Your audio equipment?

[Kevin Bresnahan]

17 minutes ago, sonnymax said:

How many versions of Soul Station does one need? 

Hey - I'm down to 2 now! One digital (hybrid SACD) and one LP (Music Matters).

[Dub Modal]

8 minutes ago, bresna said:

Hey - I'm down to 2 now! One digital (hybrid SACD) and one LP (Music Matters).

Wait, hybrid SACD over the XRCD? 

[Kevin Bresnahan]

12 minutes ago, Dub Modal said:

Wait, hybrid SACD over the XRCD? 

You are correct - it is the XRCD.

[Dub Modal]

Just now, bresna said:

You are correct - it is the XRCD.

[Kevin Bresnahan]

1 hour ago, charlieboy said:

Hello. Not one piece of gear I own is the same or a redundant piece other than a few R2R decks. For turntables  I own a belt drive, idler drive, and direct drive. Amps are the following tube types... 42, 45, ,46, 47, EL84, EL34, 2A3, 300B.

Are you arguing semantics now? You're using alternate terms for the same item. Belt drive = turntable. Idler drive = turntable. Direct drive = turntable. Same thing with all those tube names. No matter the tube, they're all just "amps".

I have been at this a long time and I have heard many of these variants, both in turntable technology as well as amp technology. I have had and used a belt drive and a direct drive turntable. I chose to stick with one (direct drive). I have used solid state & tube amplification and when I was using tubes, I tried EL34, KT88 & 6L6 output tubes with a wide variety of input tubes. I now have a solid state. I have sat and listened at length to someone's 300B tube amp as well (not worth the money in to my ears).

I see no reason to keep around every variation of audio reproduction nor would I see any benefit doing this since I already decided which one was the best for me.

The way I see it, you're just continuing to muddy the waters for yourself. Next thing you know, you'll have to set up this decoder ring... lets see, to listen to this Music Matters LP of Soul Station, I need to use the belt drive turntable with the carbon fiber tonearm and the high-output moving coil cartridge, played back through the tube phono preamp to the solid state preamplifier to the EL84B tube amplifier, but I have to swap the Bugle Boy 12AX7's with RCA greyplate 12AX7s, and oh wait, this only sounds good with the handmade speakers in the other room but those require those Shinyata wires. Oh wait, I forgot that I have to swap those preamp to amp interconnects to those Audioquest silver ones.

The permutations go on & on... why do that to yourself?

Edited January 7, 2021 by bresna

[mjazzg]

Because charlieboy enjoys it and can afford to? 

I don't see anyone being forced to join in...

I don't understand it, way above my paygrade but each to their own.

[Daniel A]

I guess there could be many reasons for owning more than one piece of equipment of the same type. I own several wristwatches. Do I need more than one to tell the time? I might want a couple to match different clothing, various occasions etc. But then I may also be interested in watches from design and historical perspectives. And then, there is the always luring "collector" perspective; to research various models and hunt for them. 

So although I don't have the space and funds I can see why some would want to have a lot of high-end audio gear. And they can still like to listen to music as well. 

[Dub Modal]

Yeah, it's a hobby. You should see some of the rods/reels of fishermen I know. Just one will catch a fish of course, but situational analysis and all...

[JSngry]

Yeah, sometimes I watch TV in the den, sometimes in the bedroom, and sometimes not at all. I like having options.

[Dmitry]

14 minutes ago, mjazzg said:

Because charlieboy enjoys it and can afford to? 

I don't see anyone being forced to join in...

I don't understand it, way above my paygrade but each to their own.

Yes. Tis any impressive set-up that probably requires a part-time technician/curator to keep up and going. By far not the most expensive collection of components I've ever seen, but I applaud the effort. I have a decent stereo, and probably a couple of thousand LPs and CDs. Some people are gearheads, others enjoy and understand music, rarely the two are joined in perfect equilibrium.  Maybe charleyboy's got a lot of albums too...I hope.

My only constructive critique is the blue lighting underneath the listening chairs...c'mon, man. 

[sonnymax]

27 minutes ago, mjazzg said:

Because charlieboy enjoys it and can afford to? 

I don't see anyone being forced to join in...

I don't understand it, way above my paygrade but each to their own.

[Kevin Bresnahan]

I used to love shopping for audio gear so I guess I can see the draw to having a lot of variability in your audio system. But at the same time, even when I comparatively shopped for audio gear, I eventually thought to myself, "That one sounds the best". If I was shopping with the intent to buy, that's the one I bought and took home. I would never think to buy several versions of that piece of gear, even if money were no object.

If I were using this shopping analogy with Charlie's gear and he (or she) is "going shopping" every day to listen to music, shouldn't one combination have "won" the listening competition by now? If you find yourself nearly always playing the same combination of gear, why go back to a different set-up?

As sonnymax pointed out, I have bought many many copies of certain pieces of music. But as I pointed out, I listen to each and choose one best-sounding version every time. And even if I keep multiple versions, I always pull out the version that I thought sounded best when it comes time to listen. Why would I listen to the version that didn't sound the best? This is why I'm down to one digital copy of "Soul Station". Yes, I still have 4 digital versions of "Kind Of Blue" but 4 CD/SACD discs take up a lot less space than 4 tube amplifiers.

Edited January 7, 2021 by bresna

[charlieboy]

1 hour ago, bresna said:

Are you arguing semantics now? You're using alternate terms for the same item. Belt drive = turntable. Idler drive = turntable. Direct drive = turntable. Same thing with all those tube names. No matter the tube, they're all just "amps".

I have been at this a long time and I have heard many of these variants, both in turntable technology as well as amp technology. I have had and used a belt drive and a direct drive turntable. I chose to stick with one (direct drive). I have used solid state & tube amplification and when I was using tubes, I tried EL34, KT88 & 6L6 output tubes with a wide variety of input tubes. I now have a solid state. I have sat and listened at length to someone's 300B tube amp as well (not worth the money in to my ears).

I see no reason to keep around every variation of audio reproduction nor would I see any benefit doing this since I already decided which one was the best for me.

The way I see it, you're just continuing to muddy the waters for yourself. Next thing you know, you'll have to set up this decoder ring... lets see, to listen to this Music Matters LP of Soul Station, I need to use the belt drive turntable with the carbon fiber tonearm and the high-output moving coil cartridge, played back through the tube phono preamp to the solid state preamplifier to the EL84B tube amplifier, but I have to swap the Bugle Boy 12AX7's with RCA greyplate 12AX7s, and oh wait, this only sounds good with the handmade speakers in the other room but those require those Shinyata wires. Oh wait, I forgot that I have to swap those preamp to amp interconnects to those Audioquest silver ones.

The permutations go on & on... why do that to yourself?

Thank you for sharing your opinions. It’s what makes this all interesting and fun (for me at least). Being “at this” for a bit as you have been is great but I’m not sure what it means. BTW I’m not “arguing” as you referred about anything. Just conversing. 

43 minutes ago, Dmitry said:

Yes. Tis any impressive set-up that probably requires a part-time technician/curator to keep up and going. By far not the most expensive collection of components I've ever seen, but I applaud the effort. I have a decent stereo, and probably a couple of thousand LPs and CDs. Some people are gearheads, others enjoy and understand music, rarely the two are joined in perfect equilibrium.  Maybe charleyboy's got a lot of albums too...I hope.

My only constructive critique is the blue lighting underneath the listening chairs...c'mon, man. 

The theater chairs are no longer there so no blue lights but they did make nice lighting for movie watching which I almost never do anymore. :). BTW Roughly 10,000 lp’s mostly jazz, blues and classical. 

Edited January 7, 2021 by charlieboy

[JSngry]

Mostly? What the rest? Just curious.

[charlieboy]

Rock, reggae, soul, country, funk, soul, are some.

Edited January 8, 2021 by charlieboy

[Larry Kart]

Rega P2 turntable with Audio Technica 740 ML cartridge (cartridge was a nice recent upgrade), B&W 850 speakers (pre diamond-tweeter model, bought used some 20 years ago), Marantz SA-15S2 CD player, Marantz 15S1 integrated amp (both bought new about 15 years ago), Schiit Magni 3 headphone amp, Sennheisser MDXX headphones, both recent purchases, headphones replaced Grado 250s. I'm satisfied with what I've got. 

Have walls full of CDs and LPs, classical, jazz and a few trimmings -- haven't counted in a good while but several thousand of each, maybe many more.

[mjzee]

Turntable: ProJect Debut Carbon with the Ortofon cartridge that came with it; I recently upgraded the stylus to their 2M Blue.  CD player/recorder: Tascam CD-RW900MK2.  Preamp: Emotiva XSP-1.  Amp: Emotiva XPR-200.  DAC: Emotiva DC-1 (I stream from my iMac to an Apple Airport Express connected to the DC-1).  Speakers: TDL RTL3, which are at least 25 years old.  Subwoofer: BIC America F12.

I'm happy with the system.  I listen in my office, which is a relatively small room.  I sometimes think of upgrading further, but wouldn't know where to begin.

[Dmitry]

2 hours ago, mjzee said:

Turntable: ProJect Debut Carbon with the Ortofon cartridge that came with it; I recently upgraded the stylus to their 2M Blue.  CD player/recorder: Tascam CD-RW900MK2.  Preamp: Emotiva XSP-1.  Amp: Emotiva XPR-200.  DAC: Emotiva DC-1 (I stream from my iMac to an Apple Airport Express connected to the DC-1).  Speakers: TDL RTL3, which are at least 25 years old.  Subwoofer: BIC America F12.

I'm happy with the system.  I listen in my office, which is a relatively small room.  I sometimes think of upgrading further, but wouldn't know where to begin.

The biggest difference can be immediately heard if one replaces speakers.  For me, they are the most important component of any stereo, by far.

6 hours ago, charlieboy said:

The theater chairs are no longer there so no blue lights :). Roughly 10,000 lp’s mostly jazz and classical. 

Did I miss the photo with the speakers?  

[charlieboy]

Custom Bottlehead Kaiju 300B amp with DC filament upgrade and Shuguang Audio Treasure Series 300B's.

[jazzbo]

That looks as if it sounds interesting.

[JSngry]

Can we assume that it also sounds as if it looks interesting?

[jazzbo]

I would not make that assumption myself.

[Kevin Bresnahan]

34 minutes ago, JSngry said:

Can we assume that it also sounds as if it looks interesting?

I've heard these and the sound would not make you think they look this interesting.

These too...

[Daniel A]

I've got a pair of these - a compromise between interesting exterior and superior sound? :-)

They are late 60s Sonab OA-6 type 1; active, tube-powered bass reflex speakers, each with four cone tweeters pointing in different directions, an upward-facing 8-inch mid-range and a downward-facing 10-inch woofer. After 50+ years, the coating is still dripping down on the lattice.

 

Edited January 8, 2021 by Daniel A

[charlieboy]

After over 10 years this happened. Someone reached out to me with a Carina. I was very happy until it arrived and it was the worst packing job I have ever seem (From the UPS store mind you). The seller wasn't comfortable packing it but UPS was not the answer in this case. After going through it the last two days I have it as presentable as it's going to get. From far away it's okay but up close it's a mess on the sides and front and one of the tranny bells is dented ever so slightly but I am keeping it. It sounds really great so far but will get a good going through soon.