+ Reply to Thread
Results 1 to 6 of 6

Thread: I'm Roland, I'm new

  1. #1
    Join Date: Mar 2018

    Location: Bristol, UK

    Posts: 39
    I'm Roland.

    Red face I'm Roland, I'm new

    Hello Forum.

    Nice to "be" here & to meet all the Forum members. I am a Professional Violinist now in my 50s; I used to perform, but now I teach from home which is Bristol, UK. Anyway, I love Hifi.. and yes, I love Classical and a bit of Jazz plus a bit of easy listening plus anything than I can tap my foot to or hum in the shower.

    I have 4 hifi systems, if you count the one on the desktop a hifi ; Quad Vena feeding Dali Opticon 2 bookshelf speakers. System 2 is an Arcam IrDAC + A39 120W Integrated Amp. driving Older B&W DM603 S3 floorstanders. System 1 is Arcam A90 +P90 Bi Amped running B&W704 (also floorstanders which were current models about 10 years ago) + a REL Ti7 Sub, and source is Arcam IrDACII or CDS27. System 4 is not up and running at the moment...

    What makes a massive difference for me and my tastes in sound are Atlas Cables which I use everywhere... Copper only no Silver not even silver plated / it's the devil ! I put as much money into cables as I do speakers... that's way more than most!! I'm pretty good at tweaking (been tweaking my hifi for the last 30 years... started out with Bob Carver gear and AR speakers... err.. actually that's a lie.. started out in my teens with Italian speakers and cheap Sony record player and amp... and wow did it sound good. The family HiFi was also not bad, until we moved from records / tapes to CDs in 1982... as soon as CD came out.

    I believe in HiRes, not because we can unmistakably hear it and identify it over Redbook blindfolded, but I believe we benefit from better remastering (digital has improved over the last 30 years) so we benefit indirectly... and I think the main jump is to go from 16-bit to 24-bit and the sound will invariably come across more relaxed (and not just because the levels are usually lower). That's my opinion, and well, even my Carver CD player way back in the 80s upsampled to 18-Bit !!

    I am super keen on Hifi, and my next move may be to upgrade from my B&W 704s to Dali Opticon 6 or 8 or Rubicon 6.
    What I like about the Dali are the Wood composite drivers, and how tight the bass comes across... I am less keen on the treble end (especially since the 704s are so transparent) but I often use Foobar as a Hires source, and I don't mind a bit of EQ. Usually prefer to leave it flat, of course.

    Anyway that's me ; sorry to bore you if you got to the end ! Cheerio, Roland

  2. #2
    Join Date: Feb 2013

    Location: W Lothian

    Posts: 99,005
    I'm Grant.

    Default

    HI Roland, welcome... nice intro too.. Good to have you here
    Regards,
    Grant .... ؠ ......Don't be such a big girl's blouse

    I've said it before and I'll say it again: democracy simply-doesn't-work
    .... ..... ...... ...... ................... ..... ..... ..... ..... .....
    FIIO K7 BT, M11 PLUS, BTR7, KA5 - OPPO BDP-103D - PANASONIC UB450 - PANASONIC 4K ULTRA HD TV - PIXEL 6 - AVANTREE LR BLUETOOTH - 2* X600 SOUNDCORE - HEADPHONES INCLUDE, FIIO, NURAPHONES', FOCAL, OPPO, BOSE, CAMBRIDGE, BOWER & WILKINS, DEVIALET, MARSHALL, SONY, MITCHELL & JOHNSTON - 2*ZBOOK'S- MERCURY BD ROM, ROON, QOBUZ, TIDAL, PLEX, CYBERLINK, JRIVER - MULTI HDD'S -

    Oh my god! There's nothing wrong with the bidet is there?

    “Nothing discloses real character like the use of power. It is easy for the weak to be gentle. Most people can bear adversity. But if you wish to know what a man really is, give him power. This is the supreme test. It is the glory of Lincoln that, having almost absolute power, he never abused it, except on the side of mercy".

    “You see these dictators on their pedestals, surrounded by the bayonets of their soldiers and the truncheons of their police ... yet in their hearts there is unspoken fear. They are afraid of words and thoughts: words spoken abroad, thoughts stirring at home -- all the more powerful because forbidden -- terrify them. A little mouse of thought appears in the room, and even the mightiest potentates are thrown into panic.”

    "You don't have free will. You have the appearance of free will.”

    “There's a war out there, old friend. A world war. And it's not about who's got the most bullets. It's about who controls the information. What we see and hear, how we work, what we think... it's all about the information!”


    ***SMILE, BE HAPPY***

  3. #3
    Join Date: Jan 2009

    Location: Essex

    Posts: 31,859
    I'm openingabottleofwine.

    Default

    Welcome to AoS Roland.

    Excellent and interesting introduction. We are always glad to have Members here who are also musicians.

    Four systems eh? - that should keep you busy!

    Enjoy the Forum
    Barry
    Barry

  4. #4
    Join Date: Mar 2018

    Location: Bristol, UK

    Posts: 39
    I'm Roland.

    Default Thanks for the Welcome

    Thanks Barry & struth and other who reply!

    4 Systems, busy yes ! and I find I can only listen to 1 at a time!
    I guess, my "angle" is that I am a professional Musician (have been all my life, since specialist Music School) ... Violinist, actually.
    While everyone who knows anything about Hifi will usually search for the most realistic or authentic sound, I am quite different.
    If I want the real thing I go to a Concert, or play my violin. So I don't look for authentic in a hifi system, I look for pleasant!
    I usually look for a warm sound above all, involving, transparent highs, body of sound in the mids and tight bass etc.

    What I love about playing (and listening) to music is that, though it demands some brain activity (let's say certain specific areas of the brain are used), it keeps my imagination active, my brain exercised (in a way that movies cannot, since you are fed too complete a picture) so that ultimately I find listening to music more fulfilling than watching a movie. I enjoy movie soundtracks, and find them an essential element that needs to be just right in a film.

    Ciao, Roland

  5. #5
    Join Date: Apr 2012

    Location: N E Kent

    Posts: 51,624
    I'm Geoff.

    Default

    Hi Roland. Welcome to AOS.

    I'm with you on the copper cable preference. I always find it the safest bet.

    There's a lot going on here and you seem to have many ideas for the future, so get stuck in and have a chat with everybody. I'm sure they'll enjoy talking with you.


    Enjoy the forum,
    Geoff.

  6. #6
    Join Date: Nov 2008

    Location: North Down /Northern Ireland/ UK

    Posts: 19,484
    I'm Neil.

    Default

    Welcome to AoS
    Regards Neil

+ Reply to Thread

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •