AUDIOPHILIA: CLASSIC OR DUD?

it's only punk if you build it yourself because

http://www.soundstage.com/candystore/pics/200505_platter.jpg
http://www.stereomojo.com/images/clip_image024_000.jpg

http://www.stereomojo.com/images/clip_image011_000.jpg
This is the Kuzma Stabi XL with the Air line arm. At about $13k without cart. It is one of the best tables in the world. The ebony clamp your see is an option. Kuzma is perhaps the most underrated table line in the world and this table in particular may be THE high-end value ever. Jonathan Valin recently compared it very favorably to the much more expensive Walker that had an additional $15K worth of Tara cables. He liked the Walker a little bit better, but the difference I believe may have had more to do with the cables than the table. Jonathan is still working on that, we hear. I had a nice conversation with him at the show; he’s very congenial and generous, but I didn’t bring up the review. I am looking forward to his follow up.

I recently visited his farmhouse in Vaassen, Holland, and discovered a capacious listening room so full of vinyl and hi-fi that there is only enough space for a single listening seat in front of his towering Acapella Violon Cello speakers. The floor of this Aladdin’s cave is covered in boxes of jazz and classical LPs, plus the odd turntable or tape recorder, with more classic kit stacked on shelves around the room. Hidden under a silk cloth, I found a Nakamichi Dragon turntable, a legendary beast that literally shifts the platter to iron out pitch variations caused by centre hole eccentricity - they don’t build ’em like that any more. AJ had picked this up recently and not yet had time to cram it onto the jam packed area that functions as an equipment support. Here the turntable of choice is a Brinkmann La Grange, finished in white and fitted with a contrasting seventies Technics tonearm with a detachable headshell - essential if you are a cartridge maker, it would seem.

http://www.slimdevices.com/images/connectiondiagram.gif

^^^for jon williams

http://www.unitedhomeproducts.com/bf120e40.jpg

^^^sanskrit's home system.

http://www.noteworthyaudio.co.uk/diy/stoetkit_junior_angle.jpg

http://designcrack.com/v2/wp-content/uploads/2007/04/cocoon-mc4-tube-amp.jpg

DO WE REALLY NEED AN IPOD TUBE AMP?

lol, in reality i play $300 records on a $30 turntable

where is link to rich dude in switzerland who made a special audiophile house? people were clowning on him on ilm a while back.

my turntable is one that is older than me, that my parents bought in the early eighties. one belt replacement and many, many needle changes later it still sounds good enough for me.

I am overfamiliar with these kind of freex due to my classical music obsession, but happy to say I'm free of the affliction myself.

Grado headphones, 192kbps MP3, good enough for me.

also, my speakers are stacked on top of one another and shoved in a corner.
that's why i don't invite audiophiles over to my house.
audiophile guy referenced above also invited me to his audiophile christmas party last year and encourage me to bring some of my favorite "well recorded" records.

i listen to music through a keyboard amp

you don't even LIKE music.

i like music. i just hate ilm. there is a difference.

i am always tempted to ask audiophiles guys what they do for day jobs, since they always seem to be dropping 10-20k on stereo components.

I went to one of David Mancuso's famed audiophile "Loft" parties with 18K jap neddles, etc ... sounded pretty fucking good actually!

..but the wife made me leave cuz she don't like disco

dud.

classic!

timmy e, where is timsoundsystem.jpg?

http://www.audiophilia.com/forum/showthread.php?t=108

I would get a dedicated headphone amp first.
I would get a dedicated headphone amp first.
I would get a dedicated headphone amp first.
I would get a dedicated headphone amp first.
I would get a dedicated headphone amp first.
I would get a dedicated headphone amp first.

lol, in reality i play $300 records on a $30 turntable
-- sanskrit, Wednesday, September 5, 2007 10:11 PM (34 minutes ago) Bookmark Link

what 300$ records are you buying? inquisitive minds want to know.

i recently replaced needle and saw these 2000$ sumiko cartridges. blew my mind. i'm sure (like sexydancer says about mancuso) they're nothing compared to real audiophile dudes.

http://img209.imageshack.us/img209/8227/mediabr7.gif

The VTA adjustment system's clamping mechanism has undergone a significant upgrade as well. Other 2.0 changes include a new, more massive main pivot housing (now made of tungsten), a stronger and sturdier VTA adjustment drive, a new "fine-tuning" adjustment scale, and a minor change in the main housing geometry to provide for greater lateral stability. Graham has also refined his ceramic armwand (when this was first introduced, the 1.5t became the 1.5t/c), using a denser ceramic material while embedding in the outer tube a metallic substrate that allows the tube to be electrocoated for both a better-looking finish and improved electromagnetic shielding.

No pictures - I do have some low level Pardigm speakers (Titans) that are really tight sounding and got a good deal on a used audiophile CD player recently that was made by an English company in 1994.

I think, in general, if you're not a zillionaire, you can still do really well getting low level audiophile stuff for fairly cheap.

I am watching 300 for the first time tonight!

what 300$ records are you buying? inquisitive minds want to know.

-- jaxon, Wednesday, 5 September 2007 22:47 (Yesterday) Link

i would never do that! just playchecking finds like a woody guthrie folkways 10" or paunett0's p0int, to see what the big deal is. they're eventually destined for others.

most i ever paid for anything was $80 for the Cage 3xLP 25th retrospective concert

Grado "Red" cart
music hall mmf1 table
crap $20 preamp (worst part of system)
sony 5.1 800 watt thing w/ tiny tiny tiny speakers :/ subwoofer is hueg though

Does anyone with 5.1 run any of the virtual surround programs on LPs?

Oh and I use Sony MDR V6 headphones but I got some nice sony earbuds that were $30 and have totally reasonable bass response and are pretty good at blocking out street/subway noises enough so my iPod isn't maxed

thing about running stereo through 5.1 is the fucking center speaker fucks up seperation. I ended up dismantling my system.

audiophiles don't like music

i want a new turntable. when i get money for one i'll get one. my soundsytem suxx but it suits my purposes. it's goods for a small space. which is all i've had for years now. i have an old sherwood turntable that i got at the thrift store. i'm too lazy to buy a new needle. which is dumb of me. but i'm kinda dumb. it's actually not a bad turntable at all (though it's hardly perfect), but i want another one anyway. i have a dumb technics receiver. and dumb boston acoustics speakers. little ones. though they can get nice and loud. and i have a denon double tape deck. also dumb. but whatever. i don't own a cd player. i play CDs thru my computer into my receiver. i've never actually bought a cd player. if i ever buy one, i would get this one:

http://www.vincent-tac.de/pic/big/CDS6front_3.jpg

http://clarkblog.typepad.com/clarkblog/images/evileye.jpg

I mean, clearly awesum.

me: i usually just play computer through amp tho
Jon: ew

two technics 1200 turntables (black)
1 Rane TTM56i DJ mixer
component stereo I've had since high school feat:
Yamaha receiver that I have to hit occasionally to get the left channel back
Yamaha 5 disc changer that I have to pull the tray out manually. Often just features the Zombies box set..
Yamaha dual tape deck.
1 Slim Devices Squeezebox for streaming files from my computer
2 giant Dahlquist subs and 2 ohm speakers on top of them, free hand-me-down from old housemate's dad. No crossover used, just send same signal to all four speakers.

in the "studio", Mac into Motu 828mk2 into 2 Event Audio PS20/20 monitors.

And that's my "system".

Yea, that fucking center speaker

I guess there's different program modes, but fuck the center speaker clearly

sexyDancer, mine turns of the middle speaker in music mode. I'm sure there's a DSP mode for decadent claustrophobic disco tho.

audiophilia = dud

"I only wanna hear the music!" /ellen barkin

and i have a denon double tape deck. also dumb.

The TEAC V-9 might be your answer!

http://www.geocities.jp/freak_audio/v-911.jpg

Picture is only appearing intermittently so here is another:

http://www.hifimuseum.info/tn_teac%20V-9.jpg

Teac V-9
(1981)

A mid-end deck... with a twist.

The twist takes here the shape of the Chromatograph - colour-coded recording levels. Or: how to veer away from the dullness of LED and FL displays. Not as accurate, though, but much prettier to watch in the dark :)
The V-9 could offer Type I, II and III compatibility, use a Dolby NR or not, record from microphone or line inputs and even be triggered to record from a timer (or not) with a "rec-mute" function accessible, if need be, at the touch of a feather-touch button.
As often in Japan, special units are tagged with a sub-name, a concept of sorts, so the V-9 was naturally "conceptualized" as Chameleon.

my receiver has 2CH mode for audio listening, all receivers with 5.1 should have that

i've always kinda wanted a dragon. even though i probably wouldn't know how to use it properly.

http://www.audioinnovationen.de/assets/images/Nakamichi-Dragon-Side-25cm.jpg

or a tascam 122!

http://www.hificafe.net/kolumne/images/Tascam122MKIII.jpg

usb tapedeck!

http://www.firebox.com/product/1849?itc=72&src_t=nwt&src_id=158

I ordered another audiosource preamp for the bedroom /dorrrrrrrkkk

FFFFFFFFFF******************CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD>

man that took long enough to get here. proper gain staging is finally in effect, removing annoying buzz artifact.

also I can has volume and balance knobs

dude (serious question) are you in usa again or eastern europe still? did you mail over a stereo?

?!?!?!? I was only in estonia a week! are you talking to correct person

lol

i thought you were working there on contract!
btw never thought you were blackwater

audiophiles would lol pretty hard at my setup, i'm sure.

2x stanton t.80 decks
stanton m.202 mixer
DSE (local brand) amp (cheap but built like a tank + plenty of power)
DSE speakers

the stanton stuff is OK but i want to upgrade to 1200s or those nice stanton 150s, and a better mixer with an FX loop. (suggestions?)
i could probably do better with the speakers too but they're nice and clear until you get to silly volume levels.

I got some NAD amp and player + some nice huge B&W speakers, but the shape of my living room kinda fucks up the system (ie. I'm sitting much too close to the speakers).

I listened to it all the way through during lunch eating beef U-dong noodle soup at a crowded counter at Tokyo Lunchbox on my Sennheiser PXC-250s. Sounded pretty nice. I considered wearing my AKG 701s on the train but 160kbps isn't worth risking getting mugged for my cans. After Yorke's mellow solo album, I was hoping for something a bit more explosive, but I do like.

-- Fastnbulbous, Wednesday, October 10, 2007 3:43 PM (7 minutes ago) Bookmark Link

160kbps isn't worth risking getting mugged for my cans.

TROOFS.

i just got some sweet new cans.

O000oo.. C(^_^)D ..oo000O

for ian, as promised:
http://www.better-records.com/?gclid=CO-r-4-DuI8CFQ1zHgodRDuzYA

THANKS BRO

why are expensive turn tables really fat?
http://i22.tinypic.com/35n63dl.jpg

I don't know much about these things, just curious cus when I get more money I will buy vinyl.

Stability and momentum, obv

radness:

http://cgi.ebay.com/60th-Anniversary-Klipschorn-Speakers-pair_W0QQitemZ320196638060QQihZ011QQcategoryZ14993QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

goodness.
i really do need new speakers. the ones i have now are old and one of the tweeters is busted. but jeeze, that's a lot of money. i'm waiting til i can get some for $20 at a garage sale.

oh man:

http://www.gardencone.net/wjpll/1.jpg

those are REALLY nice looking.

http://www.gardencone.net/wjpll/7.jpg

http://media.audiojunkies.com/shanling-mc30.jpg

http://www.decibelgarden.com/images/cocoon_mc4_3q_2.jpg

http://www.sonicftp.com/news/images/roth_mc4.jpg

OK WHY DO THESE EXIST

lol. man so much audiophile stuff is so tacky

omg the ipod tube stuff is just fucking hilarious

i know it's like a horse in a tuxedo

IS THAT WOZNIAK UPTHREAD

I wonder if any of the iPod things use the analog outs on the dock connector instead of doing DAC themselves... if not, joke's on them because there's all kinds of wrong with the signal on the analog out

What kind of music do these people listen to?

http://www.zenn.com.sg/Lee_Ritenour-_Friendship.JPG

http://www.sleevetown.com/3GEOMOFI.jpg

http://www.zenn.com.sg/Bottom_End_Musical_bass_transient_test_MK_35.jpg

http://www.zenn.com.sg/Alan_Parson_Project-OMR-UHQR_300_re.jpg

OWNER OF A LONELY HEART