Your audio equipment?

[jazzbo]

That doesn't surprise me. I've long noticed the effects of resonance and isolation and lack of the latter etc. Did the sound improve?

[charlieboy]

Well well.... talk about a flashback. Here’s an update to what my setup looks like now. I can’t believe I found this thread after almost 15 years.

 

Full room treatment has been complete for a while now. The fine detail, imagining, depth, and soundstage has went to another level that I have never experienced in this room in the 20 years since I built it.

50TB’s of High resolution files up to 512 DSD through modified Teac 501 with Time Machine X10 external clock, idler drive, belt drive, and direct drive turntables, Otari, Studer, and Teac reel to reel machines for 15ips master and safety copies-Radu Tarta preamp with 101d tubes selected-James Burgess 45, 46, 2a3, and 6bq5 type amplifiers -custom 104db efficient horn speakers with 2” Eliptrac 400 wooden horns, tweeters, crites cast woofers, and custom ALK crossovers.

This system has real synergy and is sounding amazing.

 

 

Edited September 22, 2020 by charlieboy

[felser]

To be honest, it's usually this while I work, Sony boombox with Sennheiser headphones.  I'm a big Sennheiser fan.   I do have a setup with Klipsch speakers, etc.  but rarely get to use it.

 

[charlieboy]

Finally all together and in the system. Greg Metz STS modified Thorens TD124 MKII, rewired Ortofon RMG212 tonearm, with an Andy Kim Needle Clinic rebuilt and retipped Ortofon S15-T MC cartridge with a linear contact diamond tip, and aluminium cantilever. The Ray Brown Trio had the honor of first play.and it didn’t disappoint.

 

[jazzbo]

My main system now consists of:

Decware HR-1 speakers

Decware SE84UFO3 Monoblocks with the 25th Anniversary mods

Decware CSP3 preamp with the 25th Anniversary mods

Decware ZTPRE preamp 

Decware ZROCK2 EQ unit with the 25th Anniversary mods

Decware ZBIT 1:1 adjustable balanced to single-ended transformer

PS Audio P15 power regenerator

PS Audio PowerBases 

PS Audio DirectStream DAC

PS Audio DirectStream Memory Player

PS Audio NuWave Phono Converter

Rega RP3 with all Groovetrace mods, TTPSU and Exact2 cartridge

PS Audio speaker cables, power cables and HDMI I2S digital cables

VooDoo Cable Stradivarius Amati and Cremona analog interconnects

VooDoo Cable IsoPod component footers

 

[charlieboy]

1 hour ago, jazzbo said:

My main system now consists of:

Decware HR-1 speakers

Decware SE84UFO3 Monoblocks with the 25th Anniversary mods

Decware CSP3 preamp with the 25th Anniversary mods

Decware ZTPRE preamp 

Decware ZROCK2 EQ unit with the 25th Anniversary mods

Decware ZBIT 1:1 adjustable balanced to single-ended transformer

PS Audio P15 power regenerator

PS Audio PowerBases 

PS Audio DirectStream DAC

PS Audio DirectStream Memory Player

PS Audio NuWave Phono Converter

Rega RP3 with all Groovetrace mods, TTPSU and Exact2 cartridge

PS Audio speaker cables, power cables and HDMI I2S digital cables

VooDoo Cable Stradivarius Amati and Cremona analog interconnects

VooDoo Cable IsoPod component footers

 

Hey Lon!!! I bet that setup sounds amazing. Steve makes great stuff!!

[jazzbo]

I sure like it. Other than tube-rolling, I'm done!

[sidewinder]

I’ve just added the Karousel bearing upgrade to my Linn LP12 turntable. Bang for buck, the greatest upgrade I’ve ever made and it moves my vinyl playback option up quite a few notches.

[porcy62]

On 16/5/2009 at 11:56 PM, porcy62 said:

TT: Brinkmann Lagrange

Arms: Brinkmann 10.5 and Brinkmann 12

Cartridges: Air Tight PC 1 (stereo), Lyra Helicon (mono)

CD player: Linn CD12 Sondek

Phono Amp: Manley Steelhead

Pre Amp: Audio Research Reference 2 MKII

Power Amps: Linn Klimax (monos)

Loudspeakers: Wilson Audio Watt/Puppy V

Power Conditioner: Burmester

Since my latest post 

 

On 30/5/2009 at 7:47 PM, porcy62 said:

 

 

One big change is going on the way.

Since the Manley has a line input and a volume control, and a great one!, I listened the Manley driving directly the power amps for some weeks.

Well, I decided to sell the pre amp (Audio Research). Actually the AR adds its 'signature' to the music, wich is a nice 'signature', but I definitely prefer the more direct, I'd say 'lively', sound through the output buffer of the Manley.

My changes: 

speakers: vivid audio K1

preamp: Linn klimax kontrol 

phono preamp: burmester 100

mono cartridge: phasemation mono

sold the burmester power conditioner

[Larry Kart]

B&W 800 speakers

Marantz SC-11SI amp

Marantz SA-15S2 CD player

Rega PS2 turntable

Audio Technica VM740ML cartridge

Sennheiser 655 headphones

Schitt Magni heaphone amp

cables whose names I don't recall

Tripp-Lite  power conditioner

Onkyo TA-RW255 cassette deck

[Tom in RI]

Downstairs
B  & K 442EX Sonata with matching B & K Pro 10 preamp

Sony DVP-S9000ES SACD/DVD player

Dual CS 5000 tt

ADS 1530 speakers

 

Upstairs

Musical Fidelity A5.5 integrated

Lexicon RT 10 universal disc player

Sony SS m7 speakers

I’ve cycled through a fair number of older-ish speakers, the pair I probably miss the most are Altec Model 14’s. I also kind of miss a Sansui AU 517. The only piece above purchased new is the turntable. I do love a used deal.

 

[CJ Shearn]

What I have been digging AND loving since I upgraded six months ago... really perfect for my apartment

The biggest change:

Focal Chorus 716 floor standing speakers

Yamaha RS 202 stereo receiver

Still use my old 80 GB Sony Playstation 3 as CD transport... it's a tank

Schiit Modius DAC.

 

Excellent audiophile system on a budget, the Focals bring a matter of factness and realistic image and presentation I really enjoy... horns and vocals and drums sound great... lots of dynamics.  The Schiit Modius DAC for $200 is really nice, brings out a warmth and there is no digital glare, nice separation too.  The Cirrus Logic DAC inside the PS3 is too forward and aggressive   For my first system, I love it!

 

[sidewinder]

Biggest sonic upgrade ever - olive oil to de-earwax one of the ears. 

Quite a shocker !

Edited September 24, 2020 by sidewinder

[kh1958]

Rega P3 Turntable

Rega Apollo CD Player

Rega Brio amplifier

Rega RX3 speakers

 

[mikeweil]

On 19.11.2003 at 1:33 AM, mikeweil said:

Strange mixture I have, as I replaced single components whenever I had the money (but never too much to spend) to upgrade or one broke down:

Turntable: Thorens TD 160 (here's another one ) with a Grado Black cartridge (I intend to upgrade with another Grado soon, although this Black sounds better than any other more expensive model I had before. I had the connection cables replaced with thick copper cable many years ago - recommend this as the original Thorens connector cables are thin and not up to par with the quality of the turntable - I have this since the early 1970's.)

CD player: Pioneer PD-S501 - I love those turntables style CD players. Disc rotation is more even, so less electronics to re-calculate reading errors is needed. Connected with Oehlbach cable to the:

AMP: SONY TA-420 - not my first choice but affordable when the old one gave up. I miss a mono switch. Maybe I should use a separate preamp for the turntable as recommended above.

Cassette-Tapedeck: Technics RS-AZ7 - but I rarely use it.

Speakers: Some rare two-way with Styropor bass by Phonak in Stuttgart originally designed for audiological tests. They sound drier than most others, reveal the recording characteristics better than others I could compare with. Connected with thick copper cables, don't know the brand.

I use a CD spray which improves imaging of the CDs in particular.

Headphones: Koss UR-30.

Funny to read what I had 17 years ago. 

The Thorens TD 160 is still there, with a second headshell furnished with a Grado mono cartridge which means a great improvement when playing back LPs with mono grooves.

CD/SACD player: Marantz SA 7001 KI signature

Amp: Marantz PM-KI-PEARL-Lite PM 7004

Speakers: Focal Chorus 710

Headphones: Focal Spirit Classic

Currently the phones are in the bedroom where I run an old Pioneer CD player PD-7700 with a Musical Fidelity Y 90 headphone amp. But I save on a set of Focal Chorus 760 speakers with a Mircromega MyAmp unit for that room.

The Phonak speakers are in the basement, I plan to set them up with some leftover components sitting there as soon as I have moved superfluous stuff from that room.

Edited January 6, 2021 by mikeweil

[porcy62]

Overall, considering the last 45 years, since I inherited my dad's hifi when my parents splitted, I've had 4 turntables, 6 couples of speakers, 3 cd players, 4 integrated amps, 2 power amp, 3 preamps, 4 phono amps, plus several cartridges, it was fun anyway.

edit: and a couple of cassette recorders, forgot them

edit 2: forgot a couple of components I had for a short time

Edited September 25, 2020 by porcy62

[charlieboy]

Almost 10 years and 4 months and this thread is alive again.

[Chuck Nessa]

Equipment envy is fatal.

[clifford_thornton]

for me as long as it gets the job done I'm happy. now, record collection envy... that's another matter.

[Kevin Bresnahan]

I used to swap out audio components all the time. Then about 6 years ago, I stopped hearing many differences so I decided to stick with what I have. Sure, when they break, I'll replace them, but I'm done with getting the latest audio toy.

FWIW, one of my biggest mistakes was moving into tubes for a while. To my ears, there was no discernable audio difference but they were very nice looking. If they weren't so damn hot, I probably would've kept them just on looks alone. But when I switched back to solid state and heard no difference, I felt like a fool for spending thousands of dollars thinking that tubes sound better.

[Daniel A]

I have active tube driven speakers from the 60s. The tubes can hardly be seen, but they sound nice. And the wooden cabinets smell nice from the heat after a couple of hours. 😄 Will probably not change them for a while; I am also out of upgrading by now. 

Tubes glowing inside the cabinet. 

There are four cone tweeters and an 8 inch midrange on the top and a 10 inch woofer in the bottom (behind the tube amp). 

Edited September 25, 2020 by Daniel A

[Kevin Bresnahan]

I spent most of the summer on the back deck streaming XM radio on my cellphone and playing the music via BlueTooth on my Bose Soundcolor II speaker. I think it sounded great. In fact, it sounded so good that when my brother & my sister-in-law heard it, they each went out and bought one. Another friend who had a different BlueTooth speaker was so impressed with the sound that he got rid of his old one and bought one of these. I don't know how they get so much sound out of this little cube but they do.

Oh, I also streamed Amazon Music on it and it sounded great too. Asking Alexa to play some Hank Mobley and hearing tracks from "Soul Station" start to play brought an instant smile to my face.

And I should add that the streamed audio of XM radio sounds much better than when you listen over-the-air. They don't seem to compress the digital data as much streaming.

[mjazzg]

12 hours ago, clifford_thornton said:

for me as long as it gets the job done I'm happy. now, record collection envy... that's another matter.

 if I had spent half as much on hi fi as I have done on music I would probably be able to understand all the specs being discussed or posted here

Edited September 25, 2020 by mjazzg

[clifford_thornton]

I'm moving into an actual house at the end of the year and will probably need to start pricing out a second stereo, so maybe there are some good recommendations in here that won't totally break the bank. 

[Kevin Bresnahan]

In the interests of staying on topic...

System 1 (Living room)

Marantz PM-7005

Oppo Digital UDP-203

Hp laptop with ext. HD (mp3 library)

B&W Nautilus 805 S (last version before the Diamond edition)*

* Note: The WAF (Wife Approval Factor) for me is about a 1. My wife hates the look of them but puts up with them for me. I always worry about an "accident" like what happened to the lamp in "A Christmas Story".

System 2 (Finished basement family room)

Rotel RSX1055 surround receiver

ProJect Phono Box DS phono preamp

Oppo Digital UDP-203

Denon DP-500M direct drive turntable

Ortofon 2M Black MM cartridge

Denon CDR-W1500 CD recorder

B&W DM603 s3 Front L+R

B&W LCR600 s3 Center

B&W DM600 s3 surrounds