Who's Downgraded?

[icehockeyboy]

If I've asked this before here, I apologise!
I was wondering if anyone else has downgraded some or all of their kit, to find there is not that much ( if any) difference in SQ?

I have "gone down" from a Classe pre and Lyngdorf power amp to a Lyngdorf integrated, (although in all honesty the pre/power combo was better)

And from PMC FB1+'s to Quad 22 L2's, and am now using much cheaper wiring, going from Chord prototype Signature speaker cable, and £600 a metre Black Rhodium ic's to Silver High Breed and NVA Sound Cord at a fraction of the cost.

My £1500 Consonance cdp is now a Squeezebox Touch, although my original Beresford TC 7520 that cost less than a ton, was replaced by a Theta and TLC and Goliath psu which cost 17 times more, but all in I reckon I am using kit that is around half rrp of what I had a year or two back.

[Haselsh1]

I recently downgraded my speakers from a 300 quid pair of Dali Ikon 1's to an 80 quid pair of Celestion F18's as a temporary measure and there is a definite synergy there with the Celestion's and my valve amp that there wasn't with my Dali's. It is almost as if my valve amp and the F18's were just made for each other. I am soon to start a new job and will therefore be improving my system all over again as soon as new funds allow but this is one lesson learned that I shall definitely be keeping in mind.

[Tim]

I guess it depends on how you define 'downgrade'?

I have changed everything recently and the sound is a clear upgrade, but my current system is worth less than the one it replaced - even so I consider this change an upgrade rather than a downgrade, due to the improved sound quality.

Careful selection and finding a balance that suits is more important to me than cost - I never do bling or badge names and always trust what my ears tell me and what other folk I trust have advised me to listen too, but the buck stops at what sounds good in my room, playing my style of music (wailing women apparently :lol:).

[vouk]

Price wise yes - sound quality wise not really. Used to own some rather "exotic" equipment (with laughable price tags) including some top of the line Graaf and Pathos combinations. A messy divorce stripped those away (anyone else been there?) - but I remember being too concerned with "critical" listening and other detail obsessions that my listening sessions were just not that enjoyable. I am very happy with my current system and, despite being a step or two down in price, I really and thoroughly enjoy myself when I power it on. So I guess, good, enjoyable tap dancing systems can be found at any price - I would gladly "downgrade" again if I found something else that I thought sounded better.:cool:

[DSJR]

I've definitely downgraded significantly in terms of equipment costs, but for some reason, my cobbled little stereo is giving amazing musical enjoyment most of the time, and when it doesn't, it's usually me rather than the gear. It'll well do for now :)

[Clothears]

A couple of months ago I bought my mint pair of Mission 752's out of curiousity off another forum for just £80. Excellent buy, sounded so good that instead of moving them on at a profit, I decided to keep them and move on my ex-demo pair of Epos M22i's instead. The Epos were good, but the Mission's were definitely not a backward step, plus I got my money back on the Epos and paid off one of my cards!

.

[Alex_UK]

In monetary (RRP) terms, I "downgraded" to the Rega BrioR from a Creek Evo - and the Spendor SP1's second-hand were cheaper than the pair of AE's they replaced. The £700 SACD player has been ousted by a 10 year old laptop worth about £50 and a £65 m2tech hiface... And it sounds much better. (I shan't go on about the C.A.C. systems again, but... :eyebrows:) ;)

[Rare Bird]

Downgrade! i never have a desire to upgrade anyway ;)

[Jac Hawk]

What an interesting thread and straight after the Scalford show where the C.a.C systems received so much praise, looks like a lot of people are looking at there system and thinking, did i really need to spend that much?

Now don't get me wrong i'm not saying that a cheap system is going to sound better than an expensive one, or that if you can afford £1000 a meter for cable you shouldn't buy it, what i'm saying is that there is an art to putting together a system, some things just go together and if you cock that up it won't really matter how much money you chuck at it the sound will never be quite right, i suppose what i'm saying is spend what you can afford, don't buy on impulse and most of all trust your ears not the salesman or the price tag;)

[Macca]

Down grades? I've had a few - I find that it's the 'upgrades' that are more likely to make things sound worse, thankfully not always though 'cause by now I'd be back to using a mono Murphy cassette recorder for playback.

[morris_minor]

A GyroSE/Tecnoarm sold for £1,300 and was replaced by a £50 SL-QL1 off eBay with about £500 worth of Vantage mods. Less than half the price, but the fettled QL1 is a significant improvement over the Gyro. It was better before being modified, too. So that's a downgrade in monetary terms only ... :cool:

[jandl100]

Yep, I deliberately downgraded my turntable system a while back.

I used to have a Voyd / SME5 blah blah setup ... very nice, but somehow the whole thing became kind of obsessive and I wasn't enjoying it much. :scratch:

So I now live in the land of budget-ish Jap direct drive tt's and the cheaper end of the 'stages and MC carts and I spend happy hours trawling thru charity shop LP bins for my next 50p discovery :eyebrows: - & I am thoroughly enjoying myself again! :)

[Tarzan]

Yep, I deliberately downgraded my turntable system a while back.

I used to have a Voyd / SME5 blah blah setup ... very nice, but somehow the whole thing became kind of obsessive and I wasn't enjoying it much. :scratch:

So I now live in the land of budget-ish Jap direct drive tt's and the cheaper end of the 'stages and MC carts and I spend happy hours trawling thru charity shop LP bins for my next 50p discovery :eyebrows: - & I am thoroughly enjoying myself again! :)

x2

That was exactly the position that l was in regarding my analogue side of my system Jerry! Now l have music- not erm that could be improved a little.......

[chelsea]

I have a price limit to what i spend on my whole system.
The limit is a grand.

Not through any reason other than if you buy well the differences for my ears are usually quite minimal and money is usually tight for us.

Have had some fantastic systems in the last 10 years and really enjoyed.

Pretty much there with my current system.
Maybe just a top quality amp when the time is right.

[seoirse2002]

regrets...Ive had a few...but there again...too few to mention...
Bought an old Harmon Karden twin powered 930 receiver at a boot sale last week,brought it home,plugged it in....Im loving it!!!
Takes me back to the old days,and when I get a chance Im going to wire it up to Stans router with an amp that costs 10 times the price and compare it...
oh,and by the way it came with a big pair of HK speakers as well...

That at least has calmed me down having been totally ripped off by a certain hi fi shop recently,...(£100 to solder 4 wires and oil the motor in my turntable)
But thats another story....full story coming soon

[seoirse2002]

Might even take the "cheaps as chips" challenge with this stuff..

[hoopsontoast]

I downgraded in both size and money last year from-
Kord Tornado ~£300
Sony TA-F770ES ~ £300
Teac VRDS10SE ~£300
to
Keesonic Kolt ~ £100/with stands
Sont TA-F670ES ~£140 (and looking at an AVR200 ~ £50)
Philips CD-850 ~£50

So roughly around 1/3rd of the cost, but its designed for a much much smaller room.

[seoirse2002]

Really REALLY strange...perhaps it was the amount,or even the job, but I called them up today and they refunded me £100!!!
As seen,I didnt mention the shops name,but the guy was really angry and passed me on to someone else to give the refund as he murmered.."not even a linn" ...that was his labour charge,so he wasnt happy....and all this happened because he charged me £4 for a mains plug.

[Haselsh1]

"but somehow the whole thing became kind of obsessive and I wasn't enjoying it much. :scratch:"


This very much reminds me of how I am feeling at the moment. I am going through reinventing a rather nice job with good pay and I'm looking at getting back together a hi-fi system that suits me and only me but more to the point, the depth of my pockets. I shall be keeping my old faithful Original 2008F CD player as it has been a friend since 2006 and I shall be keeping my Icon Audio Stereo 20PP amplifier as it is just truly great but I am going to change my speakers. I am therefore going to buy a pair of speakers that have recently been discontinued and are therefore available at trade plus VAT. I guess that way I win every time.

[The Grand Wazoo]

Bought an old Harmon Karden twin powered 930 receiver at a boot sale last week....

You won't have regrets about that one - they're lovely things.

[nat8808]

I have a price limit to what i spend on my whole system.
The limit is a grand.

Not through any reason other than if you buy well the differences for my ears are usually quite minimal and money is usually tight for us.

Have had some fantastic systems in the last 10 years and really enjoyed.

Pretty much there with my current system.
Maybe just a top quality amp when the time is right.

I had that kind of thing 11 years ago - I bought a Pioneer SA 9500 for £75 on ebay which sold for £250 by ebay auction a year later so then my £100 budget increased to £350 etc etc etc. I now have i guess a multi-grand system with a lot of spare pieces I've held on to. I've not had any intention other than try things out when they go for cheap and then sell on when I move on at an average going rate. Just have to be strict on keeping the fund seperate at least mentally, not easy that though if you've others who just see the money tied up in something not worthwhile..

How many other hobbies work out better than prime investments?

[morris_minor]

Just have to be strict on keeping the fund seperate at least mentally, not easy that though if you've others who just see the money tied up in something not worthwhile..


When I sold my GyroSE for £1,300 recently my wife, for some reason, thought the money wasn't going to be spent on hifi . . . :lol:

[hifinutt]

yes so refreshing to see the cheap as chips room, i have just downgraded my speaker cable to van damme as can`t afford 6m of analysis plus silver !

[Thing Fish]

I actually upgrade at such a snails pace I actually see it pretty much standing still.

I only change a piece of equipment when it breaks down. Would you believe i'm on only my third cartridge in over 22 years! (k9, k18, adikt)

I'm looking forward to upgrading the Adikt around 2020...:eek:

My amps and speakers have never let me down.

I spend all my spare cash on records and just listen to the music...:smoking:

[icehockeyboy]

When I sold my GyroSE for £1,300 recently my wife, for some reason, thought the money wasn't going to be spent on hifi . . . :lol:

Aw bless them, they're so naive! :lol: