Your audio equipment?

[paul secor]

I actually have this exact model Victrola in my living room. It helped make the NYC blackout of last summer a real treat. A night dancing around the living room to Basie 78's by candlelight is a good night indeed.

We could all probably do with a little of that, every now and again.

[mmilovan]

My setup, as follows:

Rotel RCD 991 CD Player

Arcam A75 Integrated Amp

Vandersteen 1C Speakers

ProJect Turntable

Love all this.

What model of ProJect do you exactly own?

[jazz1]

CD player Merdian 508/24

Integrated Amp Gryphon Callisto 2100

Speakers own design based on Pro Ac Response 2.5

using better drive units and components.

Sounds much more transparent, more extended bass and ultra musical

than original 2.5.

Top of the range Cardas cables all the way.

Room 30ft X 20 ft

Result: Amazingly natural sounding, never fatiguing even at high volume.

I am an happy audiophile.

System sounds better than going to most live venues.

[Tim McG]

does it matter what you got or does it matter what you LISTEN to?

It doesn't matter what you have OR what you listen to as long as you enjoy it! I definately enjoy listening to my favorite music on a quality system as opposed to the crappy boombox in my bathroom, there is a difference.

Fair enough.

[Jazzmoose]

I think it certainly matters what you've got, for this reason: serious, concentrated listening to music on a poor system can be far more fatiguing than listening on a good system.

Now if only I had the bucks to put this theory to the test...

[Jim Alfredson]

And listening to CDs is far more fatiguing than listening to vinyl. I can listen to vinyl all day. I can only listen to one or two CDs at a time.

[charlesp]

Linn LP 12

Itok LVII

Grado Reference Master mm cartridge

Ah! Njoe Tjoeb cd player

Audio Note SORO SE integrated amp - w/ Mullard NOS 12AX7 and 12AU7, Russian 6SN7 drivers and Sovtek 6L6WGC power tubes

Audio Note AN-K monitors with Audio Note AN-L speaker wire

DNM interconnects w/ Eichmann plugs

all on a 4-tier Quadraspire rack

Edited June 21, 2004 by charlesp

[DrJ]

b3-er Posted: Mar 1 2004, 01:01 AM 

And listening to CDs is far more fatiguing than listening to vinyl. I can listen to vinyl all day. I can only listen to one or two CDs at a time.

I am with you in general, b3-er, but have to say that after listening to tube CD playback set-ups (tube DAC with tube amp and tube-friendly speakers) I've modified my opinion a bit. I can listen to those set ups at great length without any ear fatigue...and will be regularly, once my Audio Note DAC and integrated tube amp finally arrive! On that system (played through Zingali Overture 2s speakers) it's like the best of all worlds, the warmth and lack of harshness of vinyl but with greater detail and presence than you can get with all but the very highest end (and most expensive) turntable rigs.

[J.A.W.]

Listening to my Sony CFD-6 boom box right now...

[WD45]

My primary set-up:

Sennheiser HD-202 cans:

Sony D-NF610 CD player:

I would guess that 80% of my listening happens on this. Certainly nothing to write home about. I needed a pair of cans that were closed ear, relatively indestructible, and priced at a level that won't kill me when they need replacing. And they will need replacing, as they get abused. I wear this setup while commuting on the bus [30-50 mins each way] while at the gym [again 30-50 mins] and as I go for a walk each day over the lunch hour [30-45 mins]. They feel great, are relatively sweat-proof, and look only mildly ridiculous.

The home setup gets listened to while cooking and dining, and more often on the weekends: Marantz receiver & CD player, ProJect 1.2 turntable with stock everything, and Paradigm Atom speakers and powered sub. The receiver has Dolby Pro-Logic, but I have no surround speakers hooked up. I watch more movies with it than listening to music, but the stereo suits me fine. It sounds pretty good. At one point I was going to go in on the B&W 603 M3s, but realized taht the $ would be better spent elsewhere right now...

[clifford_thornton]

My equipment? 10"...

Oh wait,

Music Hall mmf-5

Arcam A75 Integrated

old Philips burner

Audio Concepts kit-builts, ca. 1985

[mr jazz]

Yamaha 1010 integrated amp circa 1978

using a DVD player right now to play cds-works ok until I get something better

Klipsch Heresy speakers also circa 1978

my cabling is pretty old- i replaced the cd cable a few years ago but can't remember the brand. I think I use monster cable for the speaker wire. Sound is pretty clean and I like the Klipsch concept. Eventually I will upgrade but no bucks at the moment.

I also listen in the car-Toyota JBL system with 6 cd indash player-not bad for a factory unit.

[casanovas347]

My HIFI-stuff

Revox G-36 All-tube reel stereo-tape-recorder (1963)

Pioneer PL-518 Turntable (mmh...1979/80 or newer)

B&O Beovox 3000 Speakers (1969!!!)

Onkyo TX-7830 Receiver (1991)

works perfect!

i'm working on a selfdesigned SRPP RIAA Preamp..... -_-

[Chuck Nessa]

Nobody ever talks about SilverTone stuff anymore.

[wolff]

Silvertone Medalist 24-inch TV-stereo-phonograph combination, 1959.

[Chuck Nessa]

Silvertone Medalist 24-inch TV-stereo-phonograph combination, 1959.

←

That's how I listen to my music. Nothing but the best.

[Harold_Z]

Oh.

You have the newer model.

[Ron S]

That TV's hi-def, isn't it?

[Chuck Nessa]

That TV's hi-def, isn't it?

←

As good as it gets without "Halo-Light".

[J Larsen]

Silvertone Medalist 24-inch TV-stereo-phonograph combination, 1959.

←

My grandmother had that exact unit in her basement until recently. I never really noticed that it was made by Silvertone, though. I assume that's the same company that made all those cheap (but cool, IMO) guitars and guitar amps in the 50s and 60s?

[Jim Alfredson]

Silvertone was a brandname of Sears, wasn't it?

[Spontooneous]

Yep, it was Sears.

I'm a Philco man myself.

[wolff]

Via the wonders of Google...........................................................................................It has been 30 years since Sears ended its association with the Silvertone brand, but the public's association is so strong to this day that many still believe Silvertone is a Sears brand. It is a testament to the success and quality of Sears' Silvertone products that the public still associates the two names so closely. The Sears Silvertone radio and Silvertone guitar, two highly collectible items today, are largely responsible for America's fond recollection of the Sears-Silvertone connection.

In 1915, Sears introduced the Silvertone phonograph, a hand-cranked machine that came in tabletop and freestanding models. All phonographs came with a two-week, money-back guarantee.

Sears began selling Silvertone radios in the early 1920s, soon adding Silvertone radio tubes and batteries to the product line. In the late 1930s, however, Silvertone radios quickly took off in popularity. The era corresponded with the outbreak of military aggressions in the Pacific theater. With the approach of World War II, increasing numbers of people wanted radios not just for entertainment, but also to receive updates on the war's progress, according to contemporary company sales analyses.

During World War II, Sears introduced the Silvertone radio antenna with "stratobeam reception." And to help power the radios, Sears sold Silvertone wind generators.

Today, the Internet is filled with pages of Sears Silvertone radio collections and information about the antique radios. Their designs, particularly the stylish use of plastic casing, continue to be very popular among radio collectors.

The Silvertone name replaced the Supertone brand on musical instruments in the 1930s. Struggling blues musicians of the 1940s and 1950s first popularized the Silvertone guitar, with legends such as Muddy Waters and Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup among those who played Silvertones.

The Sears Silvertone guitar really made its mark in music history as the unofficial "first guitar" of guitar's icons. Chet Atkins, Bob Dylan and Jimi Hendrix, among many others, played their first chords on a Sears Silvertone. Sears' guitars have even been immortalized by their mention in songs from artists as diverse as Mary Chapin Carpenter ("Girls With Guitars") and G. Love and Special Sauce ("Blues Music")GREAT ALBUM BTW, he even mentions JOS.

Silvertones were popular with young musicians because of their solid construction and inexpensive pricing. Their legacy lives on today as literally hundreds of Internet pages are filled with fond recollections from people of their first guitar, the Sears Silvertone. As with the Silvertone radio, Sears Silvertone guitars are considered prized pieces of many guitar collections, particularly models such as the 1963 "amp-in-case" guitar, which featured an amplifier built into the guitar's carrying case.

Many other musical and audio items bore the Silvertone brand name. Sears introduced a Silvertone record label in the 1920s, featuring many of the era's most popular recording artists. In the 1950s and early 1960s, the Silvertone brand name appeared on all Sears electronic equipment, including console televisions, tape recorders, walkie-talkies, radio batteries, hearing aids and car radios.

By the end of the 1960s, the Silvertone brand name was only appearing on musical instruments and the top-of-the-line stereo equipment and televisions. Silvertone products last appeared in the spring 1972 catalog on televisions and stereo systems.

Edited July 14, 2005 by wolff

[Daniel A]

There have been a few changes since my previous post in this thread. The current setup:

Thorens TD-125 turntable with SME 3009 tone arm and Shure V15 IV pickup

Harman/Kardon HD7325 CD player

Harman/Kardon 930 receiver

Sonab OA-14 speakers

Speaker cable: EKK 4x1.5mm installation cable. Purists will obviously not embrace this, but double blind tests have shown that these are perfectly fine for me. And they're cheap, too. ( http://www.naqref.com/ekk.html )

The Sonab speakers, manufactured in the 70s, have been laughed at in some circles, but I've never met anybody who has actually heard one of the upper-range models and been less than impressed with their performance. For more info, check here: http://www.carlssonplanet.com/index.asp?lang=en&p=oa14

(Picture courtesy of www.carlssonplanet.com - mine are black)

[Claude]

Wow Daniel, these Sonab speakers are strangely built animals: