Things are looking up on the hi-fi front!!

[andybee33]

Hi folks,

I joined AoS recently with my hi-fi (and my attitude towards it) in a pretty terrible state. It was sounding bright, tiring, harsh and just generally not too nice to listen to. So, after some great advice here, and a bit of shopping around and further research, I've done the following (in this order):

1 - Speaker cable
OUT - QED Silver Anniversay Biwire
IN - Atlas Equator Biwire

Result - Crikey!!! What a difference already. Warmer, more rounded sounded - lots of the harshness gone for all sources.

2 - Speakers
OUT - Monitor Audio Silver 5i
IN - Harbeth HL-P3ES (on Soundstyle XS-122s as SWMBO approved them aesthetically)

Result - This is really the point when I think my stereo started to sound like a
proper hi-fi - they are just lovely. Melodious bass, no treble tizz.

3 - CD Player
OUT - Nothing - Kept my much loved Arcam CD72
IN - Beresford Caiman with Gator

Result - more transparency, 'easier' sound. Also works great from iTune streamed from Airport Express. Lovely stuff ;)

After this I got a bit nostalgic and did the following:

4 - Turntable
OUT (in cupboard for now) - Rega Planar 3 with SRM/Tech Silent base and Grado Prestige Blue
IN - Pink Triangle Little Pink Thing (from eBay) plus new AT120

Result - youthful fantasy fulfilled!! Plus I do thing it sounds weightier and tighter than the Rega - but I might just be wishful-hearing :)

By this time, I was skint but way happier so I decided to go completely AWOL from the point of view of my financial senses and finished the job off:

5 - Amp
OUT - Cyrus 5 and Cambridge 640p phono stage
IN - Roksan Kandy K2

Result - warmier, punchier and lot more, erm, 'musical'. :eek:

Okay, so now I'm destitute but, blimey, it's all sounding better. Will need to take break from new purchases for now and just enjoy the music - or my wife will leave me!! :doh:


Best - Andy

[Welder]

No chance of selling the wife then ;)

[Tim]

No chance of selling the wife then ;)
Lol.......... nice one Andy, I have made some very big changes to my system since joining the forum and I'm also spent up, but blissfully happy and enjoying my music more than ever :)

[Techno Commander]

Kudos on the PT. Lovely turntables.

[Alex_UK]

Do you know, one of my pet hates is people saying "I told you so" - so with a (tiny) bit of hesitance, I refer the honourable gentleman to the last sentence of my post in your "Welcome" thread...


Enjoy the forum - I can (almost) guarantee you will end up spending money you didn't think you would on both kit and music, but you'll improve the listening experience monumentally I suspect... ;)

So, "told you so!" :D

Never mind that you're destitute - just glad you're enjoying your system as much as it looks like you are. :)

[The Grand Wazoo]

Wow, that's a lot of change in just one month!
I'd recommend that in another month or so, you just try putting some of your old stuff back in (if you still have any of it) - just one piece at a time to see if it really has changed as much as you think it has. It often pays to check/confirm your first impressions - especially if you make several changes so close together as you have.

Just a thought.

[MartinT]

What's money if it can't buy you good things? Nice moves, Andy, your sense of wellbeing and life expectancy have just shot up :)

[andybee33]

Do you know, one of my pet hates is people saying "I told you so" - so with a (tiny) bit of hesitance, I refer the honourable gentleman to the last sentence of my post in your "Welcome" thread...



So, "told you so!" :D

Never mind that you're destitute - just glad you're enjoying your system as much as it looks like you are. :)

:lol:





I'd recommend that in another month or so, you just try putting some of your old stuff back in (if you still have any of it) - just one piece at a time to see if it really has changed as much as you think it has. It often pays to check/confirm your first impressions - especially if you make several changes so close together as you have.

Just a thought.


That's a great idea - I still have all the stuff (for now) so I'll give it a try.


Thanks for all the comments chaps :)

[Mark Grant]

but blissfully happy and enjoying my music more than ever :)

That's all that matters :)

As Chris suggests try some of your old stuff sometime as what at first sounds 'better' might be just different rather than better. Although all that matters is you like it.