That’s right. I wanna know what equipment you’re using, just because it’s a fun thing to talk about. I’ll start off with my equipment. I have a very basic, yet high-quality set that produces a very clear and natural sound - the way I like it.
Integrated Amplifier: Rotel RA 971 (retail price about USD 450)
CD Player: Rotel RCD 950 (This is actually the RCD 951, the successor. The only difference is that mine isn’t HDCD, which it a load of bollocks anyway. Retail price about USD 450)
Speakers: Tannoy Mercury M3 (Retail price around USD 500 for a pair)
So, any more HiFi enthusiasts out there?
Comments on my setup, maybe?
Sorry Coldy. Nothing of value to add here. It just saddened me to see you thread sinking like a stone.
My only audio system is a 5 year old Sony shelf system (you know, one of those CD player/tape player/boom box thingies). I probably could use a better system, but since all I ever seem to hear are Sesame Street and Raffi CDs, the sound quality doesn’t really matter.
Another case of thread revival…
B&K 1030 dolby pro pre-amp with tuner (spring-loaded volume control just broke this weekend);
A pair of Parasound HCA1000A amps, each bridged to 400w at 8ohm;
Rega Planet CD player;
Sony something or other 5-CD changer;
Rega Jura speakers.
My cable guys introduced a ground fault into the system a couple of years ago. I can’t go home theatre without blowing a fuse. I’m trying to figure out how to get it fixed for free. I should have told them right away, but didn’t. My bad…
I’m getting the idea that all them 'puter nerds these days only have them MP3 files on their boxes. Proper Audio Sets are a thing of the past, apparently.
Heathens. Tonight, I played Wish you were here, and it were as if mister Gilmoure himself was sitting in my living room, plucking away during the accoustic intro.
–Main Listening Room----
NAD 302i built in 1992. This is sweet.
Adcom 200w amp.
MFT reciever built in 1979…a beautiful piece of work.
California Labs single tray CD player.
Sony Sig. 5 Disc changer
Parasound single cassette deck. (Very similar to a Nakamichi 1.2 deck, but with HXpro)
KEF 502 bookshelf speakers.
Technics turntable from the mid-70’s. A higher end version, but I can’t remember the number.
–Computer Room—
Marantz integrated amp from mid-70’s w/o reciever. This is a mega-sweet ride.
NHT bookshelf speakers.
I’m partial to JVC, but I’ll admit, I don’t recall what I have and it’s a state away for the time being.
But: reciever, 6+1 changer, 36" tv = JVC.
Pioneer and Onkyo (Fusion) front channels
surround speakers: Sherwood (5);
Pinnacle satellites in the kitchen;
8" Aiwa sub-woofer (want to get a Yamaha sub)
I want to get a NAD head-unit and some Klipsch or Magnapan speakers one of these days, though. Maybe sprinkle in something B&O…
Amp - NAD 3400
CD player - NAD 5100
Tuner - Carver TX-2 (No AM stereo, unfortunately.)
Cassette - SAE C101 (I’ll put up a good fight against against the Nakamichi Dragon)
Speakers - Dahlquist CA1 and W1 modules x 2
No surround sound BS here – just a good, basic hi-fi system that impresses my friends and makes women think “typical guy.”
Pre-burglary and divorce:
separate Carver amps for L+R
McIntosh preamp/tuner
soundcraftsmen cd player
Klipschorn speakers ( the speakers make the system IMHO)
Post- burglary and divorce:
Bose Wave CD desktop radio/cd player
When I got it, I gave my Sony system to my ex-wife with no regrets. It has amazingly clear and natural sound with stereo separation and definition to match most any mid level system. In its current environment (a hard acoustically unfriendly apartment), it surpasses my needs but someday…
My Co. buys about 350K/year worth of appliances from the best audio/TV/appliance store in the midwest. I’m waiting to be able to spend a lot till I call that marker in!
I am getting to be a bigger fan of Bose than i would have thought.
I haven’t upgraded my system in several years, especially my speakers, but here goes.
Sansui turntable, Shure V15 (type V?) cartridge.
Cheapie Technics cassette deck.
DBX 228 noise reduction for tape and encoded records (they quit being available more than 10 years ago).
Technics 5 disc CD changer.
AudioSource EQ Twelve 12 band equalizer/spectrum analyzer.
Pioneer AV receiver, VSX-451.
Klipsch Heresy speakers (more than 20 years old, still sound pretty good).
Pretty much mid-fi consumer stuff, but today’s electronics (within some fairly broad parameters) are so similar that mid-fi is virtually indistinguishable from high-end. The difference is in the input and output. In other words, your cartridge (assuming you’re still using any vinyl), the DACs, and your speakers. Speakers make by far the biggest differences these days, except maybe for adding more channels or more software.
Speaking of Pink Floyd, I must brag a little. I was doing some remodeling (and a lot of just hanging around) for a local high-end stereo equipment shop back in the 70s.
One day, a friend of the owners dropped in. He was somebody from the label publishing Pink Floyd’s stuff. He had with him the (mixed-down to 2 channel) master tapes of “Wish You Were Here” and wanted to listen to them on the big Klipschorns set up there at the shop. They loaded the tape up, piped the signal into the main listening room, and fired up the K-horns, fed by a 300 watt Macintosh amp. I showed up just as they were getting ready to start listening. Since I was there and kind of an employee, they let me in (they would have had to kill me to keep me out, so maybe that was part of it J). It was glorious! They ran the whole album straight through, and then went back and played some highlights. A great afternoon.
The rest of my system is pretty ho-hum, but for an amp I have a vintage 1963 H.H. Scott Stereomaster 299-D. This puppy is heavy!
Keeping it working is a hobby in itself. I often have spare tubes lying around (thank god my gramps is a collector) so sometimes my living room looks like a mad scientist’s lab. It’s a good conversation piece.
I have a POS Scott shelf system. The wires to the speakers are duct taped where my brother’s rabbit chewed through them. I have it hooked to my VCR so I can have stereo sound for movies (the TV is mono). The other day I only had to kick it once to get the left speaker working.
For music I use my computer, it has a Benwin 4" subwoofer and 4 3" speakers in the satellites.
Yep, I live on the cutting edge of sound reproduction technology.
RJK, great story! I am still amazed that when I listen to that album, I suddenly realise that it was recorded when I was two years old (almost 28 now). Pink Floyd has to be in the top 10 of Audio Freak Bands, don’t you think?
The rest of you, thanks for sharing as well! Even yojimbo, whose otherwise plain stereo has been baptised by a nice collection of Rush songs just two months ago
I just KNEW there were going to be a lot of these bi-wiring, bi-amping tube-nerds going to show up as well, just to make me look bad with my modern day set
Ditto to whomever said “The Speakers make the Set”. Hence my choice for Tannoy (although the Rotel components kick ass too. Same price bracket as NAD, but a much more involving sound, IMHO).
I know this system is gonna sound like crap but trust me it’s so loud and got so much behind it you can here it with my dorm room closed 4 door down outside of the living areas at the bottom of the stairwell. With that said I’ve got everything hooked up on my computer (all jimmy rigged by me) I’ve got your run of the mill pc (Intel celeron 566 mghz digital audio soundcard) Bostin Acoustics pc speakers not bad but nothing special but here is the good part I’ve got a bass amplifier that could blow just about any speaker on the marker hooked up to a 15" sony subwoofer. Good thing I don’t have a roommate or the poor guy would probably kill himself considering how loud I listen to my music.
Floyd is one of my favorites, no doubt about it. I wore out two or three copies of “Dark Side of the Moon” on vinyl, then got a Mobil Fidelity Half-Speed Mastered version, which I still have (I got that just a couple of years before my first CD player, and my vinyl playing time has dropped dramatically since then). I also have the CD version of pretty much everything they’ve done.
Listening to “Wish You Were Here” six months before its release was a kick. After that afternoon I couldn’t wait for it to be released. As soon as it hit the market, I bought a copy. I still have both that original vinyl version, and of course, the CD version. Good stuff.
Hanging around that same shop a year or so later, I got to meet and spend a couple of hours with Paul Klipsch. He is a very interesting guy, and very bright. He was investigating listening room acoustics at the time, at was kind enough to tell me a little bit about some of his research.
I didn’t understand most of it at the time, but from that, and from 25 years of listening since, I am convinced that the two most important components in any system are the speakers and the listening room. And guess which one most people never even think about?
Amp: Adcom GFP555 (200w\ch)
Pre-Amp: also Adcom 555 series
CD player - Denon 1500II
Speakers: Image Concept 200
Cabling: Monster Cable Interconnects and MIT Speaker Cable
Above referenced system (no,not reference system) is 10 years old. The oldest component, the CD Player, is 13 years old.
Still runs like a champ, on everything from Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos to Saint-Saens’ Organ Symphony #3.
[aside to Coldie]Oh, and Rush sounds pretty damn good too![/aside to Coldie]
Hitachi HA-6 Amplifier (oil cooled, believe it or not - the damn thing gurgles when it gets going)
Kyocera/Cybernet Analog Tuner
JVC single disc CD Player (early version, purchased in '85)
JVC turntable (bought it used, can’t recall the model - nice rosewood construction, though. A beauty to look at).
Nakamichi tape deck - again, purchased so long ago I can’t recall the model number.
Design Acoustic subwoofer and bookshelf speakers (DA-10s).
I also have a component stereo system in the bedroom made up of JVC speakers and CD player, Harmon Kardon amp, and another Nakamichi tape deck but I can’t for the life of me recall the model numbers.
The speakers are what you hear, put your money it those.
An audiophile friend has a set of electro-static speakers (about 6 feet tall but only a few inches thick). $10,000 for the pair but it sounds as if Vladimir Horowitz is sitting in front of you playing for your listening enjoyment.
It started one day with too much money and not enough sense!I started my entry into H/T with 3 Sony receivers(non ES line) that decided to die in the first month. So I wanted reliability AND upgrade features.
So here’s the list.
Yamaha RX-V2095 flagship model receiver used as pre/pro, 7.1 DD,DTS,Pro Logic and too many DSP’s!
3, yep 3 Onkyo Integra M-504 dual mono amps. I bought these amps to eventually upgrade to planar type speakers which present brutal loads to amps, receivers don’t really cut it and could be damaged IMHO.
Sony DVP-S330 W/upgraded firmware and modified power supply.
Sony MDS-JE530 MD player/recorder
Techniques TR-575 dual Cassette deck.
Techniques SL-1200 MKII turntable(not that great but pricey,live and learn), I should’ve bought a Music Hall MF5.
Sony stereo 4 head vcr( don’t really use much anymore).
Motorola Digital Cable box.
Main speakers, Paradigm Studio 20’s
Centers, 2 Boston CR6’s.
Rear Surounds Paradigm Titan’s.
Subs, 2 Paradigm PS1000 subs.
Front effects, Paradigm Atoms.
Monster Surge protection and line conditioner
Cables. All MIT, I didn’t pay retail for these, thank G-D!
I have wire in my setup that would pay for a Bose setup if paid retail. Please no bashing of cable choices, I’m sure the audio world will NEVER get cable prices down to reality!Movies sounds phenominal! Music is much better now that I’ve added my amps. Am I crazy? You bet! But we likes it! The wife made me insure it, this isn’t even true high end here, more like mid fi, but that’s what we can afford. Were waiting out to see if SACD or DVDA wins the new format war, and they’re still a lot of money if they fail.
Jim P.
AKA NUTS!
