Tim Symons
16-07-2008, 11:45
Greetings from Hereford, UK. Just thought I'd pop in and say hi. My approach to hi-fi is 'high end on the cheap' which usually means buying 2nd-hand or building from a kit and modifying. My current system comprises:
Teac VDRS-T1 with Audiocom Superclock II and PSU. The clock upgrade is a big improvement of the standard model. This feeds an Assemblage DAC-2 which I built from a kit with Signature parts upgrade and a few of my own too. This in turn goes through a Glasshouse Transformer Volume Control, again built from a kit. Seriously good - incredibly transparent. Power amp is a WAD KAT 6550. Another kit-build, also modded with Black Gate caps etc. Speakers are a pair of large 3-way floorstanders I took a punt on on eBay. Apparently they were the prototypes built by someone who wanted to start his own company which never got off the ground. Really solidly made out of 1 inch ply with Vifa and Morel drive units. Not the prettiest things to look at but what a sound - real in the room stuff. Best £300 I ever spent. Vinyl comes from a Pro-ject Xpression 1 feeding the phono section of a 2nd-hand Conrad-Johnson PV6. Headhones are a 2nd-hand pair of Stax Lambda Signatures with the SRM-T1 valve energiser. Tried them in my local dealer on a whim. Once I'd heard them I just had to buy them. The most transparent-sounding headphones I've ever used - fantastic bit of kit.
I think it's a pretty good-sounding system. With a good recording it really shines. Only downside is that bad recordings can sound truly horrible.
When I've got the cash I quite fancy a PS Audio Power Plant Premier, but that'll probably have to wait a while...
OK, that's enough rambling from me. Bye for now.
Tim
Teac VDRS-T1 with Audiocom Superclock II and PSU. The clock upgrade is a big improvement of the standard model. This feeds an Assemblage DAC-2 which I built from a kit with Signature parts upgrade and a few of my own too. This in turn goes through a Glasshouse Transformer Volume Control, again built from a kit. Seriously good - incredibly transparent. Power amp is a WAD KAT 6550. Another kit-build, also modded with Black Gate caps etc. Speakers are a pair of large 3-way floorstanders I took a punt on on eBay. Apparently they were the prototypes built by someone who wanted to start his own company which never got off the ground. Really solidly made out of 1 inch ply with Vifa and Morel drive units. Not the prettiest things to look at but what a sound - real in the room stuff. Best £300 I ever spent. Vinyl comes from a Pro-ject Xpression 1 feeding the phono section of a 2nd-hand Conrad-Johnson PV6. Headhones are a 2nd-hand pair of Stax Lambda Signatures with the SRM-T1 valve energiser. Tried them in my local dealer on a whim. Once I'd heard them I just had to buy them. The most transparent-sounding headphones I've ever used - fantastic bit of kit.
I think it's a pretty good-sounding system. With a good recording it really shines. Only downside is that bad recordings can sound truly horrible.
When I've got the cash I quite fancy a PS Audio Power Plant Premier, but that'll probably have to wait a while...
OK, that's enough rambling from me. Bye for now.
Tim