :(

Now that the hifi is upgraded and the mortgage is gone, it's getting harder to stay on at this lark, but, just like Henry, I don't know what I might do instead :confused:

Chris

[cookiemonster]

I don't know what I might do instead

I have the opposite dilemma - i have that much i would like to do - and i don't mean particular pursuits like skydiving or something, just thinking and relaxing, reading and music, and being with like minded folk (sad i know - i don't care), i am counting down to when i can realistically afford to give up work and become a professional dosser. Work is a necessary evil and a means to an end for me. Pay my taxes to be left in peace.
Hopefully not for that many more years.......

[Onno]

Hi,

Please let me introduce myself. My name is Onno.
I'm a Dutch student in mechanical engineering.
My musical tastes vary from extreme metal to... well ...er... extreme metal, mainly. Despite the horrendous sound of my preffered musical artists' pieces I've decided a few years ago to put together a decent audio system. This in order to extract as much musical information as possible from the mixture of distortion, grunting and blasting that this musical style consists of.

My system:

Onkyo Automatic turntable (I don't use this one very often as I think it might be badly set up and I might damage my records)
Marantz cd67se (main source (duh))
MF E10
MBQuart 350 s floorstanders

From what I've heard, this Flat Earth stuff appeals to me. A high priority for my system should be being able to follow individual instruments separately and hearing what is played. Things like soundstage or instrument placement or timbre don't really apply to metal that much IMHO... In that light the best upgrade I ever made might be the Ixos super spikes I put under my speakers. So much more detail and tightness in the bass regions. It makes it much easier to follow the bass guitar lines.

Upgrades to be made are the turntable and maybe amplification as I could use some more power. this means either heavier amps or more sensitive speakers. Any suggestions are welcome, though I'm on a tight budget. Second hand stuff might be an option.

[Robbo]

Hallo Onno,

Welkom op het forum!

Groeten, Robbo

[Onno]

chekc!

een hollander

[Robbo]

Nee, Ik ben Engels, Maar mijn vriendin komt uit Nederland. Ik Spreek een beetje Nederlands, maar niet erg veel:D

Robbo

[HenryT]

Hello Onno,

Welcome! :) I know we have at least one other "extreme" metal head on this forum, jshack, haven't seen him posting for a bit now. I feel you 2 might have some interesting exchange of musical ideas.

Me, I don't get much heavier than the odd bit of Metallica really.


Robbo, very impressive! :D Did your girl friend type that, or was that lapse into (apparently?) fluent Dutch totally un-assisted? ;)

[Robbo]

Henry, All my own work:D

[MO!]

Originally posted by Robbo
Henry, All my own work:D

but did it make any sense ;)

the first bit looks like something about bending angles! Iron?

"the cheese is old and MOuldy"

[michaelab]

Yes MO! it made perfect sense to me who doesn't officially know any Dutch but being fluent in English :eek: and German (my mother's German) makes it pretty straight forward:

It says:

No, I'm English, but my girlfriend comes from Holland, I speak a bit of Dutch, but not very much!

Michael.

[andy c!]

Hi,
I've found this forum through the Naim site and forums and then found this thread, so here goes:

Linn Axis Akito K9/Naim CD3.5 Hicapped
into NAC102 pre flatcapped and NAPSC
into NAP180 power into SBL's.
All supported on Mana and extensive use of Kimber interconnects and mains throughout.

Been into hi-fi's and music since I was a puppy.

Anyway, there u go....

[michaelab]

Welcome to the club andy! The flat-earth ranks seem to be swelling here :eek:

Michael.

[kasperoff]

Hello again guys. Been lurking for a while since the demise of the 'Handle'. Not been posting as I've into my music lately. I think its a seasonal thing. I've been getting out abit more in the nice weather. I'll probably be back more often in the winter. Assuming the forum lasts that long! ;)

[rob]

hi im a newbee. i recognise some ppl here from other boards a few years back,timpy and the mad hippy being a few that spring to mind.they might remember me as robgilmo. i like all sorts of music , jazz , rock , and jazz and rock.
my system is,
rega planer 3 + rb300
wharfedale 2050 a dual mono,
marantz cd 52,
nad 2040 something or other tuner.
wharfedale valdus 500 se speakers.


Rob.

[MO!]

Originally posted by andy c!
Hi,
I've found this forum through the Naim site and forums and then found this thread, so here goes:

Linn Axis Akito K9/Naim CD3.5 Hicapped
into NAC102 pre flatcapped and NAPSC
into NAP180 power into SBL's.
All supported on Mana and extensive use of Kimber interconnects and mains throughout.

Been into hi-fi's and music since I was a puppy.

Anyway, there u go....

By day a Hifi enthusiast, by night a Bangin' DnB DJ!!! "THE" Andy C?

[nak]

Hi,

I posted a little on the HFC forum, Groovehandle, and have been lurking here for a while.

My hifi interest began in around 1991. I trawled through many dealers until i found the sound I wanted.
the system comprised of,

Ariston pro 2 turntable
Rotel rc-850 pre
Rotel rb-850 power
Gale GS301 speakers (the ugliest speakers ever)
Apollo speaker stands

Very soon the convenience of cd won me over and I bought a Rotel rcd-855.

About 18 months ago i realised the tweeter of one of the gales was not working. Here was my excuse, the wife had always hated the speakers, and once, (whilst dancing very drunk) ripped part of her toe off on the nut sticking up from the speaker stands.

I wanted something that would enable me to upgrade the other parts in time and get more and more from the speakers, so i auditioned loads of speakers, including some fantastic Kochel k200 horns (too expensive), nearly bought some PMC's, but finally settled on some second hand Living Voice Auditoriums.

Earlier this year I bought a Rega p3 with rb300/Elise.

I was hoping to upgrade the amp next and would love to try a valve amp, but the budget has gone out the window as we are due to move house in about 2 weeks.

my taste in music varies from Beth Orton to Metallica, Stereophonics, Fat Boy Slim, Norah Jones etc, etc. I have dipped my toe into Jazz and Classical, (charity shop mainly).
Just after getting the P3 I went into my mums loft to check out my old Lp's and found an old WASP picture disc :eek:

cheers
nak
:)

[bottleneck]

Originally posted by nak

I wanted something that would enable me to upgrade the other parts in time and get more and more from the speakers, so i auditioned loads of speakers, including some fantastic Kochel k200 horns (too expensive), nearly bought some PMC's, but finally settled on some second hand Living Voice Auditoriums.

Earlier this year I bought a Rega p3 with rb300/Elise.

I was hoping to upgrade the amp next and would love to try a valve amp, but the budget has gone out the window as we are due to move house in about 2 weeks.


:)

Hi Nak

welcome to the forum!

you'll find loads of nice people here, and a few with valve amps and living voice speakers too! (namely me, and SCIDB (Dean) who has OBX's lucky chap)

When youre in the market for a valve amp, do pop up a post on the forum, and Im sure you'll get lots of good advice. Ive also heard some good solid state amps into the LV speakers too... but matching is critical .... as is speaker placement... have you got yours sounding their best yet? It took months for me!

All the best
Chris

[nak]

Hi Chris,

thanks for the welcome!

Speaker placement is something I have been playing around with lately.
The room is only 12x14 foot (into a bay) and the speakers are on the edges of the bay. (i'd post a photo but I have no webspace). Bringing them out about 50 cm into the room helps enormously with clarity, bass (not so much boom) and soundstage depth especially.
The place we are moving to, (fingers crossed) has a couple of options regarding rooms.
Living room 14x18 foot.
Spare room 12x13 foot (this room is either mine for the hifi or the daughters play room, can't decide yet)

Can't wait to get up there and start playing around:D

regarding the amps, i'd like to try the Sugden A21, CR developments, Monarchy SM70, etc.

thanks again
nak
:)

[Marco]

Hi, people :MILD:

System is as follows:

Naim CDS2/XPS2

NAC52/135s

Spendor SP100s in Rosewood

All on Phase 4 Mana (2 x 4-tier amp racks with Reference Top on each rack/2 X Sounstages under each rack). Spendors are on custom made Mana stands (also @ Phase 4)

Also Thorens TD125/SME3009MK II/Denon DL103 + ShureV15 TypeIII. Nakamichi DR10.

Standard Naim cables except for Mana Stealth interconnects.

Dedicated mains supply for above with seperate spurs for each component via un-fused hard-wired hydras.

Music preferences: Rock/R&B/Dance/Jazz/Light classical/Female vocalists. Hate chart music with a passion.

Here to have some fun and be good :p

Later,
Marco.

[Alex S]

Running out of Fora, Marco?

[Marco]

No, Alex. What makes you think that? Just thought I'd give this place a go.

Some people in the know apparently rate it very highly. It's nice to bump into you here.

Marco.

[The Devil]

It's a great forum for lovers of fine international foods & music.

[Tom Alves]

Did someone mention food. What's on offer. It'd better not be MacDonalds

[Tom Alves]

Oh, I see, Lava Bread. Hmm, I'll pass

[The Devil]

Popular everywhere.

[Goomer]

Just noticed this thread, so....hello!

My system is a mish-mash of brands, chosen for their abilities and their price at the time of purchase.....:- Linn LP12/Syrinx PU3/Goldring 1042; Marantz DV4100OSE(used as CD transport); TAG McLaren DAC20; Musical Fidelity X-LPS; Nakamichi AV10; Yamaha NS300(stereo/front); Mission 77C1(centre); Mordant-Short MS20(rear); various interconnects/cabling

Musical tastes are more of a mish-mash than my system, chosen, again, for their abilities and price at the time of purchase(I find that I'm more experimental with 'new' music when it only costs 50p....):Stevie Wonder to Sepultura, Joni Mitchell to Jeru the Damaja, Faith No More to Furtwangler....

All the best,

Goomer.

[MO!]

Hello and welcome Goomer :D

(I find that I'm more experimental with 'new' music when it only costs 50p....)

I like your style! Quite a few of my last purchases have been (though not quite 50p) second hand cds for about £4 or so. Much less of a "risk" when trying something new. And even MOre satisfying when it's better than hoped :)

Out of interest, is the "various cables" comment down to not rating cables much, or can't be arsed to type them up? There's a good mix of both believers and non believers here.

MO :D

[Goomer]

Out of interest, is the "various cables" comment down to not rating cables much, or can't be arsed to type them up?

Sorry about that - was a bit short of time when typing this originally.

Cables for the system are:

FFRC cabling to stereo/front speakers(thank you, Isaac)
Gale (189?) cable for centre and rears
QED coaxial from DVD to DAC, Black Rhodium RCA's from DAC to amp
QED optical from DVD to amp(H/T)
QED RCA's from X-LPS to amp
Cambridge Atlantic to subwoofer(Gale Sub10)

Suggestions for possible improvments would be welcomed, as I think cabling could be my next change.

Cheers,

Goomer.

[penance]

Originally posted by Goomer

Suggestions for possible improvments would be welcomed, as I think cabling could be my next change.

Cheers,

Goomer.

speak to Zanash about his DIY interconnect the 'L'argent'
well worth the money and effort to make

my review of L'argent -- http://www.zerogain.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=600

[Goomer]

Thanks, penance, for the interesting link. I'd been thinking about the DIY route as I've seen mention in other places of great success with homemade IC's, although I've been hesitant because I've not used a soldering iron in about 15 years(and hadn't used one much before then!).

I'm in the process of moving house at the moment but as soon as I'm in, and have my workshop(or shed as it's commonly known :lol: ) sorted, I'll get on the case.

Cheers,

Goomer.

[dex]

OK Guys and Few Gals here's my stuff,

The Music (The music has got to be first)

Pink Floyd (Erm where's my joint?)
Mahler (Its very quiet,....... SHIT THAT'S BLOODY LOUD)
Black Sabbath (It's just Sabbath!)
Judas Priest (Loudest Band Ever Live 120b @ 50m from stage 1984 Maple Leaf Gardens), ahhh if only I had the power.
Motorhead (Not as loud as everyone thinks, more kind of..erm.. noisy)
Captain Beefheart (Very wierd)
Fun Lovin Criminals (Very bass heavy, room shakingly good)
Roger Waters (See Floyd above).
Blah Blah Blah



The Kit

Transport --- Teac VRDS-T1
DAC --- Teac D-T1
Amp --- Nad C-370
Speakers --- Mordaunt Short 25i Pearl

Cable --- Shitty Gale Xl310 Biwire (upgrading soon) (
Interconnect --- QED QNect2 (upgrading soon)

Mains Cable --- Who gives a shit, cos theres about 12m of unshielded, dubious quality copper running from the socket, through the wall to the mains inlet supply to the house (Fuse Box).


The Room

Lets not forget that the room is like the inside of a big speaker cabinet, the dimensions do affect the sound.

In this case 4.5m x 4.0 m (Small enough to let the MS25i Pearls do some trouser flappling..... just, with some helpful room nodes)@ about 40hz (Fun Lovin Criminals >> Loco >> Run Daddy Run) EEEEHHAAAA

[andy c!]

Dex,
You need to sort your mains cables, dude!
It does make a differance IMO.

Regards,
andy c!

[dex]

Hello Andy C,
I will try the mains cable thing soon, but I still think it's a slightly dodgy money making scheme. (Apart from the HF and transient filtering, protection thing etc)

P.S. I do have a Beng (hons) In Engineering with Microelectronics, so I do understand all the basic electrical and mechanical principles. So I still say "What about the 12m or so of unshielded bog standard copper cable that runs through the walls of your house to the mains inlet?"

Anyway I'll try it out and post the results. (Not here, cos it's the wrong place). Maybe I'll start a myths and legends of Hifi thead, but with some kind of scientific input and debate.



Happy Listening
Dex

[ditton]

after months of lurking, I register. My initial interest, 12 months ago was AV: going wide-screen, DVD and 5.1, and then I started listening to music again and went on a HiFi upgrade. That was on AVforums where I got some useful advice, inc that from some leading lights on this place. I now also do the AVTalk thing.

but to where I am now, in terms of HiFi kit, of which all but speakers have been bought second-hand or refurbished over the past nine months, thanks to excellent advice:

Meridian 602 CD Transport
AudioSynthesis Dax Decade
AudioLab 8000S (in power amp setting)
into
Celestion Ditton 15s (as purchased by me in 1976)

For AV, I have
Toshiba SD510 dvd player/Denon AVR2802 amp/Tosh 32ZD26/Gallo Micros as L/R front and Gallo D'Avia centre + Velodyne VX-10 sub-woofer, with the Dittons acting as AV surrounds (with pre-out from the AVR2802 into the AudioLab).

I use a s/h fully built 4 tier Mana stand.

I'm now enjoying the music, but reckon that Santa might bring me some replacement speakers.

[michaelab]

Welcome ditton - I recognize the nickname from AVForums :)

I actually followed a similar route to you to "get back" into hifi. It all started when I decided I needed a widescreen TV. That led to AV forums, which led to a 5.1 surround system and then - "hello" what happened to the music? And so began the never ending quest :D

Michael.

[ditton]

thanks for the welcome. as you know, you were among my 'advisors' when I started wondering. and as you can see I acquired a dac, and a top transport. and I'm enjoying the result.

[lowrider]

Hi ditton, good to see you here... :D

[ditton]

and Hi to you Antonio.

as you can see, I've stayed with an integrated AV amp - time, exprience & money may all build to give me the wherewithall to move on that front - and AV-Talk is now my source of advice.

on the HiFi side, along with public domain help from the likes of yourself (and the Sounddog, etc), I have had a lot of help/confidence from GaryG, as well as the likes of the HiFi buffs on AVT. However, I'm now, IMHO, into the tweaking and HiFi-specific.

Obviously, I must pay attention to those who are prompting the retiral of the Dittons - and theefore also look at the active speakers side. Plenty of opportiunity for auditions I hope once our living room has been refurbished: wooden floors, central carpet etc.

Peter

[lowrider]

If ever I start a new system, highly unprobable, as mine now sounds just as I like, I will try very hard to find active speakers that sound my way, I am a bit fed-up with the forest of cables behind my rack...

I have done some hifi-specific tweaking, mainly mains related, since I was banned from AVF :o , also replaced the TAG with a Krell Showcase when they released those funny news... :JPS:

[Brock_Landers]

Hi all, have just found this bastion of knowledge at last.

I come from a mainly AV background and have a very modest setup at the moment.

I came here to see some views on the pro-ject one expression turntable but see there are none:( I am looking to purchase a turntable at the very budget end just to make use of the slew of vinyl I have from my DJing days. My current "setup" is as follows and is decidedly low end compared to you guys, but Xmas IS coming........

Yamaha RVX795a AV receiver
Pioneer DV535 DVD player
OLD and I mean OLD Denon DVD player that I inherited from my dad and used in the PC room for 7 years with a twenty year old Technics amp
Mission series 700 5.1 Speakers
Cheapest Eltax sub that you have never heard of.:rolleyes:

I'm afraid thats about it..........:( Serves its purpose I suppose.

Also, I work for a large AV retailer (You wouldn't think so with my kit tho........)

Cheers, Brock.

[MO!]

Hi Brock :D

Welcome to the forum!

I wasn't aware denon were even making dvd players 7 years ago! :confused:

I'm not sure if the Xpression has been discussed much here, but i'm sure if you start a thread asking about it and for information on other possible turntables in a given budget you should get some useful advice. A lot of members here buy lots of kit second hand and may be able to help you pick up something with even MOre sound per pound like that!

I use the Pro-Ject Debut II Phono. For the MOney it seems a bargain. I'm not too clued up on tt's and haven't much experience to rate/compare it against other decks. But, it gives me a vinyl option, and sounds good to me.

I'd imagine the Xpression, complete with carbon fiber arm would be even better!

[Zoomer]

hello all,

just saw this and though i would introduce myself.

i think a lot of can be known by peoples music tase so here is mine in breif.
I would say music is one of my biggest passions as i guess it is with most of you, i have a collection of about 150 / 200 albums ranging from Massive attack, Dido, Disturbed, Pink Floyd, Eminem, muinistry of Sound and Bob Marley. so a very varied collection in my eyes.

i hope that give you an idea.

[MO!]

Hi Zoomer.

Welcome to the forum!

Strange! aMOngst others i've today listened to Massive Attacks 100th Window. Bob Marleys Kaya and Exodus. And Now have Pink Floyd on!!!

Good taste mate ;) Well, apart from Dido who's suffering from over exposure me thinks. I've heard her latest so many time now I cringe!!!

[polaco]

Hello all
I've posted a couple of times so I thought I'd introduce myself since I've been reading posts since day zero of this fine forum. I have an AV setup, toshiba dvd player, denon receiver, sonus faber speakers and rel sub, not a purist setup by forum standards but I enjoy it very, very much. I'm not mentioning the cables I use, either :D
This (http://homepage.oninet.pt/646mnp/music/) is my cd collection courtesy of Music Collector (http://www.collectorz.com) cataloging software, classical music not included because I'm still deciding wether to catalog it by composer or by interpreter (Is this the correct word, I mean the person/orchestra/ensemble who plays it - michaelab, you use this software, what works best?). I'm quite new to classical music, anyway.
I'm currently deciding if I'm going back to a stereo setup together with the AV rig, sharing the speakers, I'd need to buy some power amps and a stereo preamp, and also a cd player, the speakers are keepers, or to spend big money on a good AV processor and DVD player, power amps also, this is the movie/music fan dilemma.
Anyway, glad to be here, you are a friendly and knowledgeable bunch.

[michaelab]

Welcome to the forum polaco - another Lisbon member :cool:

I haven't done my classical music yet in Music Collector for basically the same reason. I'd like to classify them by composer but quite a lot of classical records have more than one composer on them so which do you choose? It's compounded by the fact the CDDB tends to put "Artist" as the conductor or soloist rather than the composer or 'main' composer on the CD.

All that means that in order to classify my classical discs will take a lot more manual editing of the data read in from CDDB :(

Michael.

[Zoomer]

Originally posted by MO!

Good taste mate ;) Well, apart from Dido who's suffering from over exposure me thinks. I've heard her latest so many time now I cringe!!!

thanks,

I must agree the latest single she has out isnt to my liking that much.
Although on her new album there are at least 3 great tunes.

[Gambit]

Bonsoir all. A few of you may know me from other fora, but new to here.

I'm currently running a Cyrus CD8, Pioneer A717 and some Dyn 42's with Chord IC's, but planning to change the Pio for a Pre X (PSX'd) and a pair of Mono X's and the Dyns for Totem Model One's.

Musically, I'm into it all but rock would be my undisputed favorite, bit of metal, bit of D+B/trip/Techno, bit of everything really.

[Jeremy]

Hi forum.

How are everybody. I have been registered and read this forum from day 0 and have up till now not posted.

So now I will.

I have been working in hifi industry as salesman in a branch of Sevenoaks hifi for 4 years and currently in limbo while im at university, but Sevenaoks up here already have my details and should be working there shortly.

Im also a Cyrus nut. Owned more boxes then I have fingers and toes over the last 5 years or so.

Hurrah.

I also live when not at home in the same town as the great (will that win me points?) wadiameister.

[michaelab]

Welcome to the forum Jeremy. There does seem to be a "South West" concentration on here for some reason :eek:

I was going to add something about WM and gravity but perhaps I shouldn't :D

Michael.

[MO!]

Originally posted by michaelab

I was going to add something about WM and gravity but perhaps I shouldn't :D

Michael.

LMAO!

[PeteH]

OK, I've finally admitted defeat and signed up - hello everyone, and hello again to the HFC people :)

[lowrider]

Hello Pete, welcome... :beer:

[rodrat]

I am a nearly fifty something who has rekindled his interest in filling the living room with boxes that plug into the mains. My system consists of:

LP12/valhalla/cirkus
Ekos one
K9 plus a knackered Troika
MF LPS

Linn Genki

Bryston BP20
Bryston 4B ST

PMC OB1's

VDH ultimate the first cd to pre
VDH the second balanced XLR
VDH Revelation speaker cable

Sitting on a Stands Unique sound tower plus top isolation shelf.

AV setup

Toshiba 36" widescreen TV
Sky +
Toshiba 210 DVD
Yamaha E800
Mission M73 front/M72 rear/M something centre
Cheap QED cable.

Other stuff:
Aura pa200's x 2, Aura pa100's x 2, Aura ca 200, Aura CDP100 and Aura tu80 tuner. Yamaha 420 av amp, pioneer 801 cd, Rotel 850L. Pair of Bose 901's circa 1975.

Intended changes are: dedicated mains spur/mains plugs. PMC db1 for rear av & LB1 for centre.

[MO!]

good to see you over these parts peteH. Don't see it as admiting defeat. Just an upgrade to your forum choice ;)

Welcome to rodrat! Another LP12 has entered the building! :beer:

[MJSM]

Hi everybody,

I've been seeing this Forum a fair bit recently, so I decided to mosy on down and have a look (first impressions are that it looks a bit like another Forum which I look at regularly) - no guesses why eh !!

Anyway, I'm almost too old for HiFi (heh heh) but I just don't know when to quit. The job takes me all over the world at the moment, and I have not heard my setup together for a loooong time. (have bought some of it in my travels so have not heard some of it at all !!, I can't wait to get back home for a while)

Nice to meet you all, hope to have some fun (and learn something too hopefully).

Cheers
Mike

:JPS:

System (I think) -
LP12/Ittok/Denon DL110
NACDP3.5
NAC72/Snaps
NAP250
SBL's

[MO!]

Hi Mike, and welcome :D

Yet another LP12! Impressive location you have there!

:beer:

[wardth]

Hi Everybody

Living down here in Brighton, what else could I have but Audio Innovations??

Used to know various people who worked there "in the good old days" when they made decent kit.

It's not the best but it IS valve and does sound quite nice.

Love my turntable. The Gyro is a classic, fantastic build quality, outstanding service and support etc etc. Even non - enthusiasts love it!

The speakers are something a bit different. How about the following spec: 96dba 350w power handling!!
Not a great deal of bass considering they have 12" drivers but what there is is lovely and tight and very communicative. mid and treble are absolutely peachy now I've tamed the amp a bit by fitting 5881's instead of "timebomb" EL34's!

Had everything including REL, Audio Note, Snell, Sony, Revox, Marantz (big stuff), EAR, Linn, Naim (yawn!), Rega blah blah blah.
Got a decent AV setup: Pana 42" plasma, KEF KHT's, top line Sony DVD, Sky+ etc. Gets more use than the Hi-Fi and those little Kef's are magic - probably the biggest bargain in audio.

Trouble is they are BIG and my better half Jane kinda gets the hump if I leave them out so...........when I want to do some serious listening i bring out the stands, heave the 30kilo monsters onto them and plug em in. Trouble is once thats done, i don't really have the energy to put on a record...............!!!

I'll post some piccies if I get the chance.

[skp574]

Hi y'all,

Just come over from Cyrusunofficial.co.uk. I was a fellow Cyrus die-hard, but ditched it all and moved to another level.

I currently have a Krell KAV-400xi integrated and an Audio Research CD3MKII.

That's enough for now. If anyone has any comments on how to improve this setup further, I am all ears...

[michaelab]

Welcome to the forum skp574. I'm considering a Krell KAV-400xi myself, what speakers are you using it with?

Michael.

[skp574]

I have a pair of B&W 805 signatures.

[punit]

Hello all

I've been lurking on these boards for a few days and thought I'd finally post. Seems like a nice place.

I'm afraid I'm a little bargain-basement compared to many (all?) of you seriously audiophile-types here, but if you can bring yourselves to comment, I would really appreciate a little guidance.

My system is mostly 6-8 years old. I am holding off the upgrade itch because I actually quite like the current set-up and worry that if I change one piece, I'll throw off the balance and feel like I need to replace everything.

I have/had:

* [Marantz CD63] connected with a Chord Company Cobra interconnect to a
* Cambridge Audio DACmagic 2i connected with Cambridge Audio Studio Reference interconnects to a
* Musical Fidelity X10-D connected with CA Studio Ref interconnects to an
* Audio Innovations Alto (mkI before they went belly-up and bought by Richer Sounds)
* Sony DMS-JE520 minidisc recorder (also connected to the DAC)
* Denon TU 260L
* TDL RTL2 speakers

However, my 1.5 year old son managed to break my Marantz CD63 and I have recently replaced it with a

* Marantz CD6000 OSE LE

The thing is, I actually found the CD6000 running through the X10-D sounded better than the DACmagic sound (I was stunned as I really believed the DACmagic to be the very best £150 I ever spent!). Could this player actually have a better internal DAC?

I actually like the slightly warm sound of my set-up. I don't ever want for more volume, so I guess 35W amplification is fine for me... however, I do sometimes think I might like to upgrade my speakers in order to get a teensy bit more bass. I don't want to add a sub-woofer.

Can anyone either slap me about a bit and tell me that all is well in hi-fiville, or guide me in the direction of a reasonable upgrade. I have been tracking some Acoustic Energy AE109 speakers on Ebay. Oh yeah -- I really want the speakers in rosewood to match my other furniture and rack (Sounstyle something or another), which rules out a lot of current models -- everyone's into light wood right now!

[wadia-miester]

Hello & welcome to Z/G universe Punit, we're all a bit different from your average hifi fora' we like to think, not evey thing is about the more expensive gear, there is a diverse mix here.
I'm sure if you post your request as a seperate thread in the hifi section, some of the good guys will be only to pleased to offer some advice :) Wm

[punit]

Thanks WM... I'll do that!

[Remo]

Hi

Perhaps I'd better stop lurking and contribute something.

First HiFi [well audio, anyay]: Pioneer PL12D, Ortofon something, Celestion Ditton 15s and [probably] the worst amp known to human man - Metrosound ST40.

Graduated eventually to the Linn/Naim thing: LP12/Ittok, Naim 32.5/250, Isobariiks.

Went via: Naim CD2 and Krell KAV250 pre/power.

Now with: Sony SCD1, Audio Research LS16/II pre & VT100/III power, Martin Logan SL3s, Atlas Navigator balanced interconnects, Transparent MusicWave speaker cables.

Favourite guitarists: Jerry Garcia, Richard Thompson, Ry Cooder, David Lindley, Jorma Kaukonen ...

My system is good at detail, smoothness, tonal range, imaging ... I still find myself putting on favourite CDs and hearing stuff that I never knew was there. But ... the funny thing is there's almost too much music. With all my earlier systems my favourite bits [guitar playing, mostly] always stood out. Now I find myself listening to the bass player, or the keyboards, or even once [God forbid] the drummer.

What I need to know is: Is this normal? And what should I do about it?

[MO!]

Hi reMO :D

Good of you to step up and start posting :D

Seems you've gone through a veriety of different sounding kit to get where you are at the MOment!

I find MOself sometimes dong as you say, following the various individual instruments, perhaps even analysing and disecting the tunes. Quite geeky really and not healthy for normal listening I think! Best to try and listen to the whole. The odd thing is, IMO this is alMOst always what happens with mini system type set ups. The whole sound plods along. Then when you get into "hifi" you start to notice subtleties and details. But when it's right with *hifi* and you've got all the MOre detail, and yet you can still enjoy the music itself :D:D:D

[ergman]

Hi
Only came across this site and you chaps today, was just searching comments on Manger transducers and found a little discussion on here, some info incorrect so I thought I would join.
Will be happy to try and answer any questions or queries on Manger transducers etc, will call back as often as I can.

Regards
ergman

[HenryT]

Hi ergman,

Welcome to the forum! :)

I'm sure they'd be interest amongst members/readers here if you started up a separate discussion topic to point out some of the disinformation or inaccuracies you felt needed addressing re the discussions thus far on here re the Manger drivers.

[A0S]

Greetings All,
I have been lurking for a few days and have decided this is such a cool forum I had to join.
My kit is a Sonneteer Byron CD player, Sonneteer Alabaster amp & Quad 12Ls.
Cables are Chord Chorus and Odyssey.
Isotek Minisub mains filter and Isotek mains cables.
The speakers are on Sound Anchor stands and the equipment is on Clearlight RDC platforms.
I have pretty diverse musical tastes really, everything from Classical to Heavy Rock.
I am looking forward to posting a lot more in this forum.
Andrew

[greg]

Hi all...
I've been mooching here on and off for a couple of weeks, and posted a few incidentals last few days. I must say I do get a good feeling from what I have read. An interesting blend of people, levels of kit and of course opinions.

A little (essay) about me:

shoestring budget for many years so kit was nothing to write home about... culminating in '95 with a pair of technics SL1200 (I was a dj for many years) an Audiolab 8000A and a pair of Kef 101B then Kef Q90 (wow). Student days and no cash but served its purpose. Sold the whole lot to pay off a debt... had 3500+ records (then) and no system to listen to them (boo hoo, cue violins). Carried on buying and storing music nevertheless.

Rekindled my genuine interest in hi-fi in 2001 and started looking around again. Bought another pair of Technics (very limiting I know, but is simply a dimension of me and my music which is non-optional - most of my tracks are 12s and EPs and just demand to be mixed and mixes recorded for friends) then having been a hater of Cyrus I was surprised at the curiously effective pairing of the Cyrus 7 with the little Ruark Epilogue II so a 1K budget for amp speakers and s/cables (originally Chord Rumour II) finished a typical, basic setup.

Then I wanted to take things on a bit so visited a few shows, auditions, etc. I spent a fair while looking and demoing digital sources and became a SACD convert, so eventually settled on the Sony SCD-1 as a starting point for the next stage... so a to a current list:

Sony SCD-1; Techincs SL1210 Mk3 (pair), w/Ortofon Nightclub carts, Vestax PMC 15, Pro-Ject 1 Phono Stage; Cyrus 7/PSX-R; Ruark Epilogue II on Epilogue R stands, REL Q200E; M-Audio Audiosport Quattro as interface to my PC for recording at 24-bit; Trichord Research Powerblock 500, Ecosse Reference Maestro MA2 interconnects, Townshend Isolda s/cables, pair of Soundstyle XS105 shelf racks. Standard mains and main leads. Pretty small room, not great location for speakers (either side within an 8 foot wide bay window)

Current system opinions: forward but not bright, clean and pretty deep bass, ok dynamics, detail ok, reasonable timbre, ok with a range of music. soundstage not great (partly to do with speaker loc.), lacking in attack and impact, hardens with volume, not "believable".

Short term objectives:
1. Sort out mains wiring and experiment with mains leads
2. Investigate what the Cyrus 7 really sounds like and look at replacing amp and main speakers in the process.
3. Get SCD-1 modified
4. Look into 3rd "proper" TT

Music - fairly mixed really: Morgan Geist, 4 Hero, Led Zep, Miles Davis, Deep Dish, Underworld, Mobb Deep, Red Hot Chillis, David Byrne, Eva Cassidy, De La Soul, Herbie Hancock, Peter Tosh, Radiohead, Derrick Carter, Roxy Music, Black Sabbath, Shostakovich, Hendrix, John Lee Hooker, Pharoah Sanders, Mary J Blige, John Digweed, Bill Withers, Roy Davis Jnr, Joni Mitchell, James Brown, Beethoven, DJ Pierre, Larry Levan, Orlando Julius, Lil John, Roy Ayres, Johnny Cash, John Coltrane, Talking Heads, Max Romeo, the list goes on and on...

My challenge: I am looking to evolve a system that will allow me to play deep house, hip hop and dub/roots reggae loudly with control and power and full (not boomy) deep bass AND play jazz and folk with presence, timing, rhythmn, detail and air AND play funk, latin and african music with pace, control, rhythmn and separation AND play classical music with authority, separation, good soundstaging and strong musicality AND play rock with dynamics scale and passion Oh and I want the moon on a stick and to turn lead into gold.

Any help, advice or ideas will always be appreciated and considered and anything I can offer in return will be provided... (blimey that's a tome).

New Years Cheers
Greg

[midlifecrisis]

updated..

Not entirely a newbie as I came on when the forum first got going, but thought I'd reintroduce myself after an absence.. I like the variety of debate on this forum (and also the fact that it actually works - unlike HFC which just asks me to relog on every time I try and post...).

In terms of kit, I've got two rigs. One is my 'serious' rig (B&W nautilus 802, Krell SACD Standard, Thorens t/t, Michell Alecto pre, Michell Orca monos, MF X-CAN, XLP, XPSU,), the other is one I have in my home gym (Mission M53, Pioneer DV656a, Marantz pm 7200). Must admit of late I've spent more time on the gym one than the big one, though I'm not too happy with the new 7200 amp.
And..my best sounds currently come from behind my head in my recently acquired Elise S when I plant my right foot...

[Goomer]

Welcome to the forum from me, midlifecrisis.

However, having bought my son a drum kit for Xmas I'm not sure I'll be able to distinguish a Bush from a Wadia in a couple of months time...

Good luck with that - I'd recommend eardrums for the pair of you now: for you for sanity and for him to prevent tinnitus. If you or your son are ever in Norwich(boo...hiss....)and are interested, may I suggest a trip to the (newly renamed) Norwich Drum Academy on Ber St? Top gear, and the guy that owns and runs it also teaches, with rehersal studio on site.

though I'm not too happy with the new 7200 amp

Sorry to hear about this - I don't know the amp or speakers so can only suggest the usual: experimentation with placement; adding/removing mass from the speaker, etc. Anyway, good luck with it and welcome to zerogain.

Goomer.

[Philip King]

A lurker comes out....

Yes after spending an unhealthy amount of time in the shadows here over the last few weeks :latte: I feel that I must contribute/confuse or generally comment on the few topics here that I feel able to :newbie:

I'll post a photo of my kit up on the other thread in while, but as a taster it goes a little something like this;

Source - Wadia 20 Transport
DAC/Digital Volume Control - Wadia 25
External Active Crossover - Harmony Design
Power Amp - 4 out of the 5 channles of a Rotel 1095
Speakers - Hard wired Roksan Ojan3x
I/C Cables - Cable Talk Broadcast 4
Speaker Cable - Cable Talk 4.1

Greetings to all,
Philip

[sideshowbob]

Originally posted by A0S
My kit is a Sonneteer Byron CD player, Sonneteer Alabaster amp & Quad 12Ls.


Nice to see somewhere else here with Sonneteer. That makes three, I think (Alco has a Campion and I have a Byron CDP).

-- Ian

[A0S]

Hi Ian,
The Byron is great isn't it? What amp have you got?
Have you looked at the Sonneteer site? - dreadful. Thank god their equipment is better:D
Andrew

[sideshowbob]

I'm using active ATCs and an ATC preamp with mine, but I've heard both the Campion and the Alabaster amps and like them both very much. Very happy with the CDP as well, Sonneteer are definitely an underrated brand.

Hadn't looked at the Sonneteer site for a while - I see their latest amp, the Orton, has just been launched. Even has remote control... No indication of price, but more expensive than anything else in their range by all accounts. Must try and get a listen to one at some point soon.

-- Ian

[Johns Naim]

Greetings All

Firstly may I say thanks to both Merlin and Lowrider for their welcome :)

I'm a 'newbie' here, and it indeed feels like a nice place to be.

I'm a somewhat irregular poster over on the Naim forum, which is where I found the link to this site, however I do enjoy reading of others experiences with HiFi, HT and music, and always try and contribute if I feel I may have something worthwhile to add to a discussion, or perhaps a topic of interest to raise.

Heh, I'm neither a flat-earther, round-earther, or one of those much maligned golden eared audiophiles, but rather one of that seemingly vanishing breed amongst the HiFi/HT set, a musician per se - even if only in an amateur sense at the present time, - and it is from this perspective that my interest and knowledge of HiFi has grown over the years.

Far be it for me to risk boring you with a long diatribe of all the kit I've owned over the years, suffice perhaps to list my present incarnation of personal audio 'nirvana'

I'm principally using Naim for my stereo/music system, and have added on some Sony AV products and integrated them with the Naim for the purposes of satisfying the burgeoning and ubiquitous HT arena :MILD:

My 2 channel setup is from the Naim 'olive' series - about 8 yrs old now without serious change, or feeling the need to, so I assume it's doing something that I continue to like. :D

The 2 channel setup then, is:

Naim:

CDI/72/Hi-Cap/180/SBL's - all using standard Naim interconnects, sitting on a Standesign rack (yes I know there are better!)

Additionaly, there is an Arcam tuner, and a Sony Wakman Pro tape deck in the rack, using Chord interconnects. And not to neglect vinyl, I have a mint Thorens TD125 Mk11 turntable w/SME 3009 series 11 arm, damper kit, and Shure V15 111 cartridge.

On the HT side of it, I have added/integrated:

Sony:

DVPS9000ES DVD/TAE 9000ES AV processor/ TAN 9000ES multi-mode 5 channel AV power amp/SLV 2000 VCR, all sitting on a Sound Organisation rack (yes, I know there are better racks than this as well!)

Tannoy:

Pair of MX2's on Lovan stands for rear surround duties.

The TAE feeds left and right front outputs to the 72 etc, and the TAN utilizes two of it's five channels to drive the Tannoys. They integrate suprisingly well with the SBL's at the front. Heh, did I mention I was neither flat nor round earth :)

Display purposes are currently handled by a Sony Trinitron, 'Kirrara Basso' CRT TV.

As funds permit, I intend 'finishing' the AV side of it with a suitable sub and centre channel, and to also upgrade the display.

Whilst I'm more than happy overall with my 2 channel setup, I hope to do some upgrading some time in the future with going 'active' being a longer term goal.

Musically, I have trained in the classical field, including disciplines of voice, trumpet, and piano, and hence 'classical' music tends to form the backbone of my musical taste, which nonetheless is quite catholic. My only reservations concern so called heavy metal, and some of the very avant-garde atonal compositions currently in favour amongst some circles.

I appreciate and enjoy both reading about, discussing, and listening to good HiFi kit, whilst appreciating that all and every piece of equipment carries unavoidable compromises, and that personal taste will come into it every time, and at the end of the day, one has to choose the gear that offers the most satisfaction/least set of compromises FOR YOU.

Hence, whilst I could perhaps be described as a 'Naimee' it is only because it suits my musical sensibilities re it's reproduction, and I appreciate that lots of other pieces of kit do some things better, some things worse, but ultimately it's all about the music first, and that the kit is only the most appropriate tool FOR YOU to do the job.

Having said that, technology marches inexorably onward, and it is always nice to chat about the various new pieces of gear, evolving technology, and mostly what we can discover and share along the way re increasing our enjoyment of recorded music and movies in the home.

Thank you once again for your welcome, and it's nice to be here.

Warmest Regards

John...:)

[Rich]

Hi to the forum

I thought it was time that I said hello. I've been browsing this site for a few weeks now. Got introduced to it via Cyrusunofficial which is also another good laidback forum.

I've been into this 'hifi' lark since i was a teenager so quite a while now. Its too easy to lose sight of the point of hifi - which is to enjoy listening to good music. So my favourite upgrade would always be more music to listen to.

For the interested my current system is marantz KIsig, Cyrus C8, Tannoy 611 floorstanders. Bought the C8 last year before I moved to Switzerland and it is definetly been worth the money. Even though the Tannoys are almost 10 yrs old, they've never sounded better. Have to say this combo works very well together.
I've been buying discs on Play.com compulsively since the upgrade so in this sense it was very worth while as it has increased my enjoyment of music.
So keep up the interesting posts everyone and I'll try to reduce my urge to guy a psx-r for the amp. Can it get any better :)

Rich
'Still working on the interesting tag line'

[greg]

Hi Rich.
Nice to see another person enjoying a Cyrus amp. Get the PSX-R ;)
Cheers
Greg

[Mister R]

Hello there! Just signed up to this site! Usually surf the HFC one. Looking forward to reading/contributing info. where I can.

Current setup....

Cyrus cd8/psx-r
Roksan Kandy mk2
Dynaudio A42's(silver)
Videologic tuner 601ES
Nordost solar w. i/c
QED XT400.

Cheers...

Iain

[Wes]

Looks like I have found a new place to waste away my work day:D

Hi, my name is Wes.. and I am gear slut[/AA meeting voice off]

My rig (thats what we usually call them on this side of the pond :) ):

As of this week..
DVD/SACD: Onkyo DV-SP800
Digital IC: PS Audio X-Stream
Analog IC: Kimber KCAG RCA

PRE: Krell Showcase
Pre>amp IC: Kimber KCAG XLR

Amp: Krell KAV-2250

Speakers: B&W CDM-9nt
Speaker Cable: Nordost Blue Heaven

Wes :PRaT:

[lowrider]

Welcome Wes, at last, another Krell owner... :MILD:

[Gustavo]

Well, after some posts, it is time to introduce myself.

My name is Gustavo Villa, I’m live in Viña del Mar, Chile. Super fanatic of audio since I listen the first ABBA album when I was 7 years old (1979) :banana: .

I have been in audio since then, beginning from all in one gear, passing through cheap separates and now I have an HT in a small room and my stereo system in my small living room (Chilean houses use to be small :shame: ). My music styles are absolutely open, but I have special attention to jazz, classical, new age, rock and pop, specially when it came from Great Britain. :drum:

I hope to learn a lot from all of you and contribute with my experience in this field.

Many greetings to all.

Gustavo Villa

[michaelab]

Welcome to the forum Gustavo - as far as I know you're our first member from Latin America!

Looking at your "real hobby", have you ever seen the huge model of the Gotthard Bahn in the transport museum in Luzern? It's easily the largest model railway I've ever seen :eek:

Michael.

[tones]

A man with a Bahn! Rhätische Bahn Ge4/4 II? Great little railway.

[Gustavo]

Originally posted by michaelab
Looking at your "real hobby", have you ever seen the huge model of the Gotthard Bahn in the transport museum in Luzern? It's easily the largest model railway I've ever seen :eek:

Michael.
Great tip¡¡¡¡¡¡ I haven’t seen it yet :( , my holiday plans for this year include an trip to Barcelona, London and of course some places in Switzerland, I’m looking forward to watch all the train stuff I can find, specially in Canton Graubunden, main area of the RHB railroads. Are somebody in this forum addicted to model railroads?


Thank you for the welcome.

Regards

Gustavo

[tones]

Gustavo, I second Michael's recommendation of a trip to the Verkehrshaus (the Swiss Transport Museum in Luzern). Check out its website - it has a great display of full-size locomotives as well. In fact, the first one you come across as you go in is the narrowest gauge in Europe, the 75 cm Waldenburgerbahn, which operates up the valley where I live.

You'll love the RhB. Must-dos are the Albula line (Chur - St. Moritz - includes the Landwasser viaduct and the multiple spiral tunnels to the Albula tunnel itself)) and the Bernina line over to Tirano in Italy. Other recommendations:

The BLS Lötschbergbahn from Spiez to Brig, especially the south ramp of the Lötschberg;

The SBB (Swiss Federal Railways) Gotthard line between Arth-Goldau and Bellinzona

The Berner Oberland lines (tourist, but interesting - forget the hideously expensive Jungfraubahn unless the weather's perfect)

The Montreux-Oberland Bernois "Golden Pass" line from Montreux to Zweisimmen.

The Furkabahn (privately-owned summertime-only steam train operating the old stretch of the FOB line now abandoned for the Furka Tunnel).

The Gornergratbahn (Zermatt-Gornergrat) - great views of the Matterhorn and the 4000M peaks nearby. Great to walk down to Zermatt on a nice day.

The Pilatusbahn (Alpnachstad - Pilatus Kulm) - the world's steepesst rack railway, with a unique rack system.

[Nik]

Hi,

Been lurking for a few days but now going 'Public'.

I am Nik.
Married with 1.5 kids and told that I am approaching middle age - at 37? Surely not!
I like to produce music as well as reproducing music, and I design electronics for the Music and Pro Audio industries, so tend towards the Pro Double Blind Testing, anti Snake Oil way of thinking.

Roksan Xerxes (old one) turntable with Rega RB300 + Technoweight and Sumiko Bluepoint Special cartridge. Townsend damping trough standing by.
Musical Fidelity XLP phono stage.
Panasonic Multi DVD player for DVDs and CDs. Optical out to:
Micromega Duo BS II DAC.
Cyrus aPA7 preamp - a rediculous price for a line level switcher, but I got it cheap and used.
Cyrus 'Power' power amps x 2, biamplifying:
Monitor Audio Silver S5 speakers.
Aiwa ADF-810 cassette deck.
Sony portable MD recorder.

Cyrus speaker cable - 15 year old solid core stuff.
Nameless moulded OFC interconnects.
No fancy furniture or supports.

[titian]

Originally posted by Gustavo
Great tip¡¡¡¡¡¡ I haven’t seen it yet :( , my holiday plans for this year include an trip to Barcelona, London and of course some places in Switzerland, I’m looking forward to watch all the train stuff I can find, specially in Canton Graubunden, main area of the RHB railroads. Are somebody in this forum addicted to model railroads?


Thank you for the welcome.

Regards

Gustavo
Gustavo,
if you are somewhere's near Luzern let me know. We could meet for half a day. It would be very nice! I'm living 25 minutes frfom Luzern.
regards

titian

[bottleneck]

Originally posted by Gustavo
Great tip¡¡¡¡¡¡ I haven’t seen it yet :( , my holiday plans for this year include an trip to Barcelona, London and of course some places in Switzerland, I’m looking forward to watch all the train stuff I can find, specially in Canton Graubunden, main area of the RHB railroads. Are somebody in this forum addicted to model railroads?


Thank you for the welcome.

Regards

Gustavo

Hi Gustavo.

My Uncle is a steam train photographer. He features most months in Steam Railway magazine, and has a book published.

If you're interested in steam train books let me know, I can get copies of his own at about 1/2 price if people ask nicely :)
Cheers
Chris

[seoulman]

ok I better introduce myself:

My name is Steve, I am an expat brit (buckinghamshire) living in Seoul, South Korea ( or as expats affectionatly call it "the killbox") and commuting frequently to china and vietnam. I work as a paper pusher. I am currently studying the effect of the relationship: time without playing soccer in proportion to waist size.

Current kit (soon to change) arcam cd92t:a85: qaud 12l: kimber hero interconnect and qed sa biwire.

Music Taste : wide but this year I have mainly been listening to jazz and acoustic vocal. Big fan of belle and sebastien. Have my moments of listening to most other types of music.

Regards
Steve

[evilSimon]

Right. Er... hi. My name is Simon, I'm 25 and I have a drinking problem.




Whoops, wrong forum...

Hifi that's it! I have a hifi, see here (http://www.zerogain.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&postid=50293#post50293). Been buying hifi stuff for just 4 years, started out with Marantz CD67SE & PM66SE amp combo with those fantastic budget mission classics, the 771's (still in use with the television downstairs..) but now progressed to some all-round better kit.

Music is of course one of the best things in life. I view hifi as a means to an end - a tool - to listen to the music as close to how the artist wanted. I like to most genres (but hate country!) favourite bands include Godspeed You Black Emperor! (absolutely amazing, gobsmacking, most emotionally charged music ever), Radiohead, Massive Attack, Bjork, Lamb, Autechre, Primal Scream, plus classics like Doors, Beatles, Jimi H, & over to classical, Rachmaninov, Sibelius, Bruckner & Wagner, etc.

When I'm not listening to music (which is rare, especially at work - I'm a computer programmer so I'm pretty much plugged into headphones all day..) I can be found either 'lagering', playing around with computer bits, or up a mountain. Trekking/travelling and travel photography is a real passion of mine - recent trips include Jordan in February, trekking in the Wadi Rum desert in the footsteps of Lawrence of Arabia; last year the missus & I did the 3 week trek to Everest Base Camp and it was the most awe-inspiring experience of my life. Now planning a trip to Patagonia in November.

trying to put some websites together to house my art and photography, 2 years in the making and still not up yet.www.evilsimon.com

Dassit!

[jrmanders]

Main system:

SME 20A/Lyra Helikon cardas arm cable (soon to be upgraded)
Tom Evans The Groove 100 Ohm
ATC SCA2 Pre amp
SONY SCD-555ES SACD Player
ATC 20 active towers
Townshend stands and cables

For films and tv:

Tom Evans A300R 'Full Monty'
Acoustic Precision Eikos FR1's

[notflat]

Hi all,

good to see some familar faces here as well as some new friendly faces.

I am a graphic designer residing in Hong Kong, who used to be a northern soul dj back in toronto, canada many moons ago.

30, happily married.

These days I also moonlight as a "music consultant" in various clubs/lounges/bars, I suggest/programme their music when they have no live sets.

I love music, esp. emotionally expressive, direct, visceral music.

anything and everything ... Sun Ra, Aretha, Callas, Billie, Bob marley, Nick Drake, bach, The Clash, Stones, Can, Lee Morgan, Blakey, Public Enemy, Gil-Scott Heron, JB, Dylan, Ramones, Sinatra, Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs, Velvet Underground, Lambchop, David Holmes, Bobby Darin, June Christy, Coltrane, Spititualized, MBV, MC5, Jarret, Gould, Jack McDuff, Augustus Pablo, Tortoise, Sigur Ros, Johnny Cash, Jeff and TIm Buckley, Missy Elliott, Joni Mitchell, Neu!, Kraftwerk, the list goes on...

My fave albums includes: Nefertti, On the Corner/Miles, Nova/Steve Reid, XTMNTR/Primal Scream, Heart of the Congos/The Congos, Low, Hero, Hunky Dory/Bowie, Ege Bamyasi/Can, Solid Air/John Martyn, Fun House/Stooges, Jeff Mills/Metropolis, Entroducing/DJ Shadow,
Evolution/Grachan Moncur, Free for All/Art Blakey, Empyrean Isles/Herbie Hancock, Only the Lonely/Frank Sinatra, Substance/Joy Division, Darklands/JMC, Pet Sounds/The Beach Boys, Singles/Stones, Rubber Soul/Beatles, What's GOing On/Marvin Gaye, Fresh, There's a Riot/Sly Stone, Maggot Brain/Funkedelic, Melodie Nelson/Serge Gainsbourg, Dub Creation/Dry and Heavy, No Protection/Massive Attack meets the Professor, Louis and Ella...for now...

Guilty pleasures are hyper sythesised pop from Steely Dan,10c.c. to 80s pop to Stereolab, Sea and Cake to Moloko and Kylie! go figure.

As for my kit, currently they are Naim CDX2/Rega P3/Technics 1200/72/HiCap/180/ATC SCM 7s (was the Kans for the past five years until 2 months ago) all on Mana plus the beloved iPod and Sony Walkman Pro. all in a tiny 3m x 2.6m x 2.5m dedicated listening room (to avoid neighbours from complaining)

2500+ cds and 1000+ lps

I hope to go beyond Naim (at least in amplification) in the near future, so far I am aiming for Spacedeck or Gyrodec SE/undecided preamp (btwn Naim/ATC/Audio Note)/ATC Active 20s or 10s, the CDX2 stays and probably another two levels of Mana (all on Phase 2 now, cd on 3).

that's about it...

[bottleneck]

Hi Notflat

Hope we can look forward to some interesting and informative posts in the Music side of the forum?

It sounds like you have a lot of music experience to share.

Welcome to ZG!
Chris

[greg]

notflat - excellent to spot another person whose musical taste has breadth and depth!
Cheers
Greg

[Gromit]

Hi! :)

Being born into a musical family I've been involved with music all my life so at the age of 6 took up the clarinet (I'm now only just the right side of 40!) and am currently the principal clarinettist with the RAF Central Band. Have also done a bit of freelance with the BBC and do the odd opera (for a bit of cash!).

My musical tastes - pretty much anything goes, as long as it's not 'manufactured'. Most of my collection is LP's ranging from AC/DC to ZZ Top via The Smiths, JS Bach, William Byrd, Shostakovich, Pink Floyd, Mahler, Weather Report, Joni Mitchell, Depeche Mode, Mozart, Richard Strauss...

To listen to this I've:

Gyro (now to nearly-Orbe-spec with the new DC motor etc)
RB300/Icognito/Technoweight/Denon DL103/Trichord Dino & +/Deltec Slink
Exposure 3010/Exposure spkr cable
Proac Super Tablettes

[lowrider]

Welcome Gromit... :beer:

[Gromit]

Originally posted by lowrider
Welcome Gromit... :beer:

Thanks :)

Looks like a great site this - really glad I found it :cool:

[leonard smalls]

Originally posted by Gromit



Gyrodec (now to Orbe-spec with the new DC motor etc)
Origin Live RB300/AT-OC30/Michell Iso
Exposure XV
Proac Super Tablettes
Hi Gromit!
Should go quite nicely with your new A21!
BTW, i'm not biglad here, but the biker out of Raising Arizona :D

[penance]

oh god,
more VD ppl:eek: ;)

[leonard smalls]

Originally posted by penance
oh god,
more VD ppl:eek: ;)
I've noticed over the years that if you talk too much about hifi at VD they look at you a bit funny..

[Gromit]

Oh sh*t what has this started??? :D

(hi guys btw) ;)

[penance]

Originally posted by leonard smalls
I've noticed over the years that if you talk too much about hifi at VD they look at you a bit funny..

me thinks they just looks at me funny like anyway!

[full monty]

Hi Folks,
simply dropping in to say Hello! Just found this forum but I'm active on Head-Fi & the ipod studio and already recognise a few folks here..:)

Looking forward to meeting ya all.

My rig is in my sig.:D

[Ted]

Hello - heard about this Forum from people on Hi Fi Choice. Looks like a great place:D

My systems are as follows:
Stereo:
Musical Fidelity X-Ray - cd player
MF Tri-Vista DAC21
MF X-Plora - tuner
MF X-P100 - pre
MF X-A50 X 2 - power (tweeters)
MF M-250 X 2 - power (bass and mid)
MF X-Cans v2 - headphone amp with upgraded tubes
ATC SCM35s - speakers
Grado headphones

AV
Denon 3803 - amp
KEF eggs - speakers
Panasonic A360 - dvd player

Yeah, you could say I like MF, and you'd be right (not always the most popular thing to admit to I know;)). I listen to a massive range of music - classical; everything from Bach to Britten via Mahler, Sibelius, Shostakovich, Puccini, Wagner, Verdi etc etc - popular; everything from Brian Eno to Radiohead via Lez Zep, Peter Gabriel, Muse, Snow Patrol, Sting, Elbow, Julian Cope, Goo Goo Dolls, New Order, Psychid, Ryan Adams etc etc.

[merlin]

A Belated welcome Father!

I see you are a big Musical Fideliry fan!

One for WM I feel.

[shrink]

Well im fairly new also and havent yet posted my system here.

Audiolab 8000Q pre amp
Audiolab 8000M monoblocks (x4 for biamp)
B&W P5 speakers
Rega Planar 2 Turntable (modified) with Rega Super BIAS cart
Coph Nia Phono stage (http://www.coph-nia.com/mcphono.html)

My old Sony ES player finally gave up the ghost so ive been looking for replacements for when money is available. Candidates include LINN IKEMI, Meridian 588 and a used audiolab 8000CDM/DAX combo

The Main part of the system sits on a Target audio 5 shelf stand with isolated turntable shelf. The monoblocks are on 2 shelf tripod stands sitting next to each speaker (stands were the perfect height and width for the amps)

Look forward to reading and being part of this forum

[bart]

Hi everybody,
I joined the forum just this morning so haven't had the chance to look around yet, but I must say everything looks very impressive so far :-))

I'm currently running a Rotel 991AE / Thule150B / Cardas Neutral Reference / Elac 510 system. As for speaker cables, I still haven't made up my mind so I use Nordost Red Dawn and Transparent Musicwave super in turns. Yet there's a big change on the way: the good old Rotel will be replaced by Meridian G07 in a few days. I'm just thrilled at the very thought!!! Simply cannot wait.

My tastes in music range from early baroque through contemporary music to jazz, plus some Scandinavian folk-rock from time to time.

Bart

[Shiner]

Hello
I have just joined. I have been reading the forum before I joined.
I was a little concerned I was going to join a motorbike forum but I did it anyway!.

I have a Bryston 3b-sst and Primare Pre, a Meridian G08 CD player and Dynaudio Contour S5.4 speakers.

I like all music but main Classical/Baroque with some Opera but nothing too heavy.

Regards
John

[analoguekid]

Welcome Shiner John, nice to see you've joined despite the "REL" thread.

And a belated welcome to you Bart, just notuiced your post.

[nankin]

Hello folks how the devil are all of you??????, well so far my search for HIFI nirvana has got me.
Meridian 606-602 cd player with tricord clock mod.
Project RPM9 with autofon MC25FL
Sumo arthemis iii preamp with phono option
Sumo andromeda iii power amp
Kef ref 1-2 speakers
and all this is hooked together with Missing link cables.
but as ever the search goes on!!!!!!!

Cheers Nankin

[monotone]

Hi everyone... about time to introduce myself...

Current system...
Marantz PS-17 & SM-17 set up with the SA12-S1 SACD/DVD/CD player
B&W Matrix 803 S2 [Front], HTM [Centre] & 805 [Rears]
Chord 64 DAC
Project 6.1 TT with Sumiko Blue Point Special
Major connections using Audioquest cables, the rest with NeoTech
DGTec High Definition Digital Set Top Box for...
Marantz 50" HD Plasma
Topfield twin tuner 80G HDD Standard Definition PVR [No more video tapes!]
and at times...
Using Apple Airport Express to stream music wirelessly thru Powerbook to the Marantz

Yes, a mac user here...

Currently enjoying and expanding my SACD & Vinyl collection!

[JonR]

Hello everyone,

My first post on Zerogain.

My system is: Naim CD5/Flatcap2/NAC202/Nap150/Aiwa AD-F850 Tape Deck/Rega Planar 3/RB300/Super Elys (TT has a P3 motor upgrade). The system sits on Hutter and drives Rega Kyte speakers thru NACA4 cable.

However I have recently auditioned for a speaker upgrade and hopefully (!) with the next week or so I should be in a position to collect my new pair of Spendor S5e's and NACA5 cable - so I am very excited!

Music tastes are a veritable mixture of prog rock, soul, funk, heavy rock, metal with smatterings of other bits and pieces thrown in for good measure.

Regards,

JonR :)

[GundamSD]

Hello!

New here too. Been loitering/lurking for a bit but thought I ought to join in the fun.

Cheerio.

[Philip King]

Welcome to both JonR and GundamSD, not a lot going on today, looks like the bank holiday has taken people away from the office!

Could this mean people are listening to their systems?

[GundamSD]

Could this mean people are listening to their systems?

God forbid....

[julian2002]

welcome guys. it is a bit slow today but that just means twice as busy tomorrow :D
cheers


julian

[GundamSD]

Thanks Julian. It is quiet here... and I thought the HFC forum was quiet.....

[JonR]

welcome guys. it is a bit slow today but that just means twice as busy tomorrow :D
cheers


julian

Yeah thanks Julian (and Philip).

If my (brief) experience of other fora is anything to go by (and I'm not saying it is ;) ) not only will it be twice as busy but there will be twice as much pent up emotion as well!

Regards,

JonR :D

[julian2002]

but that's what makes these things fun.... until they aren't.
cheers


julian

[JPHackworth]

Hi All,

I just signed up and this is my 2nd post. Details of my systems are in the RRP poll thread. In terms of musical taste it's been very varied over my lifetime but is currently mainly focussed around industrial/electronic and, to a lesser extent, country (esp. Alison Krauss).

Anyway, just dropped by to say "Hi!"

Regards,

Hackworth.

[bottleneck]

Hi Hackworth

Welcome to ZG.

Im a big fan of Alison Krauss and Union Station too. 'New Favorite' is my errr favorite, but I like the stuff on ' oh brother where art thou?' too.

Hope to see you in the music section too!

All the best
Chris

[Fen Dancer]

Well, here I am. Another day, another Forum. I should be able to come up with inquisitive, searching questions to stretch to collective wisdom of you lot.
But if my past history is anything to go on, I doubt it...

[analoguekid]

Plwease don't ask any questions relating to equipment stands :D

[Fen Dancer]

Equipment stands? Are they important?
Oooooooh.. I can feel the questions building up already

[analoguekid]

I think yer gonna fit in just fine :D

[stickman]

Hello everyone. Etiquette would have been to have posted in here first. Doh.

[penance]

What is etiquette:confused:

[cohnaudio]

Hi,

New to this site. My normal haunt is Audio Asylum, but a friend mentioned this site for folks in the UK. I am a Yank that has lived over in London for 6 years. I have gone through various speakers and amps since I have been here (really impressed with the British brands I have used so far: Monitor Audio GR 60 and the Musical Fidelity Nuvista 300). My current system happens to be all US (not by design - by ear). The system is as follows: VPI TNT HRX Turntable with a Benz Micro Ebony LP cartridge (I am a vinyl fanatic), Manley Steelhead Phonostage (also acting as preamp), Musical Fidelity Tri Vista SACD player, Tenor Audio 300hp tube/ss hybrid (small company in Canada), Revel Ultima Salon Speakers and Silversmith Audio interconnects and speaker cables (amazing ICs and cables). I listen to practically everything - mostly Jazz, Rock and Classical. Would be interested in communicating with other audiophiles in or around London - nobody I know really gives a hoot.

[nicolap99]

Hi
Joined today, anyone out there with similar kit?
My hi fi has evolved over the years to the kit listed below, odd really as I am probably more content with the sound now than ever. Various systems have consisted of the obvious brands -Arcam, Audiolab,Tannoy etc.

I like nearly all types of music except classical ( never really had time to explore it).

Rega based system , no more vinyl although I used to Have a Roksan Xerses turntable, quite happy being digital now.

Rega Jupiter cd
Rega Cursa pre amp
Two Rega Maia power amps in bi amp mode
ProAc Response 1SC speakers on Target R1 stands.

Generally interested in hi fi and other peoples opinions and tastes. I don't believe there is a right answer to all hi fi questions , just different choices and solutions.

[Robbo]

Welcome nicolap99!

Another 1SC user I see - thats three of us on the forum now who are using them. Get them driven by valves ASAP :D

[PeteH]

I like nearly all types of music except classical ( never really had time to explore it).


It's well worth the effort in the end though. Welcome aboard :)

[nicolap99]

Welcome nicolap99!

Another 1SC user I see - thats three of us on the forum now who are using them. Get them driven by valves ASAP :D

Always been intrigued by valves, but don't know where to start?

If I did sell the Rega amp set up and raised , say £600 plus another £1000 from my dwindling cash resource, what should I look at?

[Robbo]

Hi,


Regarding valves, if you use ProAc speakers there is really only one choice - Audio Research. ProAc use Audio Research amps when voicing their speakers, so they have superb synergy. If you have around £1600, you could probably find a secondhand CA50 like I use, its a stonking amp with the 1SCs. Otherwise for a bit more (£2K) you could get a s/h VSi55. I wouldn't look much further than this TBH.

However, if you dont want to spend so much and can wield a soldering iron, you could always try the World Audio Design kits which you can obtain quite cheaply. Wont be as good as a pukka ARC though (IMO)

Cheers, Robbo

[sideshowbob]

Poor sod's only been here 5 minutes and you've already got him changing his amps... :D

-- Ian

[Robbo]

Its always nice to have your next upgrade planned well in advance. ;)

[analoguekid]

Yeah Robbo, but as you well know, once you have the itch, you need to scratch it right away :)

[wadia-miester]

Poor sod's only been here 5 minutes and you've already got him changing his amps... :D

-- Ian

Could have been worse Ian, you could have tried to convert him to Brotzman, I feel an amp is the lesser of 2 evils personaly :)

[nicolap99]

No problem guys, quite content at the moment......it has taken me about 8 years to get to this stage of contentment.

But....there always is.......everyone I know would always like to upgrade / change /tweak something. But there comes a point where the cost (£££) is not quite worth it.

I feel I am probably quite close to that at the moment, an upgrade might just give a different sound as opposed to a better (to me) sound.

Ahh the wonder of hi fi.....

[Chris Jennings]

Thought I ought to say hello here.

For a living I design HIFI amplifiers, and our company also imports various components into the UK. I get spoiled at work so my home system is very modest.

Old Rotel RA840BX2 (Modified)
Old Monitor Audio R652 speakers
Toshiba DVD player for CD
Unbranded Digi TV Box used for Radio
Michell Focus one turntable (currently in office, must get it back soon !!!)

Musical taste - anything and everything but not too much into opera

Its hardly a reference system, but I listen 30 hours a week at work and just use the home stuff for background.

Outside HIFI i like going out for a few beers, preferably somewhere with live music. Watching motorsport on TV. Keeping tropical Fish.

I'm 40+ with wife and 2 kids (no dog... yet !!!) live in a small vilage out of town.

Just so you are aware of brands i work with heres the link:

www.highendaudio.co.uk

Chris Jennings

[bottleneck]

Chris, do you make Renaissance amplification, or Lamm (or both)

I heard the renaissaince amps at the heathrow show in 93, and it was in fact that demonstration that got me into Alison Krauss and Union Station - which was worth the entrance ticket!

I liked the amps, but my budgets restrict me to DIY and second hand equipment.

Cheers
Chris

[Chris Jennings]

Hi.

I make the renaissance, and import the lamm into the UK. We weren't around in 93, our first show was 2001 !!!

Chris

[bottleneck]

sorry, meant just last year 2003.

you were around then, right? ;)

[running gun]

Hello all
I have been reading the forum for a few months now and finally plucked up enough confidence to start participating.
System
Cyrus:
aca 7.5 pre
2x Smarties (run in mono)
CD7Q
2xPSX

Speakers
Spendor S6

Various cables - VDH First Ultimate + various silver home made jobbies

Music - first and foremost Rush after that really anything that "rings my bell".

I am currently mostly enjoyong messing about with cables and isolation widgets,which for some reason seems to get on my wifes nodules.

[analoguekid]

Welcome fellow Rush fan, not many of us left i fear.

Analoguekid

[running gun]

AK Thank you for the welcome,did you see them in September - 3 hours wow !.

[analoguekid]

Nah really wanted to go but had conferene booked that week, they moved the date to october about a week after they were sold out, bugger, it's unlikely they will be here again. :(

[running gun]

Not really sure that is it for them touring, they had more energy and commitment than I had ever seen.+ with the Neils problems now behind him who knows.
Q.(is this the right place to talk about this or should I be in Music)
RG

[capdegat]

another newcomer joins the ranks with the following

lp12 ( now swopping for gyrodec )

Shanling scd 200

eslab pre and power amps

Proac future 2

Cinema is

meridien 598
Themescene
cheap denon
hodgepodge of speakers

As you can see music is the most important ! Virtually any type except big band.
I reired to france ( and hopefully sone sun ) early so have plenty of time to listen .

[Bigbear]

Just joined. Someone on Pink Fish pointed me here. Current system includes:

Rega p9
Dynavector XX-2
EAR 834P modified
Naim 112/150/Flatcap 2 (recent Naim user after 10 years of 300B SET)
Naim CD5
Spendor S100s

I'm about to try some Meadowlark Nighthawks. Any opinions/information about these would be appreciated.

[sideshowbob]

Welcome. Keep the Spendors.

-- Ian

[wadia-miester]

Or buy a 47 lab 'Live' but stone cold cd replay device its all the same really

[sideshowbob]

Somebody's in a bad mood. :p

-- Ian

[wadia-miester]

Sorry Ian,
I've been waiting for me new speakers, and the Bar stewards have been stuck at heathrow for 9 sodding days, after mucho abuse, they arrived this morning, and thankfully in one piece and still mint.
So 47 labs stuff all round then please!!!

[sideshowbob]

OK, you're forgiven.

What are the new speakers?

-- Ian

[wadia-miester]

Guess :D

[sideshowbob]

Nighthawks by any chance? :)

-- Ian

[wadia-miester]

Ian,
I tried to obtain a pair, after the B H 2's were tried in the room, and the result was our local demolision specialist heard about the result, and asked if they could hire them.
The guys we use in the states, had made the same suggestion as youself, Shipping proved to be a bug bear for those selling, none seemed to want to ship out of the US, so It ment 2 doses of airway bills.
I don't believe Avid have any knighthawkes though I could be wrong?, I would want to hear them first before committing, I've purchased a pair of Ospreys to 'Fill' in for now, first impressions more tonal correct than the shearwaters when 'Virgin & unmolested', plus a more robust sound and deeper lower orders too.
So a great start point Ian, I'm sure I can coax a little more from them. T.

[Sir Galahad]

Hi All,

I stumbled on ZeroGain by chance when Google-searching the web for info on NAD S300 / S500 combo. A store here in Paris had a few at a bargain price, and although demo conditions were substandard, I thought it sounded great.

Found the thread here dedicated to the subject quite enlightning. Thanks to all for the input.

So current kit is S300 / S500i + MB Quart floorstanders.

Will keep visiting

:NADowner:

[michaelab]

Welcome, Sir Galahad....hmmm, I like the sound of that. Makes me sound like a king or something :D

S300 + S500i is a really great sounding little combo.

Michael.