Macca's Lash Up 2: Lash Harder

[Opti-cal]

apologies for late reply, work has been a pain and I had to do some socialising.


The sound field does seem to exist completely independently from the speakers though, which is the important thing for me. Systems where the sound is obviously coming from the speakers are a fail in my book.

Yep, 100% agree, if you're paying attention to the speakers they're not doing their job of presenting the music as well as they should be (for whatever reason).

Granted I have to listen quite intensely, with a fairly bass heavy track to notice the changes in filter 'curves/cuts', but they are there, especially with the subs.

Both great DAC's, especially the E30 for the money. Can see them both living long in my systems. The fact the E30 is smaller than two decks of cards is just another feather in it's cap but as you have eluded to before (and an appreciation I share) orange digits and dials always look great and are easy on the eye.

[Stryder5]

My Soncoz SGD1 only arrived yesterday so I wait to see what differences I find between it and the E30/LPS. I will be using it with the pre-amp disabled so DAC only as I did with the E30.

I will leave the Soncoz switched on for a couple of days playing in my study before moving it into my main system.

No doubt I’ll add my two peneth!

Gary

[Macca]

It's the summer of 1985. 'Back To The Future' is playing in the cinemas. 'Live Aid' only just happened. I went round to a mate's house to take a look at his new stereo.

He had been to Richer Sounds and bought a Rotel turntable, Rotel tape deck, QED amp and some tiny little Mordaunt Short speakers. Fantastic but no big deal really.

But a week later I went back and he had added a Sony tuner and a Sony equaliser with spectrum analyser. Ah those little bars going up and down in time to the music. So cool. Now I was jealous. But he'd had some rich relative die and leave him some money and I although I had relatives dying all the time none of them were rich and none ever left me jack.

So I had no money at all for a proper hi-fi let alone a flashing lights machine.

And that was a situation that was to continue for a couple of decades. In the meantime I did follow his example and go to Richer Sounds and avail myself of their bin-end bargains, but I didn't even have enough cash to add the tape deck, that took another year. And it was only sixty quid, but at the time I was a poxy student living off the land so it was a wonder I found the money at all.

Anyway I soon learned the rules - that is you don't need an equaliser or the flashing lights and they were in fact bad things that ruin the purity of the analogue signal.

Time passes though and eventually I get to the point where, within reason, I can have anything I want. Main system is sorted but I also have the A/V system to play about with so my thoughts again turned to getting the coveted flashy light machine. This is 2020, surely people are practically giving them away on eBay?

But no. Prices are stupid. £200 for a knackered up Pioneer unit? Dream on. Decent high-spec Kenwood tested and working? That's a monkey to you son.

No chance I was paying those sort of prices so I left it. But it was nagging at me especially with retirement coming up. If I don't get one now I'm never going to get one. So I had another look the other day and I don't know whether it's the pandemic, or Brexit or the phase of the moon but prices were down across the board. So I picked on a tasty looking 1989 Technics SH8058 unit, tested and working.

It was a battle to get it set up as the A/V system is in an alcove against the wall and it's so hard to get at to do connections and so forth. It took me an hour and I sustained a badly bruised knuckle, but here it is gentlemen, set up and working, the resolution of a 36 year dream, a flashing lights machine:

[struth]

ive got wireless cans f all else tho lots of stuff in spare room

[walpurgis]

Eight bander too!

[Macca]

Eight bander too!

It's not actually hooked up to EQ as the amp has no tape circuit. I just wanted it for the flashing lights. I've already got a 16 band Klark Teknik if I want to EQ.

[walpurgis]

Has it got a mic input? That'll get the lights flashing.

[Macca]

No, but they're flashing fine, I've just spent an hour hypnotised by them.

[Roy S]

You need one of these to go with it

[Barry]

So I had no money at all for a proper hi-fi let alone a flashing lights machine.


Time passes so my thoughts again turned to getting the coveted flashy light machine. This is 2020, surely people are practically giving them away on eBay?

But no. Prices are stupid. £200 for a knackered up Pioneer unit? Dream on. Decent high-spec Kenwood tested and working? That's a monkey to you son.

No chance I was paying those sort of prices so I left it. But it was nagging at me especially with retirement coming up. If I don't get one now I'm never going to get one. So I had another look the other day and I don't know whether it's the pandemic, or Brexit or the phase of the moon but prices were down across the board. So I picked on a tasty looking 1989 Technics SH8058 unit, tested and working.

It was a battle to get it set up as the A/V system is in an alcove against the wall and it's so hard to get at to do connections and so forth. It took me an hour and I sustained a badly bruised knuckle, but here it is gentlemen, set up and working, the resolution of a 36 year dream, a flashing lights machine:

Flashing light bargraph meters, like VU meters serve no purpose at all and just distract from the music. You spend your time looking at them dance up and down, and realise you are not really listening to the music at all.

One of those sound-activated 'dancing flowers' that were all the rage twenty years ago would be better.