View Full Version : Steven's system
My first system post.
Scans of 35mm negatives going back 30 years revealed historic evidence of ownership of Pioneer PL112D and Technics SL7 turntables, Epos and JR 149 speakers. Had a Primare system for 15 years with some lovely Dynaudio Contour 1.1's, but no photographic evidence remains. More recently, I had a picture of a full Linn digital-only system, but I thought if I posted that I would be banned from the forum.
My wife did me a favour by saying I either keep her or my Linn 140 speakers, so out they went and in came a pair of PMC Fact.8's. The obvious amp choice was a Bryston 4BSST. An AVA Media Zara Premium then found its way in and the first signs of audiophilia are shown by the inclusion of an Isotek Aquarius conditioner. The Clearaudio deck was the first stage of my return to vinyl.
http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/640x480q90/15/p7rw.jpg (https://imageshack.com/i/0fp7rwj)
The audio disease then took a grip and in came a Claro deck with a 12" OL Illustrious arm with the cable upgrade internal and external. Carries a Dynavector XX2 Mk2. A second arm with a cheaper cartridge is on its way.
Isotek swapped out for a PS Audio P3 regenerator/conditioner.
My audioitis confirmed with an Art Audio Jota, almost new second hand, that Tom Willis modified to three sets of RCA inputs and remote for the volume control - so it is now a fully integrated couch potato version. Power switch also moved to the side.
Phonostage is the TQ Iridium and cables evolved into TQ Ultra Black and Kharma reference interconnects, TQ Ultra Black speaker cables, MCRU 92 power lines for amp and P3 and other power lines elsewhere, Meicord CAT6 and a MCRU power supply for the Ava unit.
After 9 hours in steerage from Delhi overnight I could think of little else to do that go and collect a new HiFi Racks that was on order, take the whole system apart and put it back in the wife-designated space that is rather smaller than that given to her shoe collection.
http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/640x480q90/843/ouxe.jpg (https://imageshack.com/i/nfouxej)
http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/640x480q90/10/z62n.jpg (https://imageshack.com/i/0az62nj)
http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/640x480q90/844/35vj.jpg (https://imageshack.com/i/ng35vjj)
http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/640x480q90/41/w50v.jpg (https://imageshack.com/i/15w50vj)
Completed:
http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/640x480q90/812/4b0s.jpg (https://imageshack.com/i/mk4b0sj)
http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/640x480q90/21/urmn.jpg (https://imageshack.com/i/0lurmnj)
View from the hot seat:
http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/640x480q90/822/549i.jpg (https://imageshack.com/i/mu549ij)
:stalks: Wow lovely system you have there Steven
nice room as well
cheers Paul
That is indeed a beautiful system Steven! Enjoy!
Cheers
J.
Nice looking system Steve thanks for sharing
Hi Steven,
Welcome to AoS! :)
Nice pics of your system, but could you do me a favour and, instead of simply posting links to Imageshack, where the pictures have been hosted, use the 'Forum Code' link instead, supplied in the box after you have uploaded the images, which instead embeds them on the forum and loads them instantly for viewing, rather than anyone having to click on links.
You will also have to choose the resizing option, shown 'for message boards', which will make the images fit a normal computer screen, as at the moment they are WAY too big to view easily.
If you're unsure how to do this, just ask! Cheers :cool:
Marco.
Do I have to resize before I upload to Imageschack or does Imageschack have a resizing option? Read you guide, thought I understood it, obviously not.
Regards
Hi Steven,
Once you've logged into your Imageshack account, you'll be faced with the Upload page. Hit the 'Browse' button, giving you access to the images stored on your computer, and select the image you want to upload.
Click on that image, and then click on the 'Open' tab, and the file code will appear on the Upload box. Below that, you will see and option, allowing you to resize the image, where a drop-down menu is available, featuring various resizing options.
Scroll down and select the option marked '640x480 (for message boards)'. Select 'No' on the label thumb option, and then click on the 'Upload Now' button.
Once the image has successfully uploaded, a green tick will appear next to the uploaded file code, and to the right of that, you'll see the option 'Continue to the image links'. Click on that (sometimes you may have to do it twice to get it to work).
Scroll down the page a little and you will see a box, containing various link options. Select the option marked 'Forum Code'. Click on it, so that it is highlighted, and copy all of the code (by right-clicking on your mouse and dragging the cursor along).
Then simply paste what you've copied (ensuring that you've captured all of the code correctly) onto the posting box on the forum, hit 'Submit Reply' and your image will appear automatically on your post - simples! :)
For neatness, you can remove the "Uploaded with ImageShack.us (http://imageshack.us)" bit, before hitting the 'Submit Reply' button, on the posting box, which will ensure that your image appears without any unnecessary writing underneath it.
Have a go and see how you get on! If you get stuck, just give me a shout :cool:
Marco.
Thanks Marco, have come out on the small side.
Thanks - methinks is crying out for a nice pair of horn speakers.
Very pleased with the way the room worked out given it is a family room. Had a table tennis table in it 2 years ago, Lego, Scalextrix etc.
The blinds by Luxaflex work very well, double membrane with tilting vanes in-between, remote controlled. Damp large glass windows behind and can tilt to view garden during the day. When wife presses the UP' button sound quality goes down the toilet.
Thanks Marco, have come out on the small side.
Lol - not sure what happened there! When I get a chance I'll redo them for you properly :)
Marco.
Here's the first one:
http://img547.imageshack.us/img547/7917/morq.jpg
Another:
http://img850.imageshack.us/img850/4170/8cim.jpg
Another:
http://img838.imageshack.us/img838/8407/23dm.jpg
Another:
http://img23.imageshack.us/img23/1247/pgtj.jpg
Marco.
Where did I go wrong, so that I can fix the others?
Sorted !
Have amended original post
Nice setup, Steven.
Won't be nice if you have to access a cable behind that lot :eek:
Sorted !
Have amended original post
Hehehe... Nice one, Steven - now you can go picture mad! :D
Marco.
chris@panteg
05-01-2014, 18:45
Nice system, art audio amps look so tasty, like the rack, hifi podium ?
Tell me about it.
Just about to sit down and listen to something and noticed a dangling earth cable. Fortunately only had to move the amp and top shelf to connect.
The miracle is that I managed to get all the cables behind at all - most of the power lines slack is tucked under the bottom shelf, as shown.
The real bother is that manufacturers put power switches and mm/mc switches on the back of units. This should be punishable by flogging, IMHO. Hence the power is switched by turning the P3 on and off, other than the amp which comes direct from the mains for which I had the power switch moved from the back to the side.
I will probably end up with two phono stages, one for each arm. The Iridium mm/mc toggles at the back. I have a spare set of RCA line inputs for a second phono stage, for which I had an input selector added on the front of the amp.
I also have in mind a bespoke Art Audio Vinyl 1 toggled at the front, probably mm/mm with a SUT. But where to put it?
So a fair amount of planning went into shoe-boxing this lot in to a stupidly small space.
Hehehe... Nice one, Steven - now you can go picture mad! :D
Marco.
Does that mean I can put my holiday snaps on the the site ??
Does that mean I can put my holiday snaps on the the site ??
It's never stopped the rest of us :)
Does that mean I can put my holiday snaps on the the site ??
As long as you leave the ones from the nudist beach out! ;)
We have a specific section for holiday snaps, etc, in the Abstract Gallery: http://theartofsound.net/forum/forumdisplay.php?29-Abstract-Gallery
Marco
Nice system, art audio amps look so tasty, like the rack, hifi podium ?
Yes, the Art Audio finish is rather pleasing to the eye.
There is something anthropomorphic about 300BXLS valves.
The rack is HiFi Racks. The top deck is deeper than the rest, to cover the gubbins beneath.
I bought the turntable plinth a while ago as they assured me that it could easily manage the 36kg of my Clearaudio Champion Level 2. It gave way a bit, dropping about 8mm at the front. They sent me some packaging, collected it, added a triangle brace under the deck and sent it back. It is now solid as a rock. That's what I call customer service.
As long as you leave the ones from the nudist beach out! ;)
We have a specific section for holiday snaps, etc, in the Abstract Gallery: http://theartofsound.net/forum/forumdisplay.php?29-Abstract-Gallery
Marco
I would recommend Wreck beach in Vancouver, Canada. Sorry, no snaps. Posted something more appropriate, taken a few days ago.
Am going to reffc to listen to his new speakers. Seems we have another common interest.
jandl100
06-01-2014, 08:33
Am going to reffc to listen to his new speakers. Seems we have another common interest.
Ah, Paul's new Rhapsody speakers? - must admit I'm looking forward to hearing those sometime soon myself.
Let us know how you get on. :)
Ah, Paul's new Rhapsody speakers? - must admit I'm looking forward to hearing those sometime soon myself.
Let us know how you get on. :)
Actually I was interested in his Fidelio prototype/demo pair, but he has made the sensible decision to keep hold of them.
Given the way my system has changed in the last two years (see top of this thread) and the aesthetic demands of the Mrs, Tannoys in a beautiful off-white veneer would have hit the spot.
A very nice system and room! I'm sure it sounds delicious as well as it looks that way!
Is that a Nottingham Analogue turntable?
Regards Mike
jandl100
06-01-2014, 10:04
Actually I was interested in his Fidelio prototype/demo pair, but he has made the sensible decision to keep hold of them.
Given the way my system has changed in the last two years (see top of this thread) and the aesthetic demands of the Mrs, Tannoys in a beautiful off-white veneer would have hit the spot.
Ah, shame. Those Fidelios are hugely impressive speakers - and they look beautiful. They'd go in your room a treat. :thumbsup:
As a rule, I hate the sound of dual concentric Tannoys, but Paul has pretty much managed to extract the bad bits while building on the positive aspects.
Keep at him, he'll probably change his mind again soon. ;)
A very nice system and room! I'm sure it sounds delicious as well as it looks that way!
Is that a Nottingham Analogue turntable?
Regards Mike
It's a Clarity Dual by Claro Audio (Pete Curran). The first incarnation was called the Lumley Heliosphere, the second the Clarity 09 and then the Dual.
It has had further changes/upgrades and is now being distributed by Tom Willis at Art Audio as the Composer-1, so it now at Mk4.
Paul Stewart started a thread on his Composer-1 and there are some pics of the latest version.
http://theartofsound.net/forum/showthread.php?28824-Art-Audio-Composer-1-SME-IV-Rebuild&highlight=composer-1
Claro is a state of the art precision engineering business, making satellites and the like, and it shows in the quality of fabrication. The plinth/legs are milled out of a single block of aluminium with two motors housed in recesses from underneath and the platter is Acetal.
http://www.claro-audio.co.uk
It does also sound rather good.
Ah, shame. Those Fidelios are hugely impressive speakers - and they look beautiful. They'd go in your room a treat. :thumbsup:
As a rule, I hate the sound of dual concentric Tannoys, but Paul has pretty much managed to extract the bad bits while building on the positive aspects.
Keep at him, he'll probably change his mind again soon. ;)
I'm living in hope.
When I get around to fork-lifting the Jota into the car and sailing up the M4, will report back.
Hi Steven. Really nice looking system, must sound great.
BTW, you mention sound goes to pot when the blinds are up. I have same issue due to high frequency hash from glass windows behind my speakers.
I solved most of that with 5 small pieces of Synergistic Research HFT thingees. They are tiny, the size of pencil erasers, and you blu tack them onto the wall wherever they work best, to reduce reflections and other room issues. Good WAF too.
They are bizarre and make no sense that they should work, but the change is immediate. Once you find the right spot, pause your music, then take them off the wall. You will quickly put them back on.
Wall and bass traps etc are not an option for me, so this was a good find.
I only have 5 pieces, and did not get the matching FEQ component.
This really tamed my issue with the window refelections, without negative impact to dynamics, soundstage etc. I believe SR offer 30 day trial too.
BTW, you mention Linn. I have their new model Akurate Kontrol 2 channel preamp, works amazingly well with my Air Tight ATM-1.
Link below to the SR HFT placement for anyone interested.
http://www.synergisticresearch.com/featured/how-to-set-up-hfts-feq-in-your-listening-room/
Hi Steven. Really nice looking system, must sound great.
BTW, you mention sound goes to pot when the blinds are up. I have same issue due to high frequency hash from glass windows behind my speakers.
I solved most of that with 5 small pieces of Synergistic Research HFT thingees. They are tiny, the size of pencil erasers, and you blu tack them onto the wall wherever they work best, to reduce reflections and other room issues. Good WAF too.
They are bizarre and make no sense that they should work, but the change is immediate. Once you find the right spot, pause your music, then take them off the wall. You will quickly put them back on.
Wall and bass traps etc are not an option for me, so this was a good find.
I only have 5 pieces, and did not get the matching FEQ component.
This really tamed my issue with the window refelections, without negative impact to dynamics, soundstage etc. I believe SR offer 30 day trial too.
BTW, you mention Linn. I have their new model Akurate Kontrol 2 channel preamp, works amazingly well with my Air Tight ATM-1.
Link below to the SR HFT placement for anyone interested.
http://www.synergisticresearch.com/featured/how-to-set-up-hfts-feq-in-your-listening-room/
Bizarre is the right word for those thingees, but good luck to you if they work !!
Luxaflex blinds are great because they tilt - from opaque when tilted horizontal to blacked out - or anywhere in-between as suits you.
http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/640x480q90/203/ef10.jpg (https://imageshack.com/i/5nef10j)
http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/640x480q90/824/8u23.jpg (https://imageshack.com/i/mw8u23j)
Even when tilted up they provide good damping, let in plenty of light and I can see my garden.
They cost about £2,000 (I paid rather less by a stroke of luck), as they are remote controlled and really stunning. The damping blinds behind my sitting position cost £300. Neither are audio products, but do a good audio job.
I hear the Linn pre-amp is very good. Did not like their A2200 Dynamic amp at all - a cold fish. Purchased the Majik streamer, soon updated to the Akurate, excellent, no intention to change.
I know nothing about pre-amps as I have never owned one. Does that get me banned? Had integrated, a power amp with two pairs of switchable inputs (only have two sources) and had the Art Audio Jota modified so effectively integrated.
Steven
Paul
Coming from BC, I trust you'll appreciate my recommendation of Wreck beach earlier in this thread.
A Wreck beach memory (from Expo 86) I will have difficulty in forgetting is a stunning natural blonde vendor wearing nothing but a cigarette tray and a big smile. And the cigarette tray was full of ice-cold Molsons and a selection of joints.
When people talk about hifi being sexy, they need to get some perspective.
Steven, yes Wreck Beach is a good recommendation. It is still going strong, has not changed too much. Regarding Expo 86, that was quite a bash in Vancouver; really well done party. That's a funny story about the joints. I had a similar experience in the early 80's in Hawaii, right on Waikiki beach. A young woman (bathing suit in place...) selling a large selection of hand made pipes, from sea-shells, Hawaiian hardwood, etc. They were so nice I bought 6 of them and brought them home to Vancouver and gave them out to my friends. Needless to say they were not designed for tobacco. It was pretty amusing, "want to buy a pipe" and out comes a blanket and 20 pipes dropped down into the sand. She never expected I would buy so many.
Unfortunately, no tale of hi-fi in this post.
Steven, yes Wreck Beach is a good recommendation. It is still going strong, has not changed too much. Regarding Expo 86, that was quite a bash in Vancouver; really well done party. That's a funny story about the joints. I had a similar experience in the early 80's in Hawaii, right on Waikiki beach. A young woman (bathing suit in place...) selling a large selection of hand made pipes, from sea-shells, Hawaiian hardwood, etc. They were so nice I bought 6 of them and brought them home to Vancouver and gave them out to my friends. Needless to say they were not designed for tobacco. It was pretty amusing, "want to buy a pipe" and out comes a blanket and 20 pipes dropped down into the sand. She never expected I would buy so many.
Unfortunately, no tale of hi-fi in this post.
I was invited to Expo 86 by a girlfriend working in Toronto Pavilion. Besides getting me to the front of all the queues, with her friends we went to the beach most days. The other memory is that many families, often three generations, went to the beach, stripped off, had a picnic, beer, possibly a joint, and talked to each other as well as random people. I fear that it is now full of people plugged into mp3 players or Astell & Kern flac players. The Walkman was the only option at the time, but it was no good on the beach as it did not work well with sand in it. Has portable hifi caused the death of modern liberated society?
A bit of a radical "all change" on the furnishing side
This post is really a shout for Simon Gavin at BLOK, who made this lot with care and attention to detail at all times for a very sensible price.
The cupboard is 2m x 1.2m (looks smaller due to 21mm lens) and holds loads of records and AV equipment is also wired in.
Decided to use my existing hifi racks instead of shelves, for a bit more stability and extra wiggle room for excess cable.
http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/640x480q90/834/zi38g.jpg (https://imageshack.com/i/n6zi38gj)
http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/640x480q90/834/t7jhe.jpg (https://imageshack.com/i/n6t7jhej)
http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/640x480q90/843/kkeaz.jpg (https://imageshack.com/i/nfkkeazj)
http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/640x480q90/843/2f9ii.jpg (https://imageshack.com/i/nf2f9iij)
A drinks cabinet with hi-fi in it! Not sure if that is a good or a bad thing. Lovely big room - is it a basement?
A drinks cabinet with hi-fi in it! Not sure if that is a good or a bad thing. Lovely big room - is it a basement?
I wasn't sure if we'd reinvented the drinks cabinet or the music centre.
My son (17 years old) thinks we should scrap the hifi and fill it with vodka and nacho chips.
Room is 13' x 17' - rear extension/den off the kitchen. Partly designed for listening to music in that sound proofing means I can pretty much play at any volume at night. Blinds are covering 15' x 9' of glass looking on to the garden.
I'd compromise and try and fit a couple of minature whiskeys and a few bottles of WKD in there next to the turntable ;)
I'd compromise and try and fit a couple of minature whiskeys and a few bottles of WKD in there next to the turntable ;)
I hardly drink. It's my 17 year old who does the drinking.
Drinking is pretty much the only way to survive being 17.
Drinking is pretty much the only way to survive being 17.
An exchanging bodily fluids, so it seems.
Floyddroid
30-05-2014, 16:32
Upmarket Ikea methinks. Looks great though. very stylish.
A bit of a radical "all change" on the furnishing side
This post is really a shout for Simon Gavin at BLOK, who made this lot with care and attention to detail at all times for a very sensible price.
The cupboard is 2m x 1.2m (looks smaller due to 21mm lens) and holds loads of records and AV equipment is also wired in.
Decided to use my existing hifi racks instead of shelves, for a bit more stability and extra wiggle room for excess cable.
http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/640x480q90/834/zi38g.jpg (https://imageshack.com/i/n6zi38gj)
http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/640x480q90/834/t7jhe.jpg (https://imageshack.com/i/n6t7jhej)
http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/640x480q90/843/kkeaz.jpg (https://imageshack.com/i/nfkkeazj)
http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/640x480q90/843/2f9ii.jpg (https://imageshack.com/i/nf2f9iij)
hifi_dave
30-05-2014, 17:34
"Ikea" bloody cheek. If only Ikea kit was like that..:hmm:
Upmarket Ikea methinks. Looks great though. very stylish.
Simon at BLOK gives slightly better customer service than IKEA, and you don't have it haul it to the car, screw it together and wonder where to put a football pitch worth of cardboard. I was just very impressed with his service and pricing.
As I have an audio-loathing wife, kids and no man-cave, the only solution was to hide it in a drinks cabinet.
I'm off to Rome in a few weeks and apparently to balance things up I have to buy her a handbag that costs about the same as a decent pair of speakers.
"Ikea" bloody cheek. If only Ikea kit was like that..:hmm:
Respect.
Billy bookshelves, been there, done that.
People would pay more for a bit of audio wire than this lot of English (or possibly Polish) craftsmanship.
Thanks - methinks is crying out for a nice pair of horn speakers.
Very pleased with the way the room worked out given it is a family room. Had a table tennis table in it 2 years ago, Lego, Scalextrix etc.
The blinds by Luxaflex work very well, double membrane with tilting vanes in-between, remote controlled. Damp large glass windows behind and can tilt to view garden during the day. When wife presses the UP' button sound quality goes down the toilet.
Scalextric you say?:eek:
Scalextric you say?:eek:
It was choice - music or Scalextric
The Black Adder
31-05-2014, 08:51
Looks superb...!
From the quality it's certainly not in the league of Ikea. Very nice veneering. What wood is it?
I do hope that the lid is kept open when the amp is running though... :)
Looks superb...!
From the quality it's certainly not in the league of Ikea. Very nice veneering. What wood is it?
I do hope that the lid is kept open when the amp is running though... :)
Walnut and high gloss white. Was designed around the amp and then to hide away when not in use.
http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/800x600q90/909/uKyxFW.jpg (https://imageshack.com/i/p9uKyxFWj)
I seem to have deleted previous images, but I last posted when I had a drinks cabinet built masquerading as a hifi unit. Basically, cabinet was to prevent anyone swiping my Koetsu Urushi or 300BXLS valves into oblivion.
Rather a lot of system changes in the last year. Fell in love with Harbeth SHL5+ and after 9 months decided that 20W Art Audio Jota 300BXLS single ended Class A amp did not have quite enough grunt to control the Radial 2 drivers at the lowest limits of their operational abilities. Double bass and bass tuba were muddled when playing on their own and sometimes a lack of weight to the sound. Something of surprise that the Jota did as good of a job as they did with the SHL5+.
Anyways, purchased a 10 year old pair of Art Audio Concerto mono blocks from Audiogon in USA for a bargain price and got them rebuilt for KT88 in triode mode with new Sowter output transformers matched to the Harbeth load, new Mundorf caps and a repolish as new. Came with Tung-Sol 6550, but some Gold Lions are on the way soon. Does have the extra lower end control I was looking for and a slightly darker sound overall. Not yet sure about the midrange compared to the Jota, but time and new valves will tell.
Needed a pre-amp as the Jota was integrated, so asked Tom Willis at Art Audio to convert my silver-wired reference mm/mc phono to a passive pre-amp. This was worked out rather well. Only needs a single RCA input for my DAC. A gain knob was added at the back on the phono in addition to the master volume control. As my DAC also has a pre-amp section, the idea is to have two stage gain control through the digital and analogue streams and it has worked nicely. There is a small ground loop to be ironed out and one or two other possible design changes, Tom will then probably introduce it as a new phono pre-amp.
When Qobuz started CD-quality streaming I lashed out on an Airport Express and a Wyred4Sound reclocker. The latter was probably not necessary as the PS Audio DAC Mk2 has asynchronous spdif and optical inputs (NativeX), but it seems better with the reclocker and NativeX switched off.
There is a Tascam CD200 used as a transport, good value at £180, which also goes through the reclocker. First transport purchased for over 15 years, but handy for classical compilations whether the metadata is not online and easier just to play the disc than scan it.
Speaker cables were Tellurium Q UB, now sold and replaced with Origin Live Soli-Core 4 strand biwired. Were a bargain at £106 new, Mark then realised he'd sold them to me at less than cost and trebled the price.
The amplifiers are sitting on Kapla (the building game) pine planks rather than the rubber feet. I've been looking into constrained layer dampening. They seem to work in dissipating vibration. This was less of an issue with the Jota as the valve sockets on that amp are suspended on sorbothane bushes.
On a separate matter, this is my little lad and his girlfriend, immortalised in marzipan. Well, not immortalised, as we ate it all, including them.
http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/800x600q90/910/Ldypbn.jpg (https://imageshack.com/i/paLdypbnj)
Shame your kit is hidden away Steven as it should be on show it is that nice looking.:)
Shame your kit is hidden away Steven as it should be on show it is that nice looking.:)
I'n not a great one for looking at audio, and my wife certainly is not. What's more, she hates the sight of Harbeth speakers, although she likes the sound.
Most of the time it looks like this.
http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/320x240q90/538/GhHiiy.jpg (https://imageshack.com/i/eyGhHiiyj)
I'n not a great one for looking at audio, and my wife certainly is not. What's more, she hates the sight of Harbeth speakers, although she likes the sound.
Most of the time it looks like this.
http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/320x240q90/538/GhHiiy.jpg
(https://imageshack.com/i/eyGhHiiyj)
That looks nice also.:)
That looks nice also.:)
It looks better in the dark.
The thing that surprises me is the amount of power consumed by 8 x KT88 compared to 2 x 300B-XLS. The KT88 do warm up the room. The PS Audio power unit tells you the consumption and it has gone up from about 150 to about 450.
I bought my first audio about 39 years ago, I think it a PL12D was involved. It has taken me that long to own my first standalone pre-amp, and it only happened by modifying a phono stage.
I'm not yet convinced by KT88, even in triode mode. I bought the mono blocks because the total cost was about £3,000 and they are effectively new and very high spec, so I can't imagine I'll lose out. I'll give them at least 6-12 months. They do sound good, but the Jota is a stunning amplifier (it is also a silver reference version), it just lacks a bit of power.
http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/320x240q90/537/EEXjlF.jpg (https://imageshack.com/i/exEEXjlFj)
https://c5.staticflickr.com/8/7730/28055388300_54565b74e5_z.jpg
https://c5.staticflickr.com/9/8752/28303565716_bc8f7b732c_z.jpg
Haven't posted here for a while. Been downsizing with significant improvements.
Have recovered from a mid-life valve crisis and very happy with Quad, had 909's (bought and sold without any financial pain) and now QMP's (a nice quick little deal). They just work, don't need to warm up, loads of power and very efficient. Attached to Harbeth SHL5+ (no change there).
The Auralic Aries just works beautifully and is seamless with Qobuz. 1TB SSD attached by usb and appears as a network drive around the house.
The MDAC+ was purchased (for 50% of the proceeds of my previous DAC) as it is DSD and had multiple internal power supplies. Does it's job, no complaints.
The Hattor is my first ever pre-amp, just a switch with passive volume control (dual mono 64 step attenuators).
Should I ever play a CD, the Denon DN-500BD does the trick. Bought it mainly for playing Blu-Ray and DVD, cost £290. (replaced a £90 Sony that died.)
On top of the Denon is the new Sky Q Silver box. They now loan the boxes, don't have to pay for them, and the new system is brilliant. Optical connection to the MDAC+.
All audio now balanced, all interconnect cables £12 each from StudioSpares.
Turntable, phono and power supply unchanged.
jandl100
16-07-2016, 06:42
https://c5.staticflickr.com/8/7730/28055388300_54565b74e5_z.jpg
Wow - Darth Vader's hifi system.
Black is the new black. :)
Been downsizing with significant improvements.
Similar kind of process to me.
Cheaper but better. :thumbsup:
Firebottle
16-07-2016, 07:44
Have recovered from a mid-life valve crisis ......
Didn't think it was recoverable :eyebrows:
Great looking system :cheers:
Wow - Darth Vader's hifi system.
Black is the new black. :)
Similar kind of process to me.
Cheaper but better. :thumbsup:
Fortunately the entire system works closed up with nothing in sight. I have a remote eye on the pre-amp volume sensor and the DVD/CD machine and the new Sky Q box works by bluetooth.
So if there had been cheaper units in green I would have bought them, but not pink.
I could have saved a bit on the Aries, which is the version with the external power supply, by getting the Aries Mini with an Booster power supply, but I got the Aries ex-demo and there was not a lot of difference. I also have an Aries Mini in my office.
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