what was the last piece of hifi you bought
- Thread starter chris turner
- Start date
Gervais Cote
Predator
I'm sure you won’t regret !Change of amplifier. Not sure why to be honest, mostly because I was curious what it could bring to the table. Got a good trade-in value for my previous amplifier so the change wasn't very expensive.
McIntosh MA6900G replaced with Pass Labs XP-10 and X150.5.
2022-11-26_08-38-19Unless I see the speakers I’m left with the nagging doubt you only have the boxes and the slippers are just a diversion
gustav_errata
pfm Member
I've declared my home office/studio a hifi-free zone, primarily focused on pro audio gear (+cabling). The NP5 was needed because I work from home and can't install music software on my company laptop, not attach storage etc. The NP5 ticked a lot of boxes mainly for the Google Home integration, and I didn't really consider any sound quality considerations (I'm skeptical of streamer differences).
I originally planned to get an RPi but that proved difficult at the moment (and the one I bought got lost in the mail). Then at some point I realised that even though I'm more than capable of setting one up I just didn't feel like spending my time on it. So, I wanted something with UPnP, Spotify (not librespot), and Google Cast out of the box. But a CCA was out of the question since it doesn't do gapless playback. Then an NP5 showed up for sale locally so I just ponied up the extra money for it.
Darren
So gentle when he tries to understand.
Errr..... Fair enough.
DrBallMD
pfm Member
Some 2nd hand Audio Physic Avanti to replace my Triangle Antal EZ's (which I still love but apparently need to sell). Work better in terraced front room shoved into the bay and just pretty amazing all round. They are the spec before the current "35" but differences are very small.
gustav_errata
pfm Member
Haha sorry I went a bit overboard in the description there. I will give my impressions, but thus far I cannot tell any difference between the NP5 and streaming from a computer in the same room via a middling pro audio interface.
If there's room for improvement, it's downstream since I'm using the internal DAC of my monitor controller (I'd bet that my CA DACmagic 100 is better but I'm short of outlets) and a cheap toslink cable that I'm not confident does it's job to spec (planning to buy a Van Damme cable, just haven't gotten around to it).
My "no hifi zone" comment is just opposed to my main system which is full blown EWA cult.
JTC
PFM Villager...
Later this week should get a pair of Oppo PM3 closed back planar headphones. Wanted something not too expensive but closed back for occasional shared room use (which is where my previous Stax headphones failed - too 'leaky'). Not having had a chance to hear the PM3 before buying, there's a strong element of 'punt' about this, but I imagine they'll be decent enough for my purposes.
Minio
Kind of Sort of Not really...
Sunday Ebay frenzy resulted in the purchase of-
Yamaha KX-380
Yamaha CDX-593
All working and nice condition.
I caught the cassette bug from a recent PFM thread.
Having successfully changed belts on my Sony TC-KE 200 I now require a new pinch wheel which will come from Slovakia some time soon hopefully.
Hence the itch to try another working machine for now.
The CD player has digital coax out, so I shall experiment with a more up to date dac.
Just a bit of a pre-Christmas black box binge.
Yamaha KX-380
Yamaha CDX-593
All working and nice condition.
I caught the cassette bug from a recent PFM thread.
Having successfully changed belts on my Sony TC-KE 200 I now require a new pinch wheel which will come from Slovakia some time soon hopefully.
Hence the itch to try another working machine for now.
The CD player has digital coax out, so I shall experiment with a more up to date dac.
Just a bit of a pre-Christmas black box binge.
Darren
So gentle when he tries to understand.
Fair Play! Appreciate the clarification
Me too! A REL TZero to go with my Ruark sabres (speakers and sub both mk3’s). The sub has improved the midrange and soundstage.
Salamander
pfm Member
Just ordered the APEX upgrade for my dCS Rossini DAC
It should make a nice self-offered Christmas cum Birthday present
We received our Rosinni back after the Apex upgrade a couple of weeks ago, you'll love it, we do.
You asked @Hound what storage he uses, we use a K50 purchased from @Fourlegs a few months ago.
Will look forward to your findings on the Apex, at least you 'got in' before the price rise.
Fourlegs
Trade: WAVE High Fidelity digital cables
@Salamander I wondered if you had got your Apex upgrade and hope you are still enjoying the K50. The K50 is a pretty special streamer/server. I made a very unwise decision and let a WAVE customer of mine bring his new Antipodes Oladra for me to hear and the unfortunate consequence is that I have ordered an Oladra. I am still aiming to run the ‘high end’ DAC Bake Off at my house and hope you are still interested in bringing your Apex upgraded dCS. When I last spoke to @Musicraft Rick was still keen to loan something very special to pit against your dCS and my Sean Jacobs powered Mscaler and Dave. I will let your dCS and my new Oladra get bedded in and then be in touch to hopefully sort out a date. @George47 from the Wam has gone quiet on me but in truth three DACs is probably about as many as we can do justice to in one day.
uncl_nigel
pfm Member
Beat the price rise was indeed the reason behind the recent order - I'd been waiting for closure on an ongoing repair-notrepair situation with a power amp that smoked on me twice. But I've resolved that as a "don't throw good money after bad" situation - there are several other US-made amps of the same brand and model in need of repair here in France so I'm rather pessimistic about how valid a 3k-4k-5k€ repair would be (more to do with the design than the service tech).
I'll look at your link
Alco
pfm Member
3 days ago I ordered a Chord Clearway rca interconnect.
I've been using a Chord Cobra 3 cable for the best part of the last 10 years and never really felt a curiosity to try other ic's. (same with speaker cables)
I'm so glad that last week apparently I felt just about enough curiosity to try the Chord Clearway, and although my system is quite humble, the improvements are very noticable!
The sound has become more open/transparent and instruments are much easier to follow individually. Even when listening to music on Spotify (320kbs) the difference is obvious.
Long story short,...it's a keeper!
I've been using a Chord Cobra 3 cable for the best part of the last 10 years and never really felt a curiosity to try other ic's. (same with speaker cables)
I'm so glad that last week apparently I felt just about enough curiosity to try the Chord Clearway, and although my system is quite humble, the improvements are very noticable!
The sound has become more open/transparent and instruments are much easier to follow individually. Even when listening to music on Spotify (320kbs) the difference is obvious.
Long story short,...it's a keeper!
Muttley2
pfm Member
I recently purchased the Atoll IN300 amp. After a lot of testing of various offerings this was the one that made me sit up and go wow!! Smooth, detailed, fast tight bass, massive soundstage and an onboard dac which is very good, just better than anything I have had before. Being able to test at home fairly easily helped me make the right decision. I am considering one of their cd transports, if its anything like the sound signature of the amp it will right up my street sonically
Gervais Cote
Predator
I tried many many of these cables myself and concluded that this exact one IS the overall best sounding/price ratio for medium and high grade audiophile kits. I bought them used as well so even more true.3 days ago I ordered a Chord Clearway rca interconnect.
I've been using a Chord Cobra 3 cable for the best part of the last 10 years and never really felt a curiosity to try other ic's. (same with speaker cables)
I'm so glad that last week apparently I felt just about enough curiosity to try the Chord Clearway, and although my system is quite humble, the improvements are very noticable!
The sound has become more open/transparent and instruments are much easier to follow individually. Even when listening to music on Spotify (320kbs) the difference is obvious.
Long story short,...it's a keeper!
Congratulations! This particular Atoll integrated is indeed special. I owned an earlier 100SE but a friend has the 300 which he runs with PMC stand mounts and is a great combo.
I continue to pursue the perfect chip amp with purchase of Audial A20. It replaces a Model A. Super happy with this purchase. The LS 3/5 mavens out there need to have the hot-rodded single input Model A on their radar.