How Long Has Your Journey Been - Are You There Yet ?

[Bksabath]

Firs record at age 7 Crocodile Rock
13 first job in Telly repair shop first 4 W valve amp
1976 age16 working for congress PA system from Margaret which to Chaplin 5000 ear phones and 200K worth of Microphones best Gig City lights whit live Band in St mark Sq
Few years as DJ in FM radio and discos including a club owned by Italian mafia (cover for 5kg of Virgin Mary a week)
Few gigs from Tina to Ramones best gig Adam Ant Milan 1984 (over 3 hours on stage he would not stop)
Got drunk whit a few moved to UK ... and did it all Lemy told me U do to much speed at a party ...
got married and divorced now my kid doing masters in Sheffield
Been whit last GF 17 and then speakers where to big and look untidy so split up and now I am pretty happy in cheapest house whit big living room I can find ...
Are U there jet? No way just got a pair of Maggies and look forward to start room treatment in new house in spring
Looking forward to Patty Smith gig in Venice in June ...

[Blueflash]

My journey started when I was about 9. I heard a system that had a GL75 into a big amplifier then into Tannoys.

From that moment on, I was hooked. I had a pair of ancient headphones that made everything sound a lot better when hooked up to the various valve radio sets I managed to acquire,

The Hifi took a back seat while I concentrated on getting the business off the ground, but as soon as I could, I started looking for some decent sounds. A few wrong starts, I made the mistake when CD came out of turning everything on just before I wanted to have a listening session and turning it all off when finished.

I had a Krell KSA50, Kef 104 speakers and cannot remember what preamp I had.
When I moved to Hereford I found English Audio and they introduced me to the delights of active speakers ATC50A`s and the SCA2 preamp with a stern warning about source needing to be good.
I ended up getting a Wadia 16 player.
That was when I learned that Digital Audio needs to be left switched on 24/7. That was probably my biggest upgrade made. Before as I mentioned, I would switch the stereo on just before a session, then switch it of when finished. I noticed that I would listen to one CD and that was enough.
I was more used to the Pro Audio approach ( I used to help set up the sound in football stadiums for events) so I would never have thought of leaving anything switched on Un attended.
The difference when digital is left on, the Preamp on standby and turn the ATC`s on about an hour before a session was staggering.
I had depth, width and sweet vocals and lead guitar acquired a pleasant rounded out sound that didn't make my fillings rattle.

I now have a self built DDDAC with well over specced power supplies, an Audionote CDT3 transport, a 6KVA total balanced mains unit, a fresh ATC SCA2 about 5 years ago, and last year I had the speakers bought up to the latest spec including the ATC S type tweeter.
So I would say that completes the journey as far as the electronics side of things can be. If there was a way of running 16 Tent powered Dac boards, I would do it, but that would involve adding buffers onto the main board and giving them a very clean 5v power supply with individual regulators for each buffer IC.

The only thing left to do is the mains supply. Later on in the year I will be installing 25sq mm CY cable from the meter to a dedicated consumer unit then running a 16 sq mm CY cable to the 32A socket and two 10 sq mm CY cables going into the double Furutech mains socket.

But in the meantime I am thoroughly enjoying my system. I now have to make myself stop listening too late into the night during work days, a couple of 1-00 am`s do tend to take the shine off the day but it is self inflicted. So apart from the mains, my journey is over and I have never enjoyed recorded music so much.

[Pharos]

Why did you buy a fresh SCA2?

[Blueflash]

Why did you buy a fresh SCA2?

I had to sell the first one when money got tight ....

[Yomanze]

Hmm, I probably started around 2005, late starter in my early 20s, but a music fanatic & music journalist at the time. After spending a summer with a mate's old Kenwood amp and a pair of Mission speakers; my first 'serious' setup was a Pioneer A400, Mission 780SE speakers & a Marantz CD65DX, which then progressed onto STAX headphones, Exposure 2010S amp, Theta DAC and Amphion Argon2, yet I wanted more...

I got into the mindset of learning DIY HiFi electronics & seeing this as a way to 'improve' cheaper kit and also buying DIY kits that I never really finished, so instead decided to splurge on a HiFi that I hope will outlast me. I have spare tweeters and spare TDA1541A chips, the rest should be able to be repaired routinely if need be.

What I find now is small incremental tweaks make me happy, for example, deciding to decouple my speakers & all my components from my lively wooden floor. My system has lasted for years without me getting bored or fatigued, so I am now very wary about major system changes.

If my Royd RR3s ever did pack in, then I'd probably go for some Magnepan 1.7i speakers, or some Thiels, or maybe just use my Royd Sorcerer "SE".

[alphaGT]

Firs record at age 7 Crocodile Rock
13 first job in Telly repair shop first 4 W valve amp
1976 age16 working for congress PA system from Margaret which to Chaplin 5000 ear phones and 200K worth of Microphones best Gig City lights whit live Band in St mark Sq
Few years as DJ in FM radio and discos including a club owned by Italian mafia (cover for 5kg of Virgin Mary a week)
Few gigs from Tina to Ramones best gig Adam Ant Milan 1984 (over 3 hours on stage he would not stop)
Got drunk whit a few moved to UK ... and did it all Lemy told me U do to much speed at a party ...
got married and divorced now my kid doing masters in Sheffield
Been whit last GF 17 and then speakers where to big and look untidy so split up and now I am pretty happy in cheapest house whit big living room I can find ...
Are U there jet? No way just got a pair of Maggies and look forward to start room treatment in new house in spring
Looking forward to Patty Smith gig in Venice in June ...

It sounds like you’ve lived a very exciting life Sandro! Perhaps you could write a book when you’re old?

Russell

[paulf-2007]

Yip, in my living room right now

Oi I was asking macca, but I'm pleased for you mike
I also have the sound I want but didn't know until I got it.

[mikeyb]

Oi I was asking macca, but I'm pleased for you mike
I also have the sound I want but didn't know until I got it.

Oops lol

[Bksabath]

It sounds like you’ve lived a very exciting life Sandro! Perhaps you could write a book when you’re old?

Russell

Well quite a few nice things to say like chatting whit Charlie Chaplin or drinking Barbera whit Brian Ferry but also a lot of regrets and mistakes ...
If only my spelling was beterer
Maybe when I get old ...

[alphaGT]

Well quite a few nice things to say like chatting whit Charlie Chaplin or drinking Barbera whit Brian Ferry but also a lot of regrets and mistakes ...
If only my spelling was beterer
Maybe when I get old ...

You’re as old as you feel! And that’s what they made spell check for!

Russell