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Final System Thoughts

poppop

poppop

pfm Member
Hi All
A friend about the same age as myself (c70) is looking to purchase a (probably!) final Hi Fi system. He has visited Hi Fi Corner in Edinburgh and was impressed with the helpful rep (Iain, for those that know the shop).

Following initial listening and discussion he has narrowed choices down to:
Active ATC 50's
Prima Luna Evo 400 pre
Luxman D-03x cd player/DAC

He is going along in a week or two for an extended listen.

He is having a garage converted into a "music" room and Iain has also suggested room treatment as part of the project.

Im stuck (happily!) with my Linn Keltik set up, with no funds to change and havent been auditioning stuff for years.

Users past and present of the above, have any comments/recommendations/alternatives regarding the general direction?

Many thanks
Steve
 
I know Iain and the shop.
It's a good place.
As to the suggestions, it's hard to find fault in the service. Not knowing the unbuilt room means the treatment suggestion is spot on (and if done early may not need to be costly).
Active speakers? More auditioning needed, but as to the Luxman and Prima luna?
I think he may be very happy.
 
I have the Luxman D-03x. I use it for cd playback only but it is by far the best cd player I’ve ever had. Wonderfully musical. It has digital ins so you can access the dac with other devices if wanted. Definitely an end game player for me. I have a Luxman L509x too, so I would advise your friend to try Luxman amps too.
 
I can’t imagine the money being spent much better. Might be worth auditioning the DX-07 and a cheaper preamp or a player that can dispense with the preamp altogether such as ATC’s own. Since that dealer stocks a range of great stuff I’d stick with them and be asking to listen to T+A stuff. I'd also audition the dCS Bartok with a CD transport.

The room treatment is a good idea and buying active ATCs should dispense with a lot of over-priced cabling. If it was my money I'd go T+A and active Genelecs with room correction but it's not my money. It is serious money so worth taking time and exploring all options the dealer can offer. The problem is you won't know how it all sounds in a converted garage until it's converted.
 
A bit off piste i know but tell him to make sure the conversion design incorporates plenty of heat, garage conversions can be notoriously cold in the winter months, i speak from experience :-( although the PL should help a bit in this respect :)
 
I'm surprised he has no existing "carry over" hifi he is keeping

Most of use have stuff we will never part with...
 
poppop said:
Hi All
A friend about the same age as myself (c70) is looking to purchase a (probably!) final Hi Fi system. He has visited Hi Fi Corner in Edinburgh and was impressed with the helpful rep (Iain, for those that know the shop).

Following initial listening and discussion he has narrowed choices down to:
Active ATC 50's
Prima Luna Evo 400 pre
Luxman D-03x cd player/DAC

He is going along in a week or two for an extended listen.

He is having a garage converted into a "music" room and Iain has also suggested room treatment as part of the project.

Im stuck (happily!) with my Linn Keltik set up, with no funds to change and havent been auditioning stuff for years.

Users past and present of the above, have any comments/recommendations/alternatives regarding the general direction?

Many thanks
Steve
Click to expand...


Bought a coupla items from HiFi Corner (Falkirk) - excellent advice and support. One of the guys even drove from Falkirk to Dundee (50 miles) to deliver my repaired power amp !

Prima Luna Evo 400 pre - tell yer mate to save himself £7-800 and buy the PL EVO 300, not the 400…unless his listening room is 20/30 metres long, he does not need XLR/balanced connections.These are the only differences between Evo 300 and Evo 400. PrimaLuna disappointed me, in their obeisance to marketing by introducing XLR / balanced connections.

PS…saving up for a PL Evo 300 preamp, maself.

PPS…tell yer mate, if he’s looking fo a pair of monoblocks (Primaluna Dialogue 6s) ah’m about tae offer a pair for sale…
 
bigfish786 said:
I have the Luxman D-03x. I use it for cd playback only but it is by far the best cd player I’ve ever had. Wonderfully musical. It has digital ins so you can access the dac with other devices if wanted. Definitely an end game player for me. I have a Luxman L509x too, so I would advise your friend to try Luxman amps too.
Click to expand...

Your Luxman DA-03x is your end game player. My Luxman L-590AXII is my end game integrated. ;)

I also have a Luxman DA-06 DAC but prefer the Chord QBD76 matched with the L-590AXII. I'll do the swap perhaps closer to year end since I've made some changes to the system earlier this year, new power conditioner and power cords. As a matter of fact, I've added a new power cord just today.
 
I would definitely get your freeing to listen to an ATC CDA2. May save him some money & one less box. OP will need balanced outputs as that is what ATC use. He will end up with a great sounding & fuss free setup.
 
Mynamemynaim said:
I'm surprised he has no existing "carry over" hifi he is keeping

Most of use have stuff we will never part with...
Click to expand...

He has my original Linn Keltik/Klimax XO/4200's/Akurate DS bought from me around 2006/ 2007! I then went on a journey and came back to Keltiks - yeah, yeah must be something wrong with my ears!! He was asking me what he could do to improve or change to give him something for his later years that would be "better".

My advice was to go off and listen and then decide, hence the visit to Edinburgh. He has no real interest in the "Hi Fi" but the music, still regularly attending concerts etc. He will have explained to Iain what he has, and Im presuming will be discussing the possibility of trade ins. Though Im guessing the only bit of kit worth a reasonable value may be the Klimax XO's.

Anyway, thank you for all the feedback, I am forwarding to him, and suggesting he has further discussions with Iain at his next visit.

Appreciated
Steve
 
Hi, i think he needs to sort the garage out first, is it brick, is it a double or single garage, any windows, and is he keeping the huge tin door, is he having it plastered , what heating does it have, what is the ceiling like, is the mains electric and gas in the garage, or house, so so many thing to sort out, converting a garage to a music room,
Get this wrong and it doesn't matter what system you buy it will sound less than perfect,
 
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