Pleased to be here

[Lerxst]

Hi, I'm Chris and I live near Northampton in the U.K. I joined this forum to browse, share info and offer advice if I feel qualified.

Only in the last year or two have I had enough money and time to finally set up a HiFi system, which although "budget" by some peoples' standards, sounds great to me!

I like pop/rock mainly - anything from ABBA through Bowie, Extreme, Marillion, Rush, Radiohead, Queen, Supertramp, Yes. You get the picture. Preferably real people playing proper instruments!

My " main system" is as follows:

Cambridge Audio CD transport
Music Fidelity V-90 DAC
Little Dot MK IV as pre-amp
NAD 214 power-amp.
QAcoustics 3050 speakers (my second and third wives)

I have a little setup just for headphones for the late evenings:

Marantz CD 5005
Cambridge Audio DACMagic (not the expensive one)
Little Dot MK II
Beyerdynamic headphones (with 3m Grado extension for the full air guitar/lead-singer/poser experience).

Why the DACMagic with Marantz? I Dunno. The built in DAC in the Marantz is probably fine.

New cables made a massive difference to this kit and I have spent as much as I can on my budget on interconnects and speaker cables. I also invested in power accessories which were recommended from a magazine. It really cleaned up things and the bass tightend up and got deeper. Amazing.

The Little Dots were a recent addition and are my first experience using valves. I took a chance with the MK II first and, after changing the stock tubes for something a little better, I discovered this was the sound I wanted - relaxed and detailed, but somehow also good for rock. Then I got the MK IV and I am not going back to solid state (at least in a pre-amp).

I am really pleased with this setup and have no plans to change it except maybe get a second hand power amp - the NAD 214 has apparently got a bad name for dry solder joints, not that I have had problems in 17 years. When the right power amp comes along I might just snap it up. No haste yet.

This is my main hobby now and I'm just loving my music all over again and buying some more. I also do a bit of cycling, walking and reading. The kids have grown up and left. The wife had an affair and left. Therefore I, UG UG, have man cave. Good. Chris like.

You've been a great audience! Thank you! Goodnight!