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Thinking of selling it all, or massive downgrade at least......

Seems a good idea to mothball it and see if you can 'make do' with/even enjoy something much simpler.

Hobbies of all things shouldn't feel burdensome.
 
The Naim Atom works for me, but then I have always been an entry level kind of a person. My only weakness was a pair of Tannoy Cheviots which second hand were very reasonable.

We did run a Beosound2 with TT for a while and I could have lived with it, or a pair, quite happily.

Good luck with your search @badger748 , but I think you are right to focus on ease of access to music for everyone in the house.
 
Again, a massive thank you to all that have contributed to my thread. I'll try to go over the key points and questions asked.
So my journey with hifi is over 30 years old. From midi systems, to first separates, then Naim boxes, to valve stuff, to big box Class A, and back to valves.
I have also heard many different types of hifi system, from cheap as chips to mega (as in over £250k) set up's. The cost doesn't determine the ultimate quality and enjoyment, but it is a general shove that way. I've preferred a Rega, Sugden, Harbeth system (say £5k) to a massive Accuphase/Tannoy one. So I'm well aware that joy can be found in lesser set up's, but also downsizing to lesser will result in a loss of (insert hifi cliche here) but perhaps not a loss of enjoyment.

I have tried to do this before. Couple of years ago I toyed with big changes, only to bottle it and I kept what i had (and have since added to it). I think my head was in a very different place then to now. Obviously, in recent times, we've had a global pandemic - and with that, no live music, no travel or holidays - and much more time at home. Time to sit in front of the hifi system more, which should add to the enjoyment yes? Ok so why do I feel the opposite?

Perhaps factors I chose to ignore have bubbled to the top. Valve amps, complicated turntables, expensive cantilevers, it is all very delicate, user-unfriendly and has become my realm with my partner, son, friends terrified to touch any of it. Even the cats give it all a wide berth. Considering music is to be enjoyed by all, everyone else in the house plays music via portable BT speakers or headphones, as the hifi is out of bounds, unless I operate it. This is just silly and is the main reason for change.

Next up if the value. To replace my system, new-for-old, is well over £100k. Of course i didn't pay that much for it, and as a sale price it's value is a lot less, but it is still a massive chunk of depreciating asset that only I really use. If we move house, its a nightmare, if I croak, leaving this to my partner is a nightmare. If we go on holiday, fretting over the housesitter going near it, is a nightmare. In short, most aspects of owning this system are negative, the only positives are when i sit and listen to it, with no other stresses in life. Again, reference the last 18 months, will this come back any time soon?

The system then, which a lot of you know, is as follows:-

Analogue : Thales TTT-C Mk II Turntable on Levi Base with Simplicity Tonearm and 3 headshella. Ortofon MC Anna Diamond, Zyx Universe II, Zyx Ultimate 100 cartridges. Tron silver RCA cable & Clearaudio Smart Matrix RCM.

Digital : dCS Bartok, Acoustic Plan DriveMaster CDT & PowerMaster PSU, Roon Nucleus Audio Server. English Electric 8Switch Ethernet Switch.

Amplification : Tron Atlantic Ref 300B Power Amp with Electro Harmonix, Takatsuki & Western Electric 300B Vacuum Tubes. Tron Seven GT Line Stage & Tron Seven GT Phono stage.

Speakers : Devore Fidelity O/96 Loudspeakers with bespoke covers.

Support : Grand Prix Audio Monaco SWB c/w Carbon platform, Apex Feet and latest pads. Solidsteel 3-3 4 shelf support.

Cables : JPS Labs Superconductor V Speaker Cables, Harmonic Technology Cyberlight P2A x2 & Wave & Siltech 550i RCA’s, Cardas Golden Ref, Isolclean Focus, Analysis Pro and Okutsu Denko Air Power Cables. Acrolink 7N-D5070-3 Digital Cable. Audioquest Cinamon Ethernet & Toslink Cables.

Misc. : iFi Power Station Power Conditioner, iFi AC iPurifiers. Gryphon Black Exorcist Demagnetiser. Epluggs RCA High Power Grounding.


So there you have it. Two towers of audio porn, which looks, and more to the point sounds fantastic! Many years of careful upgrading and fiddling to arrive at this pile of stuff only I really use, and mostly gets used for TV/film, which goes to the Bartok dac.

I talked at lengh about this with my partner. We also talked aboutn watches, cars and other stuff that has been acquired and only recently have I started to question, why? The amount of comments on here from people who have been on the journey I am contemplating, and have downsized, and remain happy! They didn't keep over and die over the loss of fidelity, the world carried on rotating! I guess it's like when I sold my mega headphone systems and now happily live with my B&O H95 - they get used and enjoyed, and i like the fact they cost less than a cable on my old set up!

With that in mind, and referencing back to my Roksan/Creek/Royd system of decades ago, I feel this might be a tad too far. I still want a good sounding system, an easy to use record player, easy Roon streaming, the TV connected. The fact it's less boxes, neater and less "look at me" are positives. I know it won't sound as good, but do I care? The support i got at home (as well as on here) is very welcome. My partner's advice, she is far wiser than me, was to set timelines, then make decisions, stick to them, see it through. We talked about what "we" want from a system and how low we can go, as we both love music. Perhaps the hardest thing in the last year or so has been us not seeing live music. We go all over Europe seeing bands we like, and the joy of music at home is always greater if you've seen the bands live.

So, if i do this, then perhaps i can be excited about what i do get to replace it all. Active speakers are a definite option - whether Buchardt, ATC or many other options mentioned. Alternatively, a one box amp (with DAC, Streamer, phono) and yes i know all the caveats mentioned about "what if they go wrong", but in fairness, i've had valve amps fail too, so complex tech doesn't have a monopoly on failures. Also Dirac, as my living room isn't acoustically right - I've lived with it and made excuses - but if i am to change then I'd definitely be keen to explore this.

So amp wise, we have things like the NAD M33, Lyngdorf, the Naim one box. Maybe some lovely passive speakers (so much choice!) or go active. A planar 10 turntable. That's it.

I'm going to mull it all over some more, another option is to mothball the entire system for 6 months, get the new set up and see "IF" i can live with it. If not, bring back the old stuff, or if i live with it and all is fine, then sell. There is no pressure to sell, but, raising some cash wouldn't be half bad, I can do plenty with the money and have less stress/pressure.

Anyway, more to follow i'm sure, and again, thank you to all who have contributed. I've read them all, and PFM is proving again to be a cracking bunch of sensible people :D

You are in a fortunate position and I can't see many issues with you trying new options whilst keeping your old system.

The only thing that would worry me looking at your history is that you further accumulate without getting rid of stuff ...
 
Badger, I know that you have some really, really fantastic kit, after reading several of your posts over the course of a few years. Take things slowly and do not rush your decision here. You probably already know the right answer to your situation, but it could be a bit cloudy and murky at the moment. Usually there is balance somewhere in the mix, and you will find it. The biggest thing is once a decision is made, don't look back with regret on it later. I always find for myself, when things are kind of rolling around in my head or heart about some decision to be made, be still and quiet, give oneself time for clear head. In the end, hifi is not the end all, be all. Living is.

Nice one Tim! I think at it's core, the music and life balance matters more than the equipment. I am going through similar with cars and watches.
Cars down from 6 to 4. Soon to be 3. (for 2 of us!)
Watches down from 20+ to 7 I think? (Lucy has her Nomos and I wear my GS pretty much every day).

Hi-fi is just a natural progression of where i'm at in life I think. As has been said a few times, as we get older, priorities change and the need to "willy wave" gets less and less.
 
Additional points - for me to sell some / majority / all the existing system requires buyers! I def "won't fire" sale it cheap as chips. Would def wait for right buyers, right price and mothball if not. Money isn't the main motivator here.

And, if I did the mothballing, and got a new system in and running for 6 mths - if i yearned for the old one - i'd bring it back and put the new one up for sale or move it to our Devon place we are searching for. So a second system wouldn't be redundant as such.
 
Hi,

Why don't you buy a smaller system, say something like a second hand Linn DSM and a pair of Shaninian Arcs, you will not lose money and for the cost it will show you what can be achieved for quite a small outlay.

Or if not the Linn then there are plenty of other similar products.

Then if you find you cannot live with the cheaper system you sell it and keep what you have.

Cheers

John
 
Hifi must be amongst the worst of the money pit hobbies for ridding you of money whilst delivering mere glimpses of satisfaction interspersed over long periods of anxiety and delusions of missing out on some elusive thing that would make it all worth while.

I've gone through a similar process a few years back, building up a lot of kit at great expense and then deciding to get rid of it all and go for a much cheaper and simpler set up. Then a few years later the itch got me going and I've ended up with horns etc and a nice vinyl set up and the expensive folly that is R2R and prerecorded tapes. As long as you still get enjoyment from it then I'd say keep it, but if you're nagged by the feeling that there's something more worthwhile to do with your time and money, then you're probably right! Its only 'stuff' after all.
 
We've crossed paths in our journey a few times Colin, having similar tastes at various points. I think when I had Gryphon and Wilson Benesch Torus?
Happy days eh !

The Toruses went to my brother. You've got some lovely stuff, but I can understand your desire to reduce the profile, if not the SQ.
 
Downsizing is something I did about ten years ago in a very significant way. The smaller system I ended up with didn’t really quite do it so I gradually upsized to something I was really happy with. Early last year I lost the hearing in one ear. While I can still enjoy music it made me question how much hifi I needed. I had speakers that need about two hours to set up, and an expensive mains block and various fancy leads all of which made a big difference, or so I’d convinced myself. Somehow what I had felt wrong, and I started looking at other things. I tried an all in one but it didn’t really work for me. In the end I bought an integrated amp and some very small speakers, which I coupled with a very good source. All the fancy wires went. I ended up with something that’s simpler, neater and somehow just feels right. It’s like the system fits into the room without dominating it.

There is I’m sure a sensible middle way. I have no knowledge of the equipment you own, having been a boring Naimee for nearly 40 years, and it looks like huge efforts have been made to get it perfect. But if it feels wrong then it’s not going to make you happy. Maybe a good integrated amp and some smaller speakers, with your DCS and a Rega, might work for you. I’ve certainly found simplifying things has been wholly for the good, and I can’t say I enjoy music any less, in fact I probably enjoy it more.
 
Downsizing is something I did about ten years ago in a very significant way. The smaller system I ended up with didn’t really quite do it so I gradually upsized to something I was really happy with. Early last year I lost the hearing in one ear. While I can still enjoy music it made me question how much hifi I needed. I had speakers that need about two hours to set up, and an expensive mains block and various fancy leads all of which made a big difference, or so I’d convinced myself. Somehow what I had felt wrong, and I started looking at other things. I tried an all in one but it didn’t really work for me. In the end I bought an integrated amp and some very small speakers, which I coupled with a very good source. All the fancy wires went. I ended up with something that’s simpler, neater and somehow just feels right. It’s like the system fits into the room without dominating it.

There is I’m sure a sensible middle way. I have no knowledge of the equipment you own, having been a boring Naimee for nearly 40 years, and it looks like huge efforts have been made to get it perfect. But if it feels wrong then it’s not going to make you happy. Maybe a good integrated amp and some smaller speakers, with your DCS and a Rega, might work for you. I’ve certainly found simplifying things has been wholly for the good, and I can’t say I enjoy music any less, in fact I probably enjoy it more.

I remember your journey on the Naim forum 15 yrs ago at a guess! We spoke often on there, when I built up to the 552/500.

Funnily enough I've often thought back to you and your system changes in recent weeks. I was in Rowlands Castle the other day, saw Emsworth sign, i think that is where you are? The hi-fi shouldn't dominate our "living" room and it does. When i sold off the bedroom system, the extra space was quickly filled with houseplants, but that just adds to the calm, the ambience. Mrs Badger loves it and it always makes our bedroom just feel a bit nicer. I won't add more there, but with the B&O Stage soundbar, Barry White sounds brilliant!
 
I remember your journey on the Naim forum 15 yrs ago at a guess! We spoke often on there, when I built up to the 552/500.

Funnily enough I've often thought back to you and your system changes in recent weeks. I was in Rowlands Castle the other day, saw Emsworth sign, i think that is where you are? The hi-fi shouldn't dominate our "living" room and it does. When i sold off the bedroom system, the extra space was quickly filled with houseplants, but that just adds to the calm, the ambience. Mrs Badger loves it and it always makes our bedroom just feel a bit nicer. I won't add more there, but with the B&O Stage soundbar, Barry White sounds brilliant!

BEDROOM SYSTEM!!!! :eek::eek::eek::eek::D
 
... complex tech doesn't have a monopoly on failures....
No, I don't think anyone meant that. It's more likely to have a monopoly on not being repairable or going (at least partly) obsolete down the road. If you keep your pre/amp separate from your digital stuff then you can swap out the digital side as tech evolves/things break, but keep your analog amplification running indefinitely. Case in point, my 45 year old analog only Sansui AU-717 (that I bring up way too much) that I overhauled last year.



If it had had an 8 track built in it (excuse the feeble comparison to high end modern all-in-one units) it would have become partially obsolete and/or broken 30 years ago, and IMO less worthy of preserving.

:)
 
Fair point - stuff that is more difficult to repair (the Lavardin thread springs to mind) is very valid.
 


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