monkey.nut
17-12-2016, 15:01
I have been a member for a year - yes really and have given this matter some deep thought. Oh and my name really is Monkey - well thats what my parents have called me............
My interests in music must cover almost everything apart from the stuff I haven't heard yet and thats loads. So I have stuff from the 'pop' end through to opera (on 78s through tape, CDs and now high res downloads). I still have the scars from live Wagner! I lost interest in 'canned' music years ago after I had my own band as it just didn't have that 'live' feeling about it but over the years we got away from steel needles and turnover catridges Oh sugar just remembered that my youngest has a Dansette with a Monarch UA8 TT the same as my dad installed in our radiogram as he lovingly said "don't touch it you ******* Monkey".
Recorded music is an illusion and I wanted the illusion of a seat at a live performance and with the kit that I have today its pretty close. I remember a few years ago complaining to my wife that the expensive seats that she booked at Glyndebourne had poor sound and that my HiFi sounded better. The view of the stage was good but the sound was dire. We now book seats in different parts of the opera house - jolly good sound but not such a clear view of the stage. You can't have it all.
The kit I now have comes from all over the place Germany, Austria, Switzerland, England, Japan and the US. The record player uses a drive belt but doesn't have springs nor any oil unlike some designs whilst the arm is a unipivot design. The surface noise from this kit with a good record is none existent at the listening position - incredible. I also use computer audio to play ripped CDs and downloaded hi-res FLACs.
The speakers I now use are of the omni-directional design (well pseudo omni) and these let me enjoy the music anywhere in my listening room even outside it! There is no sweet spot and the speakers are not fussy about placement. Rather like at a live venue the perspective changes as I move around the room. To my wifes delight I push the speakers against the wall during the day and just pull 'em out for a listen. These speakers have multiple drive units and are difficult to drive and get the best out of them. Nominally 6 Ohm but in that important treble area where the ear is most sensitive the impedance drops to around 2 Ohms and not many amps like that sort of a load and that can clearly be heard. I have used over the last 9 years English built and designed power amps (no pre-amp). These babies can deliver 1600wpc into 4 Ohm and a staggering burst of 150A into 1 Ohm phzzzzzzzzzz! Bach played on a church pipe organ is certainly realistic and the concrete foundations of this detached house (and my bones) vibrates with those deep low notes. I am looking for a machine that can generate that damp musky church smell to complete the illusion. I often wonder what the big brothers of my little speakers would sound like but they just wouldn't fit into our room as my wife would block the way in!
My one last change is to replace my baby power amps with something smaller and lighter than the current 84Kg! However the sound must at least be as good and hopefully better. An upgrade of speaker is not an option as the larger units wouldn't fit in the room nor would my wife be able to move them to dust behind.
So long and thanks for all the fish,
MN
My interests in music must cover almost everything apart from the stuff I haven't heard yet and thats loads. So I have stuff from the 'pop' end through to opera (on 78s through tape, CDs and now high res downloads). I still have the scars from live Wagner! I lost interest in 'canned' music years ago after I had my own band as it just didn't have that 'live' feeling about it but over the years we got away from steel needles and turnover catridges Oh sugar just remembered that my youngest has a Dansette with a Monarch UA8 TT the same as my dad installed in our radiogram as he lovingly said "don't touch it you ******* Monkey".
Recorded music is an illusion and I wanted the illusion of a seat at a live performance and with the kit that I have today its pretty close. I remember a few years ago complaining to my wife that the expensive seats that she booked at Glyndebourne had poor sound and that my HiFi sounded better. The view of the stage was good but the sound was dire. We now book seats in different parts of the opera house - jolly good sound but not such a clear view of the stage. You can't have it all.
The kit I now have comes from all over the place Germany, Austria, Switzerland, England, Japan and the US. The record player uses a drive belt but doesn't have springs nor any oil unlike some designs whilst the arm is a unipivot design. The surface noise from this kit with a good record is none existent at the listening position - incredible. I also use computer audio to play ripped CDs and downloaded hi-res FLACs.
The speakers I now use are of the omni-directional design (well pseudo omni) and these let me enjoy the music anywhere in my listening room even outside it! There is no sweet spot and the speakers are not fussy about placement. Rather like at a live venue the perspective changes as I move around the room. To my wifes delight I push the speakers against the wall during the day and just pull 'em out for a listen. These speakers have multiple drive units and are difficult to drive and get the best out of them. Nominally 6 Ohm but in that important treble area where the ear is most sensitive the impedance drops to around 2 Ohms and not many amps like that sort of a load and that can clearly be heard. I have used over the last 9 years English built and designed power amps (no pre-amp). These babies can deliver 1600wpc into 4 Ohm and a staggering burst of 150A into 1 Ohm phzzzzzzzzzz! Bach played on a church pipe organ is certainly realistic and the concrete foundations of this detached house (and my bones) vibrates with those deep low notes. I am looking for a machine that can generate that damp musky church smell to complete the illusion. I often wonder what the big brothers of my little speakers would sound like but they just wouldn't fit into our room as my wife would block the way in!
My one last change is to replace my baby power amps with something smaller and lighter than the current 84Kg! However the sound must at least be as good and hopefully better. An upgrade of speaker is not an option as the larger units wouldn't fit in the room nor would my wife be able to move them to dust behind.
So long and thanks for all the fish,
MN