hello from new jersey

[topround]

Hello,
My name is Mike and I am an audiophile.:)

Great forum here, looks like a bunch of great guys who really know their stuff.

I have been into audio gear since I was about 20, but mostly in an amateurish way, never really diving in too deep. Mostly because I could not afford it.

Moving into a larger house afforded me the room to setup my simple system, which had been in storage for some time.
Taking my cd player out I realized my 3 year old had broken it, so off to Agon to search for a new(used) one.
Turns out a gentleman from my town was selling a used Marantz cd 63 maybe half a mile away from me!
He introduced my to a group of audiophiles called New York Audio Rave, about 40 strong in the group.

That was it, I was hooked! Much gear has come and gone since then, and with it I have gained a little wisdom, not too much, but enough to know better these days.
That wisdom has led me back to vinyl.

Current system
Audio Physic Virgo 2's
Quicksilver MX 190
preamp is custom DIY 26 tube transformer coupled DHT
Lector cd7 MK 1 cd player

Systemdeck 11x with Linn arm
Thorens 125 with SME 3009
Micro Seiki BL 111 with Immedia rpm 2 arm

I have spent the last 5 years playing cd's, modding the crap out of dacs and cd players. Now all I play is vinyl!

Honestly I am new to vinyl, I stopped playing records in like 1986, but I am back and there is so much to learn, a whole new world of audio.

I was very happy to happen upon this site, it seems filled with people who really know there stuff. Hopefully I will be able to contribute something, but I believe I will be taking in more than giving at the moment.
The experience level seems way over my head but I am looking foward to drinking it in and meeting some new friends.

Thanks
Mike

[The Grand Wazoo]

Hello Mike,
What a great introduction to yourself, thanks for that.
Welcome to the Art of Sound. Don't be thinking that you have to be a hifi genius to have something to offer - sometimes the opposite type of person can say or ask something that has everyone questioning what they all think they know!
You have an interesting system - you have got the vinyl disease, being the owner of 3 tt's!
What type of music do you like to listen to?

[Wilbur]

Welcome!!!
I love my Thorens TD125/SME3009 set up,way better than my Linn LP12 in my opinion.
Have fun on the forum,theres always some new thread to interest you(as well as some older posts too )

[topround]

Thanks for the welcome.

I listen to lots of different music, I grew up on rock n roll, and drifted into progressive stuff, then some jazz fusion, then went classical in a big way.
Now I listen to anything I like.

I am lucky to have so many audiophile friends, we have audio parties once a month, and I usually have a little something at my place once a month for a few guys to hear different things that happen to show up.

Having a famous reviewer as a neighbor has really helped get me into vinyl as well! I spent the last 5 years fooling around with digital. My cd player was down for about a month when the laser died. That month was spent spinning vinyl as I waited for the new laser to arrrive and have my friend install it. After the cd player was reinstalled in the system, the sinking feeling that I was not happy set in.
Vinyl bit me in a big way. Now the cd player sits on the floor!

Mike

[WAD62]

Hi Mike,

Whereabouts in New Jersey are you from?

I used to live in Hoboken back in the mid '80s

[topround]

I live in Ramsey NJ.
Bergen county, but originally from Brooklyn.

And yes the Thorens kills my systemdek so I could see it put a hurtin on a Linn:lol:
The systemdek has its weaknesses, which probably could be addressed, but all those weaknesses were eliminated right out of the thorens factory.

It is only recently that I had the Systemdek back up and running, I purchased it new in 1984 for $465 I believe. I thought it sounded good, until the Thorens came along and was just better in every way, and it was not subtle.
I never really understood the whole Linn aura.
Back in the day the dealers tried to do a mind job on you with the whole Linn Naim school of thought, they sort of put blinders on and just pushed one brand. Pretty smart if you ask me, but we know better now(I hope).
The Linn still is highly regarded, but not really deservedly so. I guess they can be tweaked out to perform well. I never really heard a tweaked out one, just the usual suspects.

Thanks for the welcome