The warm glow of satisfaction

[julesd68]

Until this week I hadn't had a proper listening session to my hi-fi for six months or so :(

And now it's a real joy to rediscover the pleasure that a good system brings. After lots of upgrading, tinkering and experimenting, I can genuinely sit down with my system and enjoy the music. That means not worrying about one component letting down another etc etc Of course I'm not saying my system is perfect and couldn't be bettered, obviously it could, but I don't have either the urge or the very large amounts of money required to do that. I feel in a really good place with it. I've even got two pairs of speaker cable sitting around waiting to be auditioned but can barely be bothered to do it. I'm sure I will but there's no rush, just lots of lp's that were bought and never listened to, waiting to be enjoyed.

Cheers :cool:

[Reid Malenfant]

Hi Julian, while I get to listen to my kit just about every day & I can't remember the last time I didn't, I'm in just about the same situation as yourself :)

I'm very happy with what I have here, though there is a little tinkering going on with a new USB to S/PDIF converter, the rest of the system is pretty static.

I'm more than happy with the musical presentation, I get loads of enjoyment out of the kit every time I listen. But like yourself I know things could be bettered, in my case that'll be by building a new set of speakers :eyebrows:

I'm already more than happy with the DIY speakers I'm listening to now, it's just that they'll be taken to a whole new level once the new ones are completed.


Meanwhile I'm a happy chappie, like yourself I keep on buying new music... I'll get round to them one day, hopefully this year, but if it isn't I'll still not be disappointed :)


Enjoy the tunes, all the best :cool:

[Barry]

Until this week I hadn't had a proper listening session to my hi-fi for six months or so :(

And now it's a real joy to rediscover the pleasure that a good system brings. After lots of upgrading, tinkering and experimenting, I can genuinely sit down with my system and enjoy the music. That means not worrying about one component letting down another etc etc Of course I'm not saying my system is perfect and couldn't be bettered, obviously it could, but I don't have either the urge or the very large amounts of money required to do that. I feel in a really good place with it. I've even got two pairs of speaker cable sitting around waiting to be auditioned but can barely be bothered to do it. I'm sure I will but there's no rush, just lots of lp's that were bought and never listened to, waiting to be enjoyed.

Cheers :cool:


Well done Julian!

Sounds like you have achieved the goal of being satisfied and comfortable with your system. No need to worry about the equipment, just get on with enjoying the music. The only decision you have to make is "what do I play next?"

I like to think I am in the same position, though I do like to 'tinker' with various arms and cartridges from time to time.

Regards

[julesd68]

Thanks Barry - you are absolutely right, it's been nice to listen to lots of records and enjoy the music without thinking what has to be changed or upgraded ...

I wasn't sure that I was going to keep the Quad 405-2 - its lowly price tag can fool you into thinking it should have a "budget" sound but it has seriously got a grip of my speakers and to be honest hasn't put a foot wrong for me!

[Lodgesound]

Quad 405-2's are amazingly good amplifiers - I have 2 - each one drives one half of a pair of Rogers / BBC LS 5/8 speakers.

I've experimented with other amplifiers driving these and none come close to the 405's......as you say their budget belies their sound quality...

[michaelhigh]

I've settled into a couple nice ruts, as it were...For digital I'm listening to my Sansui 8080DB and AR4X's (to warm up the digital a bit) and a schiit bifrost DAC to put the icing on the cake in a very natural way. For analog, it's a Decware Zen Triode Select (4 watts of SET majesty), Klipsch Forte/kg2 (the SET topology begs for low impedance, it was built specifically for that low low setting and absolutely loves high sensitivity, 98dB), and one of three tables (ARXA, Philips GA-302, Thorens TD-165). Between those two rigs, I'm very satisfied each and every day to either pick a format for all-day listening or mix and match. I have TONS of music before I even get to Pandora or MOG! It's a perfect combination of vintage and new (even if it leans toward the vintage side), and everything integrates and synergizes very well. I'm extremely pleased.:D

[julesd68]

Quad 405-2's are amazingly good amplifiers - I have 2 - each one drives one half of a pair of Rogers / BBC LS 5/8 speakers.

I've experimented with other amplifiers driving these and none come close to the 405's......as you say their budget belies their sound quality...

I didn't realise quite how good they are until I tried something else! I auditioned much more expensive hybrid designs by Croft and Unico which sounded really flat in my system. With the Quad the music sprang back to life - my system seems to really like having a valve pre and solid state power.

[realysm42]

Congratulations on your contentedness :)

I think it's hard to know when I'll get that feeling. I don't really know how high I've set my sights, if atall. I think I've still got some things I want to experiment with before I settle, but I'm happy with that, it's quite exciting to see what's out there.