advertisement


What's your WTF hifi moment

Nothing outrageously priced shocks me any more. I'm resigned to the fact that the word 'gullible' is not is some people's lexicon. So, for me, my most recent WTF moment is:

NS-1000M does bass - after taking a punt on Troels Gravesen's upgrade crossover for my pair, I was very pleasantly surprised how much better the bottom end got, in addition to improvements to the midrange and coherence. As someone who understands loudspeaker design, and how little effect the crossover has on LF, this had me scratching my head. But my ears don't lie ...
 
Many years ago leaving the Scottish HiFi show realising that my quite modest flat earth kit played music much better than the rather expensive kit being demonstrated. That included the top end Naim system, valve amplifiers, some massive speakers and some electrostatics. I could not suppress a smug smile to myself.
 
herb said:
Many years ago leaving the Scottish HiFi show realising that my quite modest flat earth kit played music much better than the rather expensive kit being demonstrated. That included the top end Naim system, valve amplifiers, some massive speakers and some electrostatics. I could not suppress a smug smile to myself.
Click to expand...

Some entry level systems can sound really good. I find most of the super expensive systems never sound musical to my ears.

Just my opinion.

S.
 
paulfromcamden said:
Doesn't @Tony L have a pair?
Click to expand...

51119930655_dd544bd1c2_b.jpg


I’ve got a pair of late-50s TL12 Plus up in the pfm record shop (my back bedroom), lengthy multi-year restoration thread in the classic room. When people say TL12 they usually mean the earlier (late-40s) TL12.1 which have to be amongst the most highly sought-after amps on the planet. Very hard to find a nice identical pair of those as they were obviously long prior to stereo. I’ve never compared them, though have heard TL12.1s sounding superb. The 12 Plus are lovely things too, really superb little amps and hard to believe just how natural, fun and funky 12 vintage Watts can be. Definitely keepers!
 
James said:
...for me, my most recent WTF moment is:

NS-1000M does bass - after taking a punt on Troels Gravesen's upgrade crossover for my pair, I was very pleasantly surprised how much better the bottom end got, in addition to improvements to the midrange and coherence. As someone who understands loudspeaker design, and how little effect the crossover has on LF, this had me scratching my head. But my ears don't lie ...
Click to expand...

Aha.
For those long DIY on the electronics side, that effect is quite common - and I think it is about cleaning-up what happens in the high-mid into high treble area (and above, for the electronic side) Simple stuff like just simply geometrically-better decoupling strategies without changing values at all, let alone radically - all things that have provable negligible effect on LF bandwidth on paper - often bring a sense of clarity and gravitas and precision to the LF that surprises. Because that was not what you were playing for, just a revelation arising from reduced intermod elsewhere.
 
My WTF moment was quite recent and on this very forum. Chap’s speaker cables cost as much as his amp. That’s £1000 for a 2 x 1.5m pair…
 
Tony L said:
When people say TL12 they usually mean the earlier (late-40s) TL12.1 which have to be amongst the most highly sought-after amps on the planet. Very hard to find a nice identical pair of those as they were obviously long prior to stereo. I’ve never compared them,
Click to expand...
I've owned 1 matched pair, bought in CapeTown in 2006 with a pair of GRF's for silly cheap money and 2 single amps, both of which were given to me free by 2 different people. One of which worked at Leak. Perfectly matched sonically but different colours.
 
Three main ones:
The introduction of NS1000M into my system for the first time, listening to Flamenco Sketches and being moved to tears by the sheer realism of the reproduction.
Taking my Lentek Integrated amplifier to my friend's house to try, replacing his Quad amplifiers - he immediately bought a Lentek - the difference was astounding.
Upgrading from a Rega Brio to a Rega Elicit in the early 90s. It showed me what a better amplifier could deliver.
 
Rug Doc said:
I like the look of those, any reviews around? Or personal experiences?
Click to expand...


I’ve never read any reviews of them. I heard them when I worked at at Doug Brady in Liverpool in about 89. Thought there was a sax player in the room. That was through a pair of Goodmans Maxim 2s, as well; no-ones idea of a fancy loudspeaker. Magic things.
 
per-Sony-fied said:
I wonder if a blown fuse would appear for sale on eBay for say £300 like all the other broken gear people like to sell, you know "might be fixable" type of thing :)
Click to expand...
I can fix a blown boutique fuse. £100 inc UK postage. Guaranteed working post repair. :)
I genuinely would too, and it would work.
 
paulfromcamden said:
I guess a positive WTF moment would be hearing Art Blakey - Moanin' really loud through a pair of JBL Olympus in a jazz cafe in Tokyo. My wife and I just sat speechless grinning from ear to ear.
Click to expand...

It's a great dem album - my mum's utterly knackered original was a mainstay on my P3 in the mid nineties.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.


advertisement


Back
Top