Fed up? Sell everything and start from scratch with ten grand!

[Bigman80]

Paul lists his system under his signature:

Sony STR 6055 Denon DP80 Stax UA-70 Shure Ultra 500 Zu omen

Office system, DIY CSS fullrange speakers with aurum cantus G2 ribbons Najda dsp as dac Akai AM-U02 Jvc QL-A51 direct drive turntable
SAE1000LT

System components are subject to change without warning and at the discretion of the owner.

I cant see his signature as I mainly use Tapatalk. Thanks for the list! Ill be googling lol



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[Bigman80]

Paulf-2007

Ive just read your thread on your TT build and I have to say it looks spectacular. Bravo!

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[walpurgis]

Is that a Stax arm? Looks rather like an UA-7, but not quite.

[tapid]

Looks nice and low to vinyl. Thats good I guess ?

[struth]

If someone wants to give me 10k for my system, I shall reluctantly accept.

[jusbe]

Starting from scratch I wouldn't be looking at vinyl. Even though I still have over 1000 albums and recognise the superiority of analogue over digital, it is a time limited format (notwithstanding the current resurgence in popularity). In fact, I would probably also bypass CD altogether and go for a top notch disk-based streaming solution.

I'd be surprised if vinyl didn't outlast whatever digital format you might currently try and for the foreseeable future. It's lasted this far, hasn't it? Most of us can't even access floppy discs from the 80s and 90s. How long before present digital formats/codecs become obsolete? Records from the middle of last century or earlier? No problem.

People will be dropping styli onto vinyl for some time to come, I'm fairly sure.

[Sherwood]

I'd be surprised if vinyl didn't outlast whatever digital format you might currently try and for the foreseeable future. It's lasted this far, hasn't it? Most of us can't even access floppy discs from the 80s and 90s. How long before present digital formats/codecs become obsolete? Records from the middle of last century or earlier? No problem.

People will be dropping styli onto vinyl for some time to come, I'm fairly sure.

Yes, but if you are starting out from scratch without a sizeable vinyl collection would you really choose to invest in analogue. Whilst I recognise that vinyl sounds better, it takes precision engineering to get the "music" off the disc. I recently had my 30 year old Linn LP12 services and upgraded with a 3rd party sub-chassis and armboard and it sounds great though I am acutely aware that I would have to spend big bucks today to get the same quality. That it without taking into account the costs of a good preamp and cartridge (I think my AT Moving Coil and EAR 834P would cost the best part of £1500 today). What really tips the scale is the limited amount of new music issued on vinyl and its premium price over digital. I have come to this conclusion reluctantly and only recently. For the first two decades I could barely listen to cd's. However, digital is getting better (note the recent demise of the dreaded MP3 format) and it is possible to buy a digital streamer today for very little that can outperform hugely expensive flagship cd players of recent vintage.

Clearly this forum comprises a biased sample of music listeners. When I went to Uni back in the late 70's it was the ambition of many young people to get their first "proper" hifi and to invest heavily in vinyl. That is no longer the case. It still surprises me when I come across a "youf" who has never heard an album played (start to finish) on a proper hifi let alone bought a complete album, but I would suggest that is the norm. The resurgence of "vinyl" seems to me to be as much a fashion statement as an interest in quality and tied in to the "hipster" movement. Yes, vinyl will survive but it will remain a niche product for enthusiasts, much like valve amps are today.

Anyway, I was expressing my own preferences. I would expect a 10k system to be my last investment in hifi so would be looking for something to see me through for the next 20 years or so. I daresay there will still be devices around then that are compatible with FLAC or WAV format!

Geoff

[struth]

Yes, but if you are starting out from scratch without a sizeable vinyl collection would you really choose to invest in analogue. Whilst I recognise that vinyl sounds better, it takes precision engineering to get the "music" off the disc. I recently had my 30 year old Linn LP12 services and upgraded with a 3rd party sub-chassis and armboard and it sounds great though I am acutely aware that I would have to spend big bucks today to get the same quality. That it without taking into account the costs of a good preamp and cartridge (I think my AT Moving Coil and EAR 834P would cost the best part of £1500 today). What really tips the scale is the limited amount of new music issued on vinyl and its premium price over digital. I have come to this conclusion reluctantly and only recently. For the first two decades I could barely listen to cd's. However, digital is getting better (note the recent demise of the dreaded MP3 format) and it is possible to buy a digital streamer today for very little that can outperform hugely expensive flagship cd players of recent vintage.

Clearly this forum comprises a biased sample of music listeners. When I went to Uni back in the late 70's it was the ambition of many young people to get their first "proper" hifi and to invest heavily in vinyl. That is no longer the case. It still surprises me when I come across a "youf" who has never heard an album played (start to finish) on a proper hifi let alone bought a complete album, but I would suggest that is the norm. The resurgence of "vinyl" seems to me to be as much a fashion statement as an interest in quality and tied in to the "hipster" movement. Yes, vinyl will survive but it will remain a niche product for enthusiasts, much like valve amps are today.

Anyway, I was expressing my own preferences. I would expect a 10k system to be my last investment in hifi so would be looking for something to see me through for the next 20 years or so. I daresay there will still be devices around then that are compatible with FLAC or WAV format!

Geoff

I cant instill any interest in my kids to even consider keeping mine. Apethy of the younger generation eh

[AlexM]

I'd probably dump the lot and go for a pair of Devialet Phantom Golds and a nice holiday.

If that was a step too far, a set of good active monitors would probably be the way to go if I was starting over.

[jusbe]

I take your point, Sherwood/Geoff.

For me, personally, yes, I would buy vinyl again (today). But I might save up 20% of that 10K for a trip to Japan to buy some of the Jazz I collect. The music and performances I look for are 'of their time'. That mostly means C20 for me and others I suppose. All the vinyl paraphernalia is, to me, part of the game!

I wonder whether I would be as concerned if I was 20 again, though...