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Total Rethink

Evo

Evo

pfm Member
Merry Christmas all!
This morning I was looking at the space my system and record collection is taking up and my thoughts turned to selling the lot and trying an active speaker/ streaming system. Ideally one streamer box into the speakers. I'm interested in your thoughts about some of the less obvious pitfalls (if they exist) and the experiences of those who have previously taken a similar path.
I enjoy my music and like my system as things stand but space is at a premium in my livingroom and I don't have an alternative room in the house to relocate to.
My living room is approx 5m x 4m and the speakers fire across the narrower space. My speakers are Tannoy Cheviots with custom crossovers and improved cabinets courtesy of Paul at RFC. The power amp is a Radford STA25 and the pre a Rothwell Indus. I currently have two source components, my Thorens td124 mk2 with Eastern Electric Minimax phono and a Bluesound Node2i hardwired to the router. My record collection spans one wall of the livingroom and numbers about 800/900 albums.

Letting go of all those records and my vinyl system would be difficult and I'm certainly not decided to plunge in yet. A good pair of active speakers and streamer would drastically reduce the space my music takes up. I have seen music Ive saved as favourites disappear from the library of my chosen streaming service and find it an annoyance. I fear that less popular music might disappear in favour of popular music.
Anyway, any thoughts would be welcome.
All the best!
 
Yes, tracks do disappear from Spotify sometimes and it’s annoying indeed.
I’d never part with such a lovely system!
 
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Doing that horrible forum thing of answering a question with questions, but I think these are relevant:

What proportion of your listening is records versus streaming today?
If you "pruned" your record collection, roughly how many would be absolute always keepers and how many could you live without if you could stream them?
How would that be altered by owning a digital copy of anything you feared might drop off future streaming platforms?

I use streaming to find music I want to own, and not as a replacement for records or CDs. I may, at some point, rip the CDs and tuck them away in storage, and I do, occasonally, shift on records I know I will not listen to much if ever again and have no other reason to keep, but at some point I know I will downsize too.

That is a very nice setup the Radfod and RFC Tannoys, I would not expect to easily replace it with anything you are likely to enjoy as much!
 
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Evo said:
Merry Christmas all!
This morning I was looking at the space my system and record collection is taking up and my thoughts turned to selling the lot and trying an active speaker/ streaming system. Ideally one streamer box into the speakers. I'm interested in your thoughts about some of the less obvious pitfalls (if they exist) and the experiences of those who have previously taken a similar path.
I enjoy my music and like my system as things stand but space is at a premium in my livingroom and I don't have an alternative room in the house to relocate to.
My living room is approx 5m x 4m and the speakers fire across the narrower space. My speakers are Tannoy Cheviots with custom crossovers and improved cabinets courtesy of Paul at RFC. The power amp is a Radford STA25 and the pre a Rothwell Indus. I currently have two source components, my Thorens td124 mk2 with Eastern Electric Minimax phono and a Bluesound Node2i hardwired to the router. My record collection spans one wall of the livingroom and numbers about 800/900 albums.

Letting go of all those records and my vinyl system would be difficult and I'm certainly not decided to plunge in yet. A good pair of active speakers and streamer would drastically reduce the space my music takes up. I have seen music Ive saved as favourites disappear from the library of my chosen streaming service and find it an annoyance. I fear that less popular music might disappear in favour of popular music.
Anyway, any thoughts would be welcome.
All the best!
Click to expand...
Take the Thorens out of the system for a month and just stream - decide if you can live without vinyl..

A lot of folk really regret selling their TT and LPs, I reckon you’d never build those 900 LPs back up again for sensible money and in a reasonable time frame these days.

You might find this thread interesting
https://pinkfishmedia.net/forum/threads/pros-and-cons-of-active-speakers.262784/
 
It sounds like the record collection is what takes up the space.

I sometimes look at the 2000 LPs that take up half the spare room and wonder. But they bring me a lot of joy which, for me, outweighs the impracticality.

The suggestion by @Amber Audio to pack up your turntable for a bit is a good one. I'd try for six months and see how you get on.
 
Would you consider ripping your LPs to digital and storing them on a local drive to stream through the Bluesound (I assume it can play from a local drive or NAS ). This is what I did with my much smaller but quite obscure vinyl.
 
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nobeone said:
Doing that horrible forum thing of answering a question with questions, but I think these are relevant:

What proportion of your listening is records versus streaming today?
If you "pruned" your record collection, roughly how many would be absolute always keepers and how many could you live without if you could stream them?
How would that be altered by owning a digital copy of anything you feared might drop off future streaming platforms?

I use streaming to find music I want to own, and not as a replacement for records or CDs. I may, at some point, rip the CDs and tuck them away in storage, and I do, occasonally, shift on records I know I will not listen to much if ever again and have no other reason to keep, but at some point I know I will downsize too.

That is a very nice setup the Radfod and RFC Tannoys, I would not expect to easily replace it with anything you are likely to enjoy as much!
Click to expand...

Like you I also use streaming to find new music and if I really enjoy it I might buy the record. I buy less new vinyl than previously and I'm more likely to buy secondhand classical vinyl.
The streamer vs turntable usage is 50/50. I am more likely to sit down and listen to a record from beginning to end and the streamer is often on when we are doing other things.
I could whittle the records down to maybe 300, I think..... Most of it can be found on streaming platforms.
Trying to live without the turntable for a month or so is a good idea- six months should give a definitive answer.
A set of ATC SCM40a and a streamer would be a different presentation but not one alien to me having owned all sorts previously.
Some really good suggestions from everyone.
 
Puggie said:
Would you consider ripping your LPs to digital and storing them on a local drive to stream through the Bluesound (I assume it can play from a local drive or NAS ). This is what I did with my much smaller but quite obscure vinyl.
Click to expand...

Might consider it for a small number of records which I might struggle to find.
 
Puggie said:
Would you consider ripping your LPs to digital and storing them on a local drive to stream through the Bluesound (I assume it can play from a local drive or NAS ). This is what I did with my much smaller but quite obscure vinyl.
Click to expand...
 
Being the owner of rfc impulse speakers , it takes a lot to beat them . On the wam is a smaller integrated amp called the gato 150. It's class ab and would be a superb match for the tannoy . Keep the tannoy if you can .

Gato also do other streaming amps that are class d and would also be good

From what I hear the small one box 150 would certainly be worth trying instead of the Radford Indus amps. Save a lot of space
 
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I know the feeling....maybe my solution could be useful to you. I was able to store my records elsewhere in the house (I don't have as many as you), I indexed/listed them with the help of discogs into a spreadsheet and printed that out.(kept me sane during cancer treatment and lockdown) I now am able to select a good handful of albums randomly, or whatever, and bring them in the room to listen. I'm listening to more vinyl this way, re-finding albums I had forgotten about and buying ones that I know I've not got!!
Happy New Year
 
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It might be unpopular hereabouts but I sold off 400 odd Lp’s recently. I was also getting short of space so I gathered together the unloved and played and got rid of them. That said I’m not at all a romantic with my music collection, I now still use vinyl and CD and only buy music which have been listened to on Spotify first. A strangely liberating experience, good luck.
 
Do you like the sound of your system? I think it will be difficult to replicate it if this is the musical presentation to like.

I have a similar amount of vinyl to you, it probably accounts for less than 10% of my listening these days.

Overall I think I now prefer CD or ripped files.
 
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hifinutt said:
Being the owner of rfc impulse speakers , it takes a lot to beat them . On the wam is a smaller integrated amp called the gato 150. It's class ab and would be a superb match for the tannoy . Keep the tannoy if you can .

Gato also do other streaming amps that are class d and would also be good

From what I hear the small one box 150 would certainly be worth trying instead of the Radford Indus amps. Save a lot of space
Click to expand...

I went from a 12 Box Naim active system driving SL2s to a Gato DA250 driving ART Alnico 8s. Never missed the Naim kit. Those Gato amps sound great and are lovely things to use.
 
What you have is an investment which gives you pleasure, is symbiotic and has limited depreciation; possibly (and probably?) actual appreciation.

How many records and boxes would you need to shed in order to make a real difference?

Changing horses to appease space considerations is a can of worms

By all means winnow your record collection into 'may play/do play' and 'will never play', with consideration for changes in taste as you get older. Quite possibly, the pile you end up with won't cut it financially or spaciously.

In summary; do nothing except tinkering, as occasions occur. Have to say that I don't agree with firing across a room, esp. if the speakers are not I.B. (sealed boxes) or folded horns etc. However, sometimes this is unavoidable. When you factor in the mandatory space behind the listening position and speaker footprint, there's not a lot of room to breathe. Nice kit; keep !
 
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I think for now a combination of sorting some record to sell and moving those not often played elsewhere might help. I'll also try going without the turntable at some point and see how I go. I could send a few records off to my parents house - dad would be elated, my mum less so :).
I'll have a look at the Gato amp but I do like the Radford/ Tannoy combination.
I won't make a rash decision as I've bought records on and off and since I was a child- most of which I still have (some of which is truly awful).
 
I think if you bought that one on the wam for 2400 from a well known chap ( cootie) you could sell it easily at that price . I think you will be surprised! As good as the Radford is

I drove my tannoys with 2 massive box valve amps and changed to a small active ss pre . Takes up much less space and sounds 80% as good . I am prepared to take that hit to save space . It really does boogie !!! ( tannoy Eaton legacy ) and that's with modest class d monoblocks . These tannoys can sound good with so many amps
 
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