Del monaco
Del Monaco
Encouraged by Darren and with a view to starting our own reviews thread I’ve tried to put down a few words about why I love my own system. I want to avoid any notion that I am ‘raving about what I have and want everybody to buy it.’ It’s more a personal reflection of my love for my hifi and what I hear that makes me respond to it. We are all after different things and our tastes in music and sound are all very different.
I’m using Darren’s suggested structure as a guide and I hope this will give some structure to what I write.
Objectives
My love for classical music and the voice comes from my early childhood, listening to my grandmother’s stereo. I think it was Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf that engaged me first. It showed me how an orchestra could evoke so many feelings and emotions, not only in the music but in me. In an era of Showaddywaddy and Shakin Stevens, it was something different and more vital to listen to.
So my objectives in putting together my own system have been based on an overall aim to re-invoke those initial feelings of fear, delight and enthralment that moved me so much when I first heard my grandmother’s recording. It’s elemental for me.
After years of scrambling around, often clumsily and naively, I’ve finally set upon those qualities that make the music I love come alive and I can sum them up in the following aspirations or objectives.
I’ve never had much money to invest in my hifi. Much of it has comes through gifts and the second hand market. Periods of financial challenge and also unemployment have sharpened my abilities and necessity to be creative.But I love striking a deal on used gear.
Objectives wise, I want a system with:
My current system comprises:
Amplifier
Yamaha 803D
Speakers
Maggie LRS
Turntable
Thorens TD166 mk. 2 with an Ortofon VMS20e
Rotel RQ 970BX
Cd
Rotel 965BX
Tuner
Creek Audio T40
Cassette Deck
Marantz SD 35(my first ever purchase)
Streaming
Yamaha 803D
Pi3b with HifiBerry Digihat and LMS
Tidal hi fi
Cables
Amazon Basics and Van Damme
Headphones
Rega Ear
AKG K92
Subwoofer
Rel T5i
My overall aim is to at least touch on the objectives I listed above but to also settle on a system I can just listen to without an urge to change or upgrade. After a prolonged transition, I believe I am there. I want to get to a place where I just listen to the music, not the equipment.
What I love about what I have and what I would change
When I became unemployed and was ill for a time, I decided to re-evaluate some things.Myself,my health and my music prime amongst this. I thought that Music would be a great vehicle to accomplish the other personal objectives I had gathered. Like my own life, my equipment was a bit ‘everywhere’. I decided to really focus on what I wanted and needed from the passion I had for classical.
My Yamaha 803D was a real find. I had fallen for it some months earlier but the money was prohibitive for me. Selling my original gear was my masterstroke. It firstly and most importantly allowed some well needed income but also gave me the freedom to rebuild.The Yamaha is the real cornerstone of my system.As a straight forward analogue amp it is very capable. But it also has the digital section. The sound it on the warm side of neutral which really suits my objectives. The internal amp is detailed with some warmth and is very capable. Crucially, there is enough high current to power my Maggies.
My speakers are Magnepan LRS speakers. I think these are a little miracle. The soundstage and transparency often take my breath away. With the REL sub they are a lovely way in to the music. You can hear the depth of the concert hall, the click of the bow on the wood and the click of the tongue in the vocals. My best purchase and something that will inevitability lead me towards being a life long Maggie lover.
My Rotels hark back to my youth. They were always pieces I lusted after but life got in the way. I now have them and they add to my enjoyment.
I love FM. It’s warmth and burnished beauty see me through my early Saturday mornings. My recent Creek is another surprise. It’s just right.Clarity and detail with some warmth.
Now to my turntable. This was a surprise. A kind generous gift when I was at a low ebb. It’s lovely and fits so well with the make up of my other gear. It has similar qualities to my tuner and the purchase of my vintage Ortofon was a great fit.
The Marantz cassette deck is there for nostalgia. It came with my very first 2nd hand system bought some 30 years ago. It sounds nice too!
Raspberry Pi and it’s musical abilities are well known and I just love mine. It gives me access to all sorts of goodies and for so little cost. With LMS I can access Paradise FLAC and BBC Sounds to my hearts content. Like my LRS they are a little Wonder. All goes through my Sabre Dac.
Lastly, I completed my set up with a Rega Ear and AKG headphones. The sound is ‘just right’ and fits in well.
What I would do differently?
Well, my objective is to have a system I can just live with.I believe I have achieved this now. Perhaps I might upgrade my headphones at some later stage but there’s no immediate urge to do this. But then again this was my overall aim.
What I can say is that this whole journey has reinvigorated my love for music. It has also reinvigorated my health and my outlook on life.
Well. That’s my review and I hope it stimulates others to share their own reviews. I also hope that it is seen a very personal perspective that isn’t about crowing or raving.
I’m using Darren’s suggested structure as a guide and I hope this will give some structure to what I write.
Objectives
My love for classical music and the voice comes from my early childhood, listening to my grandmother’s stereo. I think it was Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf that engaged me first. It showed me how an orchestra could evoke so many feelings and emotions, not only in the music but in me. In an era of Showaddywaddy and Shakin Stevens, it was something different and more vital to listen to.
So my objectives in putting together my own system have been based on an overall aim to re-invoke those initial feelings of fear, delight and enthralment that moved me so much when I first heard my grandmother’s recording. It’s elemental for me.
After years of scrambling around, often clumsily and naively, I’ve finally set upon those qualities that make the music I love come alive and I can sum them up in the following aspirations or objectives.
I’ve never had much money to invest in my hifi. Much of it has comes through gifts and the second hand market. Periods of financial challenge and also unemployment have sharpened my abilities and necessity to be creative.But I love striking a deal on used gear.
Objectives wise, I want a system with:
- Transparency- I love to hear through the layers of music, avoiding any thickening of sound
- Soundstage- I love a wide and deep soundstage the envelopes me with music, washing around me
- Warmth- I love a little warmth.Not too much but enough to give the the cello a burnished and golden voice
- Immediacy- the feeling that the voice is in the room with you, so much so that you can visualise the facial expression as they sing
- Bass- when I plumped for the Maggies I did realise that I wanted a touch more bass presence to underpin those rosin notes
- Detail- Enough mid range detail to follow the subtleties of those individual instrumental lines
- Neutrality- I wanted a sound with a ‘warm’ neutrality
My current system comprises:
Amplifier
Yamaha 803D
Speakers
Maggie LRS
Turntable
Thorens TD166 mk. 2 with an Ortofon VMS20e
Rotel RQ 970BX
Cd
Rotel 965BX
Tuner
Creek Audio T40
Cassette Deck
Marantz SD 35(my first ever purchase)
Streaming
Yamaha 803D
Pi3b with HifiBerry Digihat and LMS
Tidal hi fi
Cables
Amazon Basics and Van Damme
Headphones
Rega Ear
AKG K92
Subwoofer
Rel T5i
My overall aim is to at least touch on the objectives I listed above but to also settle on a system I can just listen to without an urge to change or upgrade. After a prolonged transition, I believe I am there. I want to get to a place where I just listen to the music, not the equipment.
What I love about what I have and what I would change
When I became unemployed and was ill for a time, I decided to re-evaluate some things.Myself,my health and my music prime amongst this. I thought that Music would be a great vehicle to accomplish the other personal objectives I had gathered. Like my own life, my equipment was a bit ‘everywhere’. I decided to really focus on what I wanted and needed from the passion I had for classical.
My Yamaha 803D was a real find. I had fallen for it some months earlier but the money was prohibitive for me. Selling my original gear was my masterstroke. It firstly and most importantly allowed some well needed income but also gave me the freedom to rebuild.The Yamaha is the real cornerstone of my system.As a straight forward analogue amp it is very capable. But it also has the digital section. The sound it on the warm side of neutral which really suits my objectives. The internal amp is detailed with some warmth and is very capable. Crucially, there is enough high current to power my Maggies.
My speakers are Magnepan LRS speakers. I think these are a little miracle. The soundstage and transparency often take my breath away. With the REL sub they are a lovely way in to the music. You can hear the depth of the concert hall, the click of the bow on the wood and the click of the tongue in the vocals. My best purchase and something that will inevitability lead me towards being a life long Maggie lover.
My Rotels hark back to my youth. They were always pieces I lusted after but life got in the way. I now have them and they add to my enjoyment.
I love FM. It’s warmth and burnished beauty see me through my early Saturday mornings. My recent Creek is another surprise. It’s just right.Clarity and detail with some warmth.
Now to my turntable. This was a surprise. A kind generous gift when I was at a low ebb. It’s lovely and fits so well with the make up of my other gear. It has similar qualities to my tuner and the purchase of my vintage Ortofon was a great fit.
The Marantz cassette deck is there for nostalgia. It came with my very first 2nd hand system bought some 30 years ago. It sounds nice too!
Raspberry Pi and it’s musical abilities are well known and I just love mine. It gives me access to all sorts of goodies and for so little cost. With LMS I can access Paradise FLAC and BBC Sounds to my hearts content. Like my LRS they are a little Wonder. All goes through my Sabre Dac.
Lastly, I completed my set up with a Rega Ear and AKG headphones. The sound is ‘just right’ and fits in well.
What I would do differently?
Well, my objective is to have a system I can just live with.I believe I have achieved this now. Perhaps I might upgrade my headphones at some later stage but there’s no immediate urge to do this. But then again this was my overall aim.
What I can say is that this whole journey has reinvigorated my love for music. It has also reinvigorated my health and my outlook on life.
Well. That’s my review and I hope it stimulates others to share their own reviews. I also hope that it is seen a very personal perspective that isn’t about crowing or raving.
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