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

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.

:)
Yeah, I really wish that you would quit posting the picture of that jewel, it is a beauty for sure!:)
 
I can't imagine many being unhappy with a nice set of ATC Actives and a good pre-amp/streamer.
 
"I came to the conclusion towards the end of last year that I'm the weakest link in the chain."

Yes, this is about the size of it. I do 90% of my listening on a DAB portable in the kitchen where I now work, and get great enjoyment from it. I was dancing to something on the phone earlier.
I've always noticed that my system sound is dependent on how I feel. If I'm not particularly bothered about the sound, it sounds great. It's only when I maybe feel a little tense and start critically listening to the sound rather than the music, that dissatisfaction creeps in. Obviously, I still do the odd cartridge upgrade/replacement, but as long as the basic sound is 'about right' then I don't worry about it now.
 
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.
Late to the thread, but I think it's worthwhile having a sit down and a think. What did you originally buy it for? I don't mean that in a negative sense, as in "what on earth have you bought THAT for?" but what were your original motivations?
Next it would be "what has changed?".
So maybe you went down this journey to see how far it went, and it goes quite a long way. Did you have fun on the way? Did the next box give you that extra scintilla of musical appreciation, or ownership pleasure, or other motivation?
Have you now done this? There's no harm in saying that you are done with it. I've owned sports cars, it became fairly clear that at the time I probably preferred mending them to driving them. So I bought a 2CV for £300 and mended that. These days I'm not very interested in mending cars so I have moved on. That's fine. I still like making things in the workshop, but other things.
Plenty of people do this, they work towards a grail, having got there they decide that maybe the quest was more fun than the arrival. You can be Fred Dibnah and spend thousands of hours restoring a steam engine, but what do you do with it then? You either take it to steam rallies, or you build another, or you say "done that now" and sell it. Your choice.

Only when you know the answers to this will you know if it's right for you to sell up. Do you want to sell it all? I don't know. Do you want to start again? Is it the search that you miss? Do you listen to music very much, or is it just the radio in the kitchen? It's up to you. I used to be into photography. I enjoyed learning how to do it, these days I don't pick up a camera from one year to the next. I don't miss it. Some people are like this with a sport.
 
@badger748 Call Emporium Hi-Fi, agree a price and have them collect it all next day...... then you can have that panic attack and momentarily thought of 'WTF have I done!' ........ it'll be liberating :D

Then buy the Soulution 330, a set of EWA LS-40 + full EWA loom and some Magico A1s...... then you can have that panic attack and momentarily thought of 'WTF have I done!' ........ it'll be liberating :D
 
I can't imagine many being unhappy with a nice set of ATC Actives and a good pre-amp/streamer.

I think this points to a fundamental lowering of expectations driven by the use of digital sources, that many would be happy with ATCs points to a serious lack of aspiration.
 
I went through a mini-version of the same here. For my own sanity and to save my family wading through bunches of crap should I peg it. My wife and I got rid of the fancy(-ish) cars, no urge for fancy watch or watches (so I tend to wear nothing to a Casio F91...). Kept the hifi as I use it.

As Steve says, I'd sit back and think what do you want from all this stuff?

If it were me (not critique of you, just putting myself in your shoes....). I'd wonder what I can do with more than 1 watch. I'd wonder what I can do with more than 1 car. I'd wonder what I can do with 3 cartridges etc.

Hence, I'd be tempted to simplify and clarify a little. Get rid of two of the three cartridges. Get rid of the elaboration of a CD player - could one of those boxes do the job? I'd be tempted to keep the amp and speakers but ditch elaborate cables and racks. At least it will look a bit more like a living room then.
 
I went through a mini-version of the same here. For my own sanity and to save my family wading through bunches of crap should I peg it. My wife and I got rid of the fancy(-ish) cars, no urge for fancy watch or watches (so I tend to wear nothing to a Casio F91...). Kept the hifi as I use it.

As Steve says, I'd sit back and think what do you want from all this stuff?

If it were me (not critique of you, just putting myself in your shoes....). I'd wonder what I can do with more than 1 watch. I'd wonder what I can do with more than 1 car. I'd wonder what I can do with 3 cartridges etc.

Hence, I'd be tempted to simplify and clarify a little. Get rid of two of the three cartridges. Get rid of the elaboration of a CD player - could one of those boxes do the job? I'd be tempted to keep the amp and speakers but ditch elaborate cables and racks. At least it will look a bit more like a living room then.

Fair points - you may be right........
 
The system in question is not one I could afford or contemplate. Too many bits to achieve a pretty simple outcome.

I would sell off all the fancy cables which will add up to a very tidy sum. Plumb in some standard stuff & see how you get on. The money banked will probably pay for a set of nice active speakers. The DCS gear can probably double as a pre-amp, has balanced outs? See how you get on before selling the valve amps.

TT is obviously top end. Get a home dem of something by Rega or Technics; relatively fuss free. Is the incumbent TT that much better? Etc etc

Obviously this is a first world problem & you are probably in a different income bracket to most on here (nothing wrong with that) so you have plenty of options.

I would be amazed if you didn’t get a great outcome which re-sets you love of music & hifi.
 
Reminds me of a friend. Had the big house, from-new BMW 5 series 535 thingy, some decent hifi and seemed to have an all-round good life. He and his brothers had inherited a suite of industrial properties that were rented out. We used to be quite close friends, parties and dinners etc. He had a part time earner as a Smart car bumps repair chap, franchise. All good, until he pissed his money up the wall by playing the NY Silver market and got it wrong. Lost the franchise, moved to a smaller house.. seemed to settle a bit and then did it again. This time he was kicked out of the warehouse business by his brothers, lost his marriage, and even more money on wife's fees for forensic accountants, £50k alone, convinced he had hidden money somewhere.
(whisper - I think he might have...)

Now with a Ford Fiesta that he loves, renting a small house, new mature girlfriend and a job delivering cars (or adding miles to them before being used by journalists)....he is genuinely happy and says actually the Fiesta especially is a lovely thing and the BMW was overpriced, blingy and not needed. Doesn't miss the house, or the upkeep of, either.
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 have a Roon Rock. Why not keep that?, feeding a combined Dac/Amp and decent speakers of choice. With an Ipad to control the music you would have a simple system that could access a ton of online music (Qobuz and/or Tidal subscription will help) and a system the whole family could operate.
 
@badger748 many thanks for listing your system - it seems it has proliferated a bit over the years with lots of boxes and accessories!

However, in your shoes I wouldn't throw the baby out with the bath water and make any rash decisions, instead I'd do this:
  • Keep the turntable
  • Keep the speakers
  • Keep the phono pre
However, pit *everything else* (including accessories) against an integrated amp with a built in DAC, and using a (cheap) streamer, such as a Raspberry Pi; the integrated maybe around 7.5 - 15k UKP.

If you end up preferring the integrated, you will end up with 1 (one) rack with three shelves, TT on top, then integrated, then phono pre, and the RPi can be hidden out of sight. Chances are intact (IMO) that you will find an integrated at that price that will sound as good or perhaps better than your collection of boxes and accessories that seems to have accumulated.

The visual impact of such a 3-component system is much easier on the eye compared to what you have at the moment, and at the same time you keep some of the components that you paid good money for and which might be difficult to replace. For example, I understand that the DeVores are quite special (never heard them though) so replacing them is probably not easy.
 
Thanks JH. YEs i had intended to keep some bits anyway, not all would be sold. The Roon Nucleus would probably stay for the very reason you've said.
Add in a combined integrated amp/Dac and a pair of speakers and off we go.
 
@badger748 many thanks for listing your system - it seems it has proliferated a bit over the years with lots of boxes and accessories!

However, in your shoes I wouldn't throw the baby out with the bath water and make any rash decisions, instead I'd do this:
  • Keep the turntable
  • Keep the speakers
  • Keep the phono pre
However, pit *everything else* (including accessories) against an integrated amp with a built in DAC, and using a (cheap) streamer, such as a Raspberry Pi; the integrated maybe around 7.5 - 15k UKP.

If you end up preferring the integrated, you will end up with 1 (one) rack with three shelves, TT on top, then integrated, then phono pre, and the RPi can be hidden out of sight. Chances are intact (IMO) that you will find an integrated at that price that will sound as good or perhaps better than your collection of boxes and accessories that seems to have accumulated.

The visual impact of such a 3-component system is much easier on the eye compared to what you have at the moment, and at the same time you keep some of the components that you paid good many for and which might be difficult to replace. For example, I understand that the DeVores are quite special (never heard them though) so replaceing them is probably not easy.

Keeping some of the stuff has indeed crossed my mind as the compromise.
I guess, simplistically, what doesnt sell (at the right price) i'd keep.
That will probably drive things more than a desire to keep bits.
 
Ha! Not wishing to sound even more meh than a thread aboutn selling up already is, ironically, I have been looking at buying a burial plot now. Clandon Wood, near Guildford. Hopefully, i'll forget about it and it can be used in 20,30, 40 years time. But your comment definitely had me thinking about suitable epitaphs!

We could be Neighbours... I have a couple bought and paid for there!!!
 
Badger,

My advice FWIW would be simplify and go all digital. You will lose a lot of boxes and racks.
Chop the Bartok in for a Rossini which has an extremely capable pre-amp function, and use directly into a power amp + speakers (or active speakers) of your choice.
I recently sold my TT doing exactly this. My pre-amp is away to Australia for some TLC and I'm using the Rossini direct to power amps and its very, very good indeed.
 
Hi Ian’s, interested to know what your final amp is?
It is an EWA M100TS. As I’ve said on a couple of other occasions, I feel privileged to own it. It’s a truly special amp and given the level of its performance its a bargain. I am also making a pair of monoblocks using Colin’s SECA PCBs.
 
I think this points to a fundamental lowering of expectations driven by the use of digital sources, that many would be happy with ATCs points to a serious lack of aspiration.

Perhaps, for some, maybe even the OP, coming from such lofty heights in Hifi terms. To assume that many would not be happy with such a system implies a certain amount of snobbery. However, as we are debating the OP's 'dilemma' I will just assume you mean me and that's fine. I'd personally be very happy with my suggestion.
 


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