What kind of stereo do you have?

Message Bookmarked

Bookmark Removed

I've been running a Bose Wave Radio out of my (various) Mac's since I was about 16 and I've recently discovered, that, well, it's pretty much total rubbish.

Am just about to put down some cash on a Rega Brio amp, some Dynaudio speakers and an Arcam CD player which sounds absolutely amazing. Have heard detail in some of my CDs like never before....

So, I'm curious--what kind of setups do you all have?

― OCP, Monday, 15 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

I like the audiophile saying, "No highs, no lows -- must be Bose."

Course Ice T didn't agree:

Too many clothes, gotta rag top rolls
Thousand watt system and my speakers are Bose

― Mark, Monday, 15 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Mm. All the Rega stuff I've heard has sounded pretty delicious. Should I ever fall into a vat of money, I'll be the first in line to upgrade my pitiful setup. For now I'm running a Harman/Kardon AVR110 with an embarrassingly crap Pioneer CD/DVD combo (hey - it was a gift) and Paradigm speakers.

My friend has a Rega receiver, CD player and turntable with tiny little Totem speakers and it's a smoking setup. Electronic music positively bubbles.

― Mark, Monday, 15 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

I don't have a stereo any more. I have a little tiny CD-walkman that my brother gave me about 5 years ago. Does anyone want to give me a stereo?

― kate, Monday, 15 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Canton Ergo RC-L speaker,used to cost $2000 got it for $1200

Vincent CD-S3, $1000

Audio Analogue amp, $800

Nordost solar wind interconnect cable, $250 new but got it for $100 from a friend.

― Marc, Monday, 15 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Should I ever fall into a vat of money, I'll be the first in line to upgrade my pitiful setup.

I'm, er, very poor, but since hearing this setup, have convinced myself that it must be my utmost priority. Have stopped all superfluous spending (even CDs!) and am working 7 days a week at my shitty telephone market research job (!) Really, take some CDs into a good hi-fi store and you'll probably end up feeling similarly...

― OCP, Monday, 15 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Yikes. Close italics.
― OCP, Monday, 15 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

...
― OCP, Monday, 15 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

there.

― M Matos, Monday, 15 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Gone?

― o. nate, Monday, 15 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

http://www.lefflershifi.com/Library/Products/Vincent/Graphics/vin _cds3_f.jpg

http://www.cantonusa.com/ErgoRCLbig.JPG

http://www.tnt-audio.com/gif/puccini.gif

http://www.nordost.com/jpegs/solarwind.jpg

― Marc, Monday, 15 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Sorry, the pics was a bit bigger than expected.

And my speakers are cherry colored.

― Marc, Monday, 15 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

My system was scrounged together for not much $$$, but it sounds pretty good, though it's a bit too big for my tiny, NYC- sized living room. These are the prices I paid, all equipment was purchased in new condition: Parasound PHP-850 preamplifier - $250
Audio Source Amp Two power amplifier - $250
JVC CD Player - $100
Infinity Reference 4 Speakers - $600

― o. nate, Monday, 15 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

hey, what's that vincent cd player? German? Anyway, we have discussed this before on ILM, but you can put together a very nice system at various pricepoints ($1000, $2000, $3000, more) if you are willing to look outside of best buy/circuit city and especially if you are willing to try some used components. There has been debate on ilm about the value of having a good system but I am definitely in the camp of those who think it vastly adds to the enjoyment of music, when you can actually hear what was recorded. Of course, some people take the audiophile thing way too far, constantly replacing components and not really listening to much music. Personally I haven't changed anything in my system for a while, it includes:
Threshold s/500 amp (80's vintage)
Von Schweikert VR-4 speakers
Sonic Frontiers SFL-1 Signature preamp
Rotel CD player & birdland audio odeon lite dac
Acoustic Signature Final Tool turntable
Note to students & recent grads: this stuff may sound expensive but chances are you will be able to afford a 1 or 2K stereo at some point in your future. Also, "high-end" components hold their value much better than "mid-fi" stuff and are easy to sell (not investments, but your money kind of sticks around. New stuff always depreciates but after a certain level things kind of hold their value. I have bought used equipment that I sold for the same or slightly more or less) - so your $2000 investment might last a long time...

― g, Monday, 15 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Yes I do belive it's made in germany. It weighs twenty pounds which is pretty heavy for a CD player. It sounds very nice, and it plays HDCDs too.

― Marc, Monday, 15 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Rega/Dynaudio/Arcam would make a nice set-up.

My hifi is all Naim/Linn stuff; I've bragged about it too many times to list it all again.

― Sean, Monday, 15 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

My hifi is all Naim/Linn stuff; I've bragged about it too many times to list it all again.

C'mon! Please! :)

― OCP, Monday, 15 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Oh, alright. : ) Linn LP-12/Lingo/Ittok/Rega Exact
Naim CD 3.5/FlatCap
Naim 102/HiCap
Naim 250
Linn Kabers
To borrow language from Naim's understated product literature, the system is "adequate".

― Sean, Monday, 15 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

amp is shitty richer sounds bargain basement, turntable is shitty sony £50 job that has all the kick of a palsied wasp, tuner is something from stereo my dad used in the 1970s (lovely chrome finish), CD player is my CD walkman, now running through a phono jack to the amp, since my last CD player bought the farm over a year ago.

maybe i need to go shopping...

― stevie, Monday, 15 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

LOL

― Marc, Monday, 15 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Thrill to the six-year old two deck Panasonic tape machine with one deck that broke whilst taping something off the top 40/godawful laptop CD drive live and direct via phono jack combo that has its bass capacities tested by the Trembling Blue Stars if you go up past 1/4 volume...

― Mr Swygart, Monday, 15 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

I've got A MCS J.C. Penny's reciever and cassette. I bought it at a hospice shop for $10. Its been working for over a year.

A friend gave me a set of speakers for his Sony Boom Box

I just recently got a Sony CD player. I went for the mid-range $75 one.

― brg30, Monday, 15 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

I was using my Power Book with a 3 piece Cambridge SoundWork as speakers but the other day I bought a Sony CD Walkman to play CDs and CDRs. It is pretty sweet. The speakers cost $85 and the Walkman was $100. Nice bottom and easy to move.

― richee boy, Thursday, 18 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Temporary space-saving summer setup: My deluxe Aiwa 3-CD changer running through a pretty damn nice pair of Altec-Lansing computer speakers. Also, I have a Technics 2000 turntable with a brand-new Grado cartridge, but it's running through one of those crappy little $40 space-saving amps. When (if?) I'm ever settled more permanently, I'd like to invest in something a little nicer.

― Clarke B., Thursday, 18 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

For the past year and a half I have been living in a small apartment, so I don't really have the space to set up a room setup.

I used to have a nice pawnshop put together late-70s setup with a Pioneer turntable and old school Sony amp with a "vintage" RCA early generation CD player that my Mom won in a raffle in 1986. All three bit the dust a couple of years back within weeks of each other, almost like they couldn't bear to be parted.

Since I don't have the space, I live off of my Sony boombox, Discman and sometimes listening to music routed through my Yamaha MSP5 studio monitors.

I haven't listened to any vinyl since I packed it up two years ago. I'm all CD these days. I've never got too hooked on the mp3 thing, since I am on a dialup.

― earlnash, Thursday, 18 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Alan Partridge to thread!

― Venga, Thursday, 18 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

I was only going to contribute to this thread if Sean did first...

Copland CDA266 HDCD (shiny discs)
Michell Gyro SE/Cardas re-wired Rega RB-300/Ortofon MC25FL (black discs)
NVA Phono 1 MC (make black discs go loud)
Audiolab 8000Q/8000M x 2 (make all things go loud)
Nakamichi DR-3 (tape: outdated format, popular in the 80s - see Bow Wow Wow)
NAD 402 (low quality eff-emm)
Sony MDS-JE520 (emm-dee: soon-to-be-outdated format, popular in the 90s - see Gescom)
Heybrook Quartets (so I can hear it all)
Chord Co, van den Hul, Nordost cables (constant reminders of gullibility, lurking just behind rack)

― Michael Jones, Thursday, 18 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

I just use my powerbook & rio volt mp3 cd player with Sennheiser EH2200 headphones. I don't quite see the point of having nice speakers in an aparment where I'd never be able to turn them up at all, so I'm pretty happy with this for now.

― lyra in seattle, Thursday, 18 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Kenwood 3020 s.e. Amp. Marantz cd52s.e. cd player. Ver old Sony turntable (not sure of the spec but sounds good) Nakamichi tape deck. Denon tuner. Mision 760's (running bass only) Castle Trent's (bi wired for treble) Cable talk talk 3 cable Gold connectors (courtesy of Tandy)

Most of it is 10 years old but as long as it sounds good I won't be replacing it in a hurry.

― Kris England., Friday, 19 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

lots of crappy 2nd hand stuff in every room of our house. the one in my room has a working tape deck & turntable but no CD player, & i also got a ghetto blaster that only the radio works on. in the bathroom is a 3-in-1 setup where the CD player doesnt work, the radio works, the tape deck sometimes works. it turns itself on & off at seeming random. in the lounge/kitchen area is a old record player w/ built in radio. in the other lounge aka the TV room is another blaster type thing where only the radio works. in jane & richie's rm is i think only a record player that works any more. i try & keep all these things going as much of the time as possible. we definitely need a CD player that works somewhere in this beeyatch.

― UOIU, Friday, 19 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

oh yeah i forgot, in amongst this junk i've actually got these pretty hot (+ ridiculously big & heavy) speakers wired up to my crappy crap. they were my sister's, i guess she gave em to me because they are from the days before people knew you could have good speakers that didnt weigh a ton each & she woulda got some as good or better that didn't. they're Fishers, is that a good brand?

― UOIU, Friday, 19 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Well, they are bettar than Fisher Price...

Actually I havn't heard of that brand before.

― Marc, Friday, 19 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

typical that on a site that deals with actual good music, there are like 3 "audiophiles"...

― g, Friday, 19 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

I'm not an audiophile! Really!

― Sean, Friday, 19 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

typical that on a site that deals with actual good music, there are like 3 "audiophiles"...

Ha, all my money -> CDs. It's much easier to spend it $15 at a time than to save up for a stereo system. (;

― lyra in seattle, Friday, 19 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

I had the best speakers I ever owned or probably ever will own when I was around 19. I worked like crazy during a summer off from college and spent like $700 (that's 1988 dollars) on a pair by a company called Phase Tech. I had to sell them three years later when "real life" intervened and I needed the $. Since then I've never owned anything nice, though I still dream of it.

Now, my speakers are Cambridge Soundwords Ensemble IIs (they sound good considering they're only $200), receiver is Sony, turntable is a cheapie Technics w/ an OK AT cartridge, CD player is a portable that needs a rubber band to stay closed.

Still, it sounds WAY better than a boombox or cheap all-in-one, and I'm satisfied. I do think a certain amount of fidelity is important, esp. when you listen to heavily textured electronic music.

― Mark, Friday, 19 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Sony 5x60W Dolby Digital/DTS Reciever, low-end Sony bookshelf speakers, v.cheap rear surrounds, cheap centre, cheap-ish Gale active subwoofer, mid-range Sony DVD/CD Player (doesn't play CDRs), Sony MZR900 MD walkman, shiny silver old(-ish) Sony micro-hifi for Tapes and CDRs. Also I quite often hook up a Sony Digital Relay for MP3 CDs, and iTunes on my PowerBook.

― Graham, Friday, 19 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Have you ever been to pussy heaven?

NO?

WELL

THIS...

IS...

IT!!! http://www.pocketcalculatorshow.com/boombox/graphics/fatboys2.jp g

― UZI Ma$Ta, Friday, 19 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

My stereo is a 'Proseries' all in one with a turntable on top and it's even got those phony graphic equalizers where you move one slider and they all move at the same time - they're just totally fake - and a volume switch with two sliders that also both move at the same time. And the built in record player, check this out, it is so outdated that you have to pull the record arm outwards to start the record turning. What kind of technology is that? But I got the best speakers, from an op shop in Devonport, they're tall but triangular shaped - to fit into corners - and they sound really warm. I'm sure they would have been expensive in the seventies - they're a one-off design for somebody's home. Another good set up I had to go along with CD-playerless all in one Proseries was a CD man I got for Christmas playing through some of those cheap walkman speakers. You know the kind you can buy in electronic stores for $15? So you can faintly hear the music so long as a car isn't passing on the street outside. But what I like is when someone says, 'Oh, I don't need a CD player, I can just play the CDs through my computer.' Yeah, ten minutes after you get the urge to hear the CD you can hear some low volume crackling sound. That's what's so great about this proliferation of technology and formats - inconvenience. In the case of the newest format, the MP3, it only takes one hour to download each song! And you only need a microchip which you can't repair yourself inside your stereo to listen to it!

― maryann, Saturday, 20 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

one year passes...

I'm replacing a unit that's served me well for the last 10 years -- a vintage (silver) Pioneer Receiver. A circa-1973 Pioneer SX-727 handles two (or four) channels very nicely at 40 watts per channel can pump out about as much volume as you'll ever need. The fact that this unit's thirty years old doesn't bother me one bit -- they made really good shit back then -- and the sound that comes from it can be described as nothing short of cozy. I was going upgrade to something nicer and can afford pretty much whatever i want -- i went right back to the exact same model and found it's twin for a cool 50 bucks.

My turntable is another 70's vintage; Technics SL-23 -- stable platform, great balance, two needles;

A player from Tascam is the only cassette deck you'll ever need -- unless, of course, you need two.

CD Player -- NAD equipment touts high quality and low frills -- modern equipment can be so flaky, i stick with the stuff that gonna last -- so buy CD players NEW - not used.

Speakers -- my Wharfedale bookshelf speakers sound much better than units costing 5 times as much and my two pair can rock the hell out of my entire house.

---and i am want for nothing but more tunes.

http://www.oaktreeent.com/web_photos/Stereo_Receivers/Pioneer_SX-727_Stereo_Receiver_web.jpg
http://www.oaktreeent.com/web_photos/Stereo_Turntables_CD/Technics_SL-23_D017_collage.jpg
http://www.zzounds.com/media/feed/large/TAS122MKIII.jpg
http://img.epinions.com/images/opti/4c/22/pr-NAD_T512_Standard_DVD-resized200.jpg
http://img.epinions.com/images/opti/b4/0a/pr-Wharfedale_Diamond_7_1_Home_Audio_Main_Stereo_Speaker-resized200.gif

― christoff (christoff), Thursday, 10 June 2004 18:31 (twenty-one years ago)

Sorry -- those pics are a bit much.

― christoff (christoff), Thursday, 10 June 2004 18:33 (twenty-one years ago)

ahem, http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B00006654F.01._PE9_PI_SCMZZZZZZZ_.jpg

― Morley Timmons (Donna Brown), Thursday, 10 June 2004 20:18 (twenty-one years ago)

I have a piece of junk Sony CFD-V15 boombox. I couldn't find a picture. There's something wrong with the CD tray. After you insert the CD it won't read it unless you open and close the lid a few times. I have 500 CDs and only that thing to play them on....I seriously need to save some money and get a nice stereo...

― AaronHz (AaronHz), Thursday, 10 June 2004 20:33 (twenty-one years ago)

Uhm, I've got a Mac G5 and some ultra-crappy speakers that I got with a Dell computer some five or so years ago. That or the little headphones that I use when on the laptop. I should consider upgrading, I suppose.

― Matt Maxwell (Matt M.), Friday, 11 June 2004 02:46 (twenty-one years ago)

I suffered with an awful setup for too long! Finally got it sorted this year. I love it this way, the only connections I have are to the speakers, no amp needed! And it sounds pretty amazing.

Even though the low end on the 624s seems like it could demolish a medium sized child I wanna get the matchnig Mackie sub. Anyone got a spare grand lying around?

http://www.mackie.com/products/hr624/images/top_hr624.jpg

+ A Technics 1210mk5 Record Deck

+ Cassette Walkman and Computer

― TomB (TomB), Friday, 11 June 2004 10:48 (twenty-one years ago)

Why do people with good taste in music usually have crap stereo systems?

― Stewart Osborne (Stewart Osborne), Friday, 11 June 2004 11:02 (twenty-one years ago)

NAD c350 integrated amp
Tannoy M4 speakers
Marantz CD-63 player
NAD 533 turntable
Marantz CDR-300 CD-R/RW Recorder

nothing fancy.. but I like the sound..

― nothingleft (nothingleft), Friday, 11 June 2004 13:52 (twenty-one years ago)

i also have the marantz cd-63 and i got it for $100 used so no complaints but, and i know this is audio-apostasy, damned if i don't like the sound of a LAME-encoded VBR mp3 coming through the MSB Link DAC better! i so crazy!!! i'd like to get another one of those and just use the marantz as a transport.

― common_person (common_person), Friday, 11 June 2004 15:28 (twenty-one years ago)

TEAC AH-300 35 Watt Integrated Amplifier
TEAC RW-H300 CD Recorder
MUSIC HALL MMF 5 Turntable w/Goldring 1012GX phono cartridge
Powerbook G3 Lombard (WFMU, MP3s, etc)
Crappy Panasonic speakers (which sort of negates the luxury above)

I can't decide between Axiom M3ti, Paradigm Focus, or Epos ELS-3 speakers, but will likely go with one of them eventually. For now I am staying with a friend and listen to his system most of the time anyway (ROTEL amp and tuner, PIONEER cd player, LINN KAN speakers, LINN turntable).

― Ryan McKay (Ryan McKay), Saturday, 12 June 2004 08:08 (twenty-one years ago)

i have NAD cd player and amp. a techics deck. mission speakers that are a wee bit too precise.

its not like i ever get the chance to sit there and thing "whoo, sweet"

― mullygrubber (gaz), Saturday, 12 June 2004 08:24 (twenty-one years ago)

two years pass...

Thanks again to everyone who made suggestions on my sandbox stereo thread. In the event, I bought an Onkyo receiver, a Denon DVD/CD player (I just have had bad experiences with SONY and don't like that company in general), and Infinity Primus 160 speakers. Which came out to be under $600, with cables added in. (Would have been a little less if I hadn't damaged the end of one cable in my ignorant attempt to figure out how to attach it.) I only just now have gotten it hooked up, so I can't comment, beyond: it sounds good to me.

― Rockist Scientist, Hippopoptimist (RSLaRue), Wednesday, 31 January 2007 17:18 (nineteen years ago)

Was it you asking for advice on something for less than $1,000?

― Mark (MarkR), Wednesday, 31 January 2007 17:34 (nineteen years ago)

Yeah. Your tip on the Infinity Primus speakers was especially helpful, I think. Not that I went around comparing speakers, but deciding which speakers to by made the rest of it easier.

― Rockist Scientist, Hippopoptimist (RSLaRue), Wednesday, 31 January 2007 17:37 (nineteen years ago)

That's great, hope you enjoy it.

― Mark (MarkR), Wednesday, 31 January 2007 17:39 (nineteen years ago)

Bought some vintage Quad amplification over the weekend (34 pre-amp and 306 power-amp) and Celestion 300 floorstanders as a "second system" for the lounge to replace a mini-system (My main system is in the second room connected to my DAW).

http://www.audiocostruzioni.com/r_s/ampli/quad-34-306/quad%2034%20e%20606.JPG

Cost me £200 for the amps, and £150 for the speakers: remind me why anyone buys equipment new again? 15 years ago it would have cost well over a grand for this stuff and similar equipment would probably nudge near £2000 now.

More than enough power for ours needs, and the amps look good too - helping keep the lady of the house happy! Most importantly it sounds very very nice indeed. Finally I can enjoy listeneing to music on the sofa, rather than sitting in an office chair in the other room, and films sound amazing now as well. Perhaps the floorstanders are slightly boomy, but that's possibly bad placement as much as anything.

Plus, having to rearrange the room to fit floor standers in has freed up some space to have a table to eat at for the first time in 3 years.

― Chewshabadoo (Chewshabadoo), Thursday, 1 February 2007 10:56 (nineteen years ago)

I got some NAD amp and CD player with some big B&W speakers.

― is anyone anticipating the new Baaderonixx? (baaderonixx), Thursday, 1 February 2007 11:07 (nineteen years ago)

I have a hi-fi, a head-fi (god, kill me) and a mini system. Good grief.

― Sick Mouthy (Nick Southall), Thursday, 1 February 2007 11:08 (nineteen years ago)

The hi-fi; http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v236/njsouthall/Headphones%20and%20hi-fi/IMG_6252.jpg

The head-fi; http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v236/njsouthall/Headphones%20and%20hi-fi/DSC00623.jpg

The minisystem (sans headphone amp); http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v236/njsouthall/Headphones%20and%20hi-fi/IMG_6129.jpg

― Sick Mouthy (Nick Southall), Thursday, 1 February 2007 11:12 (nineteen years ago)

nice red panda bear

― vita susicivus (blueski), Thursday, 1 February 2007 11:14 (nineteen years ago)

I love red pandas.

― Sick Mouthy (Nick Southall), Thursday, 1 February 2007 11:18 (nineteen years ago)

My stereo used to belong to Mr and Mrs Porkpie.

I thought the amp was on its way out a couple of weeks ago, but it is fine again now.

I wish there weren't so many cables and wires though.

― PJ Miller (PJ Miller 68), Thursday, 1 February 2007 11:20 (nineteen years ago)

Quite true. I couldn't convince the Pinefox of the virtues of this approach though, so he has a nice, shiny, new system of his own that I helped him select. I somehow doubt he'll post details of it here.

Lovely Quad amps - I saw the same models years ago in the window of SS Radio in Wallasey (they were a bit consternated when I actually walked in to make an enquiry - they weren't used to customers) and they wanted about £250. Proper tone controls! Couldn't justify a 2nd system at the time (I had visions of some separates at my parents' house, just for the bi-monthly visits).

My system hasn't changed* since my post on this thread in 2002. It just seems more offensively like a white elephant than it did back then. So much space and time devoted to housing it and how often do I really get to use it to anything like its full potential? Never. Kids, eh?

(* - actually, that's not true; I sold the NAD [broken display] on eBay for something like a fiver in 2005. Radio now comes from the Freeview box. There's a Sony DVD player in there too.)

― Michael Jones (MichaelJ), Thursday, 1 February 2007 11:58 (nineteen years ago)

Since you are doing photos (except I don't have one of my actual set-up):

http://akamaipix.crutchfield.com/products/2006/033/h033DV1730B-f.jpeg
http://akamaipix.crutchfield.com/products/2006/580/h580TX8222-f.jpeg
http://akamaipix.crutchfield.com/products/2003/108/h108P160-f-1.jpeg

(These will probably all look like red x's.)

― Rockist Scientist, Hippopoptimist (RSLaRue), Thursday, 1 February 2007 13:46 (nineteen years ago)

I still dream about buying a nicer stereo, but the money for it is still a ways away. Would love to get a decent turntable first. I have a belt-drive Technics, they still sell it, a low-end model. And for the most part it's OK, but I really can't listen to solo piano on it because that's when you notice the speed isn't as precise as it should be. So my Bill Evans LPs don't get as much use I'd like to give them. Last year I bought some Klipsch KG 2 bookshelf speakers at a yard sale for almost nothing and they're wonderful; if I ever replace them with something new I'll definitely consider Klipsch.

― Mark (MarkR), Thursday, 1 February 2007 14:02 (nineteen years ago)

I'm starting to get paranoid about pitch/speed tuning on my turntable. I always have the impression that it's wrong and start playing stuff I know by heart to make sure. Yet, it never seems right. Any tips?

― is anyone anticipating the new Baaderonixx? (baaderonixx), Thursday, 1 February 2007 15:03 (nineteen years ago)

You can get speed checker discs (forget the correct term) which when viewd under a house light (50 hz in the UK or 60hz in the US - make sure you get one with the correct spacing) will rotoscope into a stationary line at the correct speed .

I'm sure you must be able to download one somewhere and print it out.

― Chewshabadoo (Chewshabadoo), Thursday, 1 February 2007 16:16 (nineteen years ago)

Seems to be some PDFs linked here:

http://www.vinylengine.com/diy_strobe.shtml

― Chewshabadoo (Chewshabadoo), Thursday, 1 February 2007 16:21 (nineteen years ago)

This Sunny Jain Collective CD sounds great on my new setup. I'm going to have to try out everything I have that is remotely jazz.

― Rockist Scientist, Hippopoptimist (RSLaRue), Saturday, 3 February 2007 00:08 (nineteen years ago)

ah the best part of improving a stereo!

― W i l l (common_person), Saturday, 3 February 2007 01:39 (nineteen years ago)

four years pass...

after months of passive 'research' and hmming and hawing i finally tonight in a fit of tired madness pulled together a cheap system through ebay: sansui au-101 amplifer, marantz cd-40, wharfedale diamond 7.1 speakers, to go along with the pro-ject debut iii i already have. horrendous hodge-podge of styles aside, how did i do?

― sunn :o))) (Merdeyeux), Monday, 14 November 2011 06:21 (fourteen years ago)

You tell us, dude; are you enjoying listening to music on it?

― Sick Mouthy (Scik Mouthy), Monday, 14 November 2011 08:17 (fourteen years ago)

i don't know i'm waiting for it to arrive! i do suspect it'll be a little better than my current laptop -> old time pc speakers setup, though.

― sunn :o))) (Merdeyeux), Monday, 14 November 2011 20:09 (fourteen years ago)

six months pass...

it was good while it lasted! then i exploded one of my speakers while, um, 'testing the volume'. the sansui amp really packs a punch for a little thing, very little need to ever go higher than 3. i feel the speakers were a bit of a weak link though, so i'm not going to bother seeing if it's repairable. does anyone have any speaker recommendations? i'll probably go to ~£100.

― Merdeyeux, Thursday, 31 May 2012 20:28 (thirteen years ago)

what size suits you? i'd go tannoy dual concentric studio monitors or floor standing tdl rtl2 or rtl3 reflex transmission lines, ebay budget is like £100 for the 3's and 50 for the 2's boo ya

― Crackle Box, Saturday, 2 June 2012 17:30 (thirteen years ago)

ha, this was the thread where i found ilm, fucking hell 2004

― Crackle Box, Saturday, 2 June 2012 17:31 (thirteen years ago)

hm, sounds good, i'll look into them, thanks! (probably looking for bookshelf-y sized, but if i come across some great buy with floor standing i guess i'll consider what room rearranging i could do...)

― Merdeyeux, Sunday, 3 June 2012 14:57 (thirteen years ago)

Too bad about the Diamond. Wharfedale makes great speakers, especially for the prices I paid. I have Evo 20 and center in the bedroom, and Opus 3 in the living room. Rega R3 in the office.

Yamaha NS-6490 are pretty good inexpensive bookshelves, though my philosophy is to save up and get the best speakers you can, as those make the most difference in SQ. And good ones could last a lifetime, though maybe not for those of us that like to test their limits often. Another good speaker from the UK is Mordaunt-Short. A couple friends have been very happy with them (range starts with Carnival, Alumni, Aviano & Mezzo).

My last upgrade was last year, I got a Marantz AV8003 for the living room home theater setup, powered by Emotiva XPA-5.

― Fastnbulbous, Monday, 4 June 2012 03:15 (thirteen years ago)

haven't listened to any vinyl since I packed it up two years ago. I'm all CD these days. I've never got too hooked on the mp3 thing, since I am on a dialup.

― earlnash, Wednesday, July 17, 2002 8:00 PM (9 years ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Sad thing is nearly ten years later and none of my vinyl has been played since I moved, which kind of bums me out.

In my music room, I got a PC with a few terrabytes of hard drive space and have been listening to wav file rips for the most part through some M-Audio powered studio speakers. I got the PC that can be sent through my recording setup which are the same Yamaha speakers listed above. Beyond that, I got a Sony bookshelf CD player in my bedroom, which I do use some.

MP3s pretty much suck. I ripped about 1/2 my collection and just found them to sound so bad with all of these sonic artifacts that would make me nuts. I added on a huge 4 terrabyte hard drive and have been working through ripping my CDs as uncompressed wav files. I do use mp3s some, but more for mobile use on a phone or to listen to at work.

― earlnash, Monday, 4 June 2012 03:25 (thirteen years ago)

Why don't you use FLAC?? Much smaller than wav, lossless, and you can tag them, unlike wav.

― Fastnbulbous, Monday, 4 June 2012 03:50 (thirteen years ago)

The thing that put me off FLAC is that it is an oddball format that so many of the basic music readers don't use. Really at this point, hard drive space for music is kind of not really something I'm worried about. I might be thinking twice once I get my two 4 terrabyte drives filled (one master, one backup), but really, those kind of drives keep dropping in price. In a short matter of time, having a few terrabytes of data is not going to matter, which blows my mind, as in like 1999 I quoted and purchased for my employer at the time pretty slick hot swap raid system of 4 terrabytes and it cost like a million bucks.

Cool thing about having it in WAV is that I can go into anything else by just running a bulk converter.

You can also tag Wav files. I've been using this software called DB Poweramp and it does have the ability to add 'metadata' to the file. That software has really worked out pretty well so far. I liked it enought to actually buy it.

― earlnash, Monday, 4 June 2012 03:58 (thirteen years ago)

genelec 1031a's

http://www.genelec.com/documents/images/previousmodels/1031a.jpg

with genelec 7070a subwoofer:

http://www.genelec.com/documents/images/products/7070a.jpg

run through an spl 238s monitor & talkback controller:

http://spl.info/uploads/pics/mtc2381_387x225_01.jpg

it's a monitor setup for my home studio, but the gen's sound so nice i listen to most of my music there as well. right now i'm using it to listen to the headphones out from my apple desktop, which any audiophile worth his salt would berate me for, deservedly (though 320vbr mp3s sound pretty damn good through this setup as it is) but one day i'd love to get a apogee duet2

http://www.apogeedigital.com/images/duet2-paneltour.jpg

to make it all sound even better..

― messiahwannabe, Monday, 4 June 2012 06:02 (thirteen years ago)

oh, duh. sorry, here's yer audiophileporn:

genelec 1031a's
http://www.genelec.com/documents/images/previousmodels/1031a.jpg

genelec 7070a subwoofer:
http://www.genelec.com/documents/images/products/7070a.jpg

spl 238s monitor & talkback controller:
http://spl.info/uploads/pics/mtc2381_387x225_01.jpg

apogee duet2:
http://www.apogeedigital.com/images/duet2-paneltour.jpg

― messiahwannabe, Monday, 4 June 2012 06:05 (thirteen years ago)

five years pass...

having to move office - I presently have a Rega RP3, phono stage, receiver/amp, cd player & a couple of Rega bookshelf speakers all of which I house a little awkwardly on an old sewing table.

just saw these: https://www.needledoctor.com/Audioengine-HD6-Powered-Bookshelf-Speakers

anybody heard anything? the convenience of going direct to the speakers is the hook but I'm sort of conditioned to think "you gotta have an amp"

― she carries a torch. two torches, actually (Joan Crawford Loves Chachi), Sunday, 29 April 2018 17:28 (eight years ago)

Linn LK100, Linn Kairn, Linn Numerik with a Sonos plugged into it, Rega turntable, Arcam CD player (on its last legs and never used), large Monitor Audio Bronze speakers. With the exception of the Sonos, none of it was paid for (inherited, not stolen) and it sounds incredible.

― Matt DC, Sunday, 29 April 2018 18:28 (eight years ago)

large Monitor Audio Bronze speakers

i got some of these as well, floorstander edition ... love'em.
re powered speakers : i know this may be old man alert, but i dont like the idea of mixing technologies when it comes to speakers.
having extra functionality inside the cabinets just means that there is not the same purity than with dedicated speakers.
and there is more to go wrong...

― mark e, Sunday, 29 April 2018 18:54 (eight years ago)

It's standard for studio monitors to have amps built in though.

― Gonk Steady Crew (Noel Emits), Sunday, 29 April 2018 21:11 (eight years ago)

I have the Audioengine A5+'s and am very happy with them. They get plenty loud and sound great. Hooked up a Sonos Connect to them and that takes care of my digital library as well.

― Gerald McBoing-Boing, Sunday, 29 April 2018 22:03 (eight years ago)

Pioneer stereo with cd/tape/aux

― done and dusted (Ross), Sunday, 29 April 2018 22:26 (eight years ago)

and an acoustech record player

― done and dusted (Ross), Sunday, 29 April 2018 22:28 (eight years ago)

Ah, it's nice to see the old system listed up there :( eBay'd the lot in the summer of 2012. Well, couldn't get a taker for the NVA phono pre-amp and never got round to listing the Nakamichi, so they're still on top of a wardrobe. Still a little bitter at what I eventually got for the Copland (first time it was listed it went for a very good amount - to someone from Malaysia who hadn't read the "UK shipping only" bit). Oh, and I held on to the MD deck.

These days:
Marantz M-CR610 (CD, FM, DAB, USB stick, AirPlay, Spotify Connect, digital in for the TV/Blu-ray player; analogue in for vinyl; amp)
Pro-Ject Debut Carbon + Phono USB V pre-amp
Sony MDS-JE520 (MiniDisc! 19 years old now)
Q-Acoustics 2020i speakers

And just to show I haven't completely misplaced my audiophilic tendency to throw money down a well, I swapped out my obscene 1996-vintage Nordost Flatline speaker cable (wouldn't reach) for some hardly-much-cheaper Chord Clearway stuff that looks like a hosepipe snaking around the fireplace. They saw me coming.

It all sounds *fine*.

Other system is MacBook through Focusrite box and Yamaha HS5 monitors. For all that home recording I don't do.

― Michael Jones, Sunday, 29 April 2018 22:37 (eight years ago)

I have a red Onkyo CS-265 ($200) and an Audio Technica LP120 with stock needle. Sounds great.

― you bet, nancy (map), Sunday, 29 April 2018 22:49 (eight years ago)

I've heard the white CS-265 has truer depth

― mick signals, Sunday, 29 April 2018 23:40 (eight years ago)

Only started giving any attention to my stereo systems in the last year or so and wish I had done this decades ago!

All of my gear is second-hand, I now have two systems, each cost less than $300 Australian and they've both added priceless amounts of pleasure to my listening

Those Denon DVD players are great quality for CDs/SACDs/HDCDs and everyone is getting rid of them for nothing because of Netflix etc

Accuphase E-204
Denon DVD-2910 for CDs
Cheapshit TEAC direct drive turntable for vinyl
B&W DM1400 speakers

Marantz PM7200
Another Denon DVD-2910
Apple Airport Express for cheap and easy wireless streaming
Kef Reference 104AB speakers

― umsworth (emsworth), Monday, 30 April 2018 00:07 (eight years ago)

I've heard the white CS-265 has truer depth

― mick signals, Monday, April 30, 2018 12:40 AM (thirty-four minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

i have to look at it ok?

― you bet, nancy (map), Monday, 30 April 2018 00:15 (eight years ago)

Onkyo A-9010 - love this amp, has a lot of optical/analog inputs.
Wharfedale Diamond 10.2 speakers - worth every dollar I spent on them.
Technics SL-1200M3D turntable - put this together out of spare parts sourced from eBay
Apple Airport Express

― Elvis Telecom, Monday, 30 April 2018 02:54 (eight years ago)

Arcam A85 amp
Arcam CD23 cd player
Project Debut Esprit turntable
Dynaudio Emit M10 speakers
Google Chromecast Audio

Very happy with this set up.

― millmeister, Monday, 30 April 2018 10:29 (eight years ago)

I have a Pro-Ject Debut that I got at a market for a fiver (along with a pre-amp.) Hot pink wouldn't have been my first choice but it's in perfect t working order.

― Gonk Steady Crew (Noel Emits), Monday, 30 April 2018 10:39 (eight years ago)

That is a very good find.

― millmeister, Monday, 30 April 2018 11:11 (eight years ago)

Debut for a fiver! Amazing.

― Michael Jones, Monday, 30 April 2018 13:40 (eight years ago)

I have totally 'built' my system in stuff I've come by or acquired off mates:

Late 60s Kef Concord floorstanders (from an uncle. They take a while to warm up but sound magic when they do).
Cambridge Audio Azur 540A amp
Arcam Alpha 7SF CD player
Stanton STR8-150 deck.

― The shard-borne beetle with his drowsy hums (Chinaski), Monday, 30 April 2018 20:18 (eight years ago)

two play:5s and a sub. College dell speakers for grown ups.

― Tapes 'n Tapes of Osho (Sufjan Grafton), Wednesday, 2 May 2018 07:12 (eight years ago)

I have a completely mismatched system at the moment but tbh I've mostly been listening to music through crappy computer speakers or earphones lately.

I've got a Linn LP12 turntable (bought off Ebay a few years ago with a work bonus) but the stylus is fucked
cheap Cambridge Audio amp and phono preamp
Tannoy speakers I bought for £30 off a mate

maybe one day I'll upgrade the amp(s) but I need to buy a new stylus first and not sure I can really afford that at the moment

― Colonel Poo, Wednesday, 2 May 2018 08:44 (eight years ago)

one year passes...

Which DAC do y'all use for streaming to your stereo? I'm currently using a Chromecast but heard an Arcam rBlink last weekend and am thinking I should upgrade.

― Life is a meaningless nightmare of suffering...save string (Chinaski), Friday, 11 October 2019 16:38 (six years ago)

You must be logged in to post. Please either login here, or if you are not registered, you may register here.