Romulus
pfm Member
16 week wait on on some ATC speakers so plenty of time to save
Maybe If I offered to wash their dishes at Gloucester base during that period they may offer an entry speaker in return!
16 week wait on on some ATC speakers so plenty of time to save
My speakers are perhaps an odd choice
Perhaps, but unless I missed it Mr Magoo you don't tell us what they are!
Jim
That sounds like a very satisfying system Mr M. Shame about the buzz.May be a cable? Always loved the sound of class A. The Sugden always pops up as a good ‘un. Hope you get things sorted and your satisfaction returns.I bought my first system in 1973 and had numerous changes until 1989 when Naim took over in the amplification and speaker areas. The highlights of my earlier days were my first amp (Sansui AU101) and the Armstrong 621 integrated. Also the Keesonic Kub speakers driven by the Armstrong.
I then did the whole Naim/Linn journey culminating in a 252/300 and a fully loaded LP12. I enjoyed that period, but found I was listening to Hifi and not music.
My present system ticks all my boxes in that it works brilliantly with the vinyl I have collected since 1973. Currently about 5,000 albums. Mostly rock, some jazz.
The beating heart of my system is the amazing Sugden A21P power amp, teamed with a very capable Exposure pre. Now the Sugden is a real joy and was my first experience of a true Class A amplifier. Yes, it might get a tad warm and is a little limited in terms of outright power, but the sound is sublime. Nicely balanced in terms of bass and mids and a nice smooth top end. Plenty of detail. Makes bass guitars sound right too. Wish I’d gone Sugden long ago.
My sole source is my plug and play (compared to an LP12) and great sounding Well Tempered Versalex with the wonderful Dynavector 17D3 (my third one). I think the lively and dynamic 17D3 and the Sugden really gel.
My speakers are perhaps an odd choice for a lowish powered system in a 3.5m x 4m room, but I like them. Perhaps because they are big and bold, they deliver great sounding music with very little effort. Like driving a Porsche at 50mph. Capable of so much more, but not having to make much effort is cool too. Having a sensitivity of 88db certainly helps things along.
All connected with Chord Shawline interconnects and speaker cable. Oh, and I nearly forgot. The phono amp is the amazing little F117 Nighthawk battery powered phono stage from the States. Better than a Dynavector P75 Mk4 in my opinion.
I recently moved my rack a couple of feet and took the system apart and rebuilt it. Something is missing and the synergy feels compromised. Also, there’s now an annoying hum in the background at medium to high levels, confirming that something isn’t quite right. So a move back to the original position plus another rebuild will hopefully correct this. I think moving the system close to the only mains outlet my be a factor. I just pray I can get that elusive wow factor back that I had before messing it up by moving the rack.
There are some changes I would consider. I hear a pair of Dynaudio SpecialForty speakers a few years ago and think they’d work well in my room/system. When the cart finally needs replacing, the 17Dx is a front runner as a replacement. The Versalex and the Sugden are keepers.
Peter
The Radio 3 announcer issue irritates me at times.I have been more than happy listening daily since 2018 to what I have (see the Information tab of my Profile page). I have felt no need to improve anything. I was very happy with my previous system (installed in 2004), but I gradually listed in priority order the things that occasionally annoyed me. Here are some:
For me, it is not a case of chasing some personal idea of perfection. Rather, a case of once the imperfections that matter to me have been eliminated, no option remains but to be happy and contented, and to love my own system.
- Not being able to always comfortably do a “Peter Walker” with the volume control and place performers as close to me, in mid-field (2.8m) listening, as the recording perspective demanded.
- Not being able to comfortably reproduce close-miked 88-key piano down to the lowest octave at high enough volume with sufficiently believable dynamic performance.
- Not always perceiving tonal, detail and dynamic independence of instruments in a multi-instrument (e.g. orchestral) recording where instruments play simultaneously at independently varying levels from quiet to loud.
- Frequently wanting to adjust the volume control when listening to BBC Radio 3 to quieten the announcer then raise the level of the performance for better audio perspective and more audio detail.
Others have reported the issue too. I suspect it may possibly happen with insufficient bass extension.The Radio 3 announcer issue irritates me at times.
I’m glad it has. One of my aims in life now is to be as positive as I can in every aspect of my life. It’s helping me negotiate my new job role, make new friends and garner positivity around myself. This is energising. I am a public servant and will never be able to enter the hi end world so I’ve got to be astute. Most of my buys come from recommendations on this forum. And real world is where it’s at!
Love that journey and it sounds like equipment I would like. A lot of articulacy for an inarticulate guy!Unfortunately I'm not very articulate both in person or on page but I'll have a go at explaining why I love my current system & how I got here.
First off, I've been into music & hifi for almost as long as I can remember. My first single was the Hollies "The air that I breathe" aged 7 in 1974 (my brother who is 2 years older than me bought Suzi Quattros "Devil gate drive", I still have better music taste than him!)
My first introduction to hifi was through my Dad who built a couple of valve amps when I was a toddler. I can still remember the glow of the valves & the strict instructions not to poke my fingers in there. They were completely open with birds nest wiring so obviously intriguing to a toddler (health & safety's moved on a bit since then!)
He then moved onto to a Henelec Texan amp with the ubiquitous Garrard SP25 & oval EMI speakers in homemade cabinets.
He lost interest in hifi in the late 70's, moving on to a Panasonic music centre so my first hifi was the Texan, SP25 & EMI speakers. The Texan had an appetite for output transistors so I also learnt how to use a soldering iron while it was in my possession.
I was also heavily influenced in my formative years by a close friend of the family who had a Yamaha amp, Pioneer TT & cassette deck & Celestion Ditton 44s. This system seemed really exotic to me at the time & sounded incredible to my young ears (he also introduced me to Pink Floyd & Supertramp). I have had a soft spot for vintage Yamaha & Pioneer gear to this day although I haven't owned any for a few years.
My first, what I consider "proper hifi", was a Proton D540 amp, Ariston QDeck, Yamaha CDP (can't remember the model) & Tannoy Mercury mk2s, all bought in 1988 aged 21.
This served me well for many years while I went through my alcohol abuse/negative equity/motorbike addiction/relationship startups/breakups years.
I didn't really take an interest in hifi again until around 2005 when the Proton started playing up (I might not even have started this recent hifi journey had I discovered DeOxit sooner!)
I then went through a phase of buying & selling vintage Japanese amps (I had also recently discovered Ebay). There are far too many of these to list but the hilights were the Yamaha CA-1000 mk2, CR-2010, Sansui SA-7500, Marantz quadrophonic receiver bought for £13 which was immaculate under the nicotine stains & a couple of Optonica amps which were built like brick outhouses even compared to the other Japanese amps.
More recently as my income increased I started on the upgrade treadmill, going through a number of set ups culminating in an Exposure 3010S2D, Exposure 3010S2CDP, Rega P6 with Ania cart, Trilogy 906, Allo Digione Signature, Mytec Liberty DAC & Amphion Argon 3S speakers.
Whilst this system gave undoubtedly superb SQ, unfortunately what it didn't bring me was joy. Somehow I seemed to have fallen into the trap of listening to the hifi rather than the music.
Something had to change so the last couple of years have seen me selling off all that kit (apart from the Allo which I still use) & going back to basics.
Like a lot of us I have two systems. Unlike a lot of us my two systems are fairly similar.
My main system currently consists of my Grundig CD8400 MKll (there's something about the TDA1541 equipped CDPs that sound so right), aforementioned Allo Digione Signature steaming Spotify feeding a recently purchased Topping D30pro, PTP Lenco in homemade plinth with Rega RB303 & Denon DL-110, Quad 33 preamp & Leak Stereo 20 or Quad 303 (I've set the system up so it's quick & easy to swap between the two although since I plugged the ST20 back in the 303 hasn't had a look in). Speakers are Stirling LS3/5A V2s.
So what does this set up give me that I wasn't getting before? First off, pride of ownership. I think that comes from owning kit that has a history & provenance. It also comes from having got my hands dirty. The main restoration work done on the ST20 was expertly carried out by Graeme at AmpRegen but since then I've replaced the smoothing caps, fitted a spark suppressor & carried out the diode mod to protect the amp should the GZ34 rectifier valve fail. I also built the plinth & put the PTP Lenco together myself.
Most importantly what this system gives me is music, the emotion in the voices, the timbre of the instruments, the ambience of the recording venue.
You can probably tell I really like this set up. My only planned changes are a vintage TOTL TDA1541 equipped Sony CDP, either a 333esd or 337esd. Longer term I will possibly be looking at upgrading the speakers to either Stirling V3s or Falcon Q7s, haven't decided yet.
I would also love to try an LP12 at some point.
My headphone listening is taken care of with a Topping A30pro with Sennheiser HD600s. This is a superb combination which I can listen to for hours with no fatigue.
My bedroom system is an A&R Cambridge A60, Raspberry Pi with Allo Piano DAC hat & Kali reclocker & Sony CDP-M75 (another TDA1541 equipped player). Speakers are JR149s.
This system is still a work in progress (I need to fit some wall brackets to mount the speakers, they don't sound great sat on chests of drawers).
I also have several other bits of kit which I can swap in & out as the mood takes me. This includes a Quad 99CDP-2 (which may be up for sale soon), two Rotel RCD-965BXs (at least one of which will definitely be up for sale soon), a Goldring Lenco GL-75, a Technics SL-1200MK2, an Arcam Delta 60, Ion Obelisk 3, Onix OA21s & the Proton D540 which still works perfectly since I discovered the DeOxit.
TS
I'm just reviving an old thread to say thanks to Les for an enormous upgrade - the TPR4! The Hi-Cap powers a NAC42.5 that I purchased from Gaius. All I can say is wow, thank you very much Les! The upgrade and service on the Hi-Cap is a veritable transformation! The heaviness commonly associated with the Hi-Cap has gone, the sound now being very nimble. There is inky black silence between tracks, it is very detailed with great depth and sound stage, and is very open, with great presence on the vocals and lots of little detail that I hadn't spotted before. The guitar solo on the last track of side two of Joan Armatrading's self-titled LP was simply stunning! The office system never sounded so good!
As I’m at home for a second week this holiday, I think I’ll set about on another spring clean of my system.It has that placebo effect of making you feel good afterwards and a suggestion that things have improved( when they may have not even changed).