Listening is the act of aural discrimination and dissemination of sound, and accepting you get it wrong sometimes.
Analog Inputs: Pro-Ject Signature 10 TT & arm, Benz Micro LP-S, Michel Cusis MC, Goldring 2500 and Ortofon Rondo Blue cartridges, Hitachi FT5500 mk2 Tuner
Digital:- Marantz SA-KI Pearl CD player, RaspberryPi/HifiBerry Digi+ Pro, Buffalo NAS Drive
Amplification:- AudioValve Sunilda phono stage, Krell KSP-7B pre-amp, Krell KSA-80 power amp
Output: Wilson Benesch Vector speakers, KLH Ultimate One Headphones
Cables: Tellurium Q Ultra Black II RCA & Chord Epic 2 RCA, various speaker leads, & links
I think I am nearing audio nirvana, but don’t tell anyone.
I just think that rather than trying to make a system to fit the budget, make the system fit the needs and he doesn't need a Krell ATM or anything that huge just yet. Also, that budget starts to look a bit light when you start looking at a power amp for nearly £2k
Techie 1210: £400
New cart like the AT95: £100
Sansui amp: £1500 maximum
That leaves £2k for speakers
That would be a superb system, more than capable of putting a smile on Arthur's face.
Also, the Sansui is upgradeable if you speak to Angus nicely. It's still one of the BEST solid state amps I've heard.
Listening is the act of aural discrimination and dissemination of sound, and accepting you get it wrong sometimes.
Analog Inputs: Pro-Ject Signature 10 TT & arm, Benz Micro LP-S, Michel Cusis MC, Goldring 2500 and Ortofon Rondo Blue cartridges, Hitachi FT5500 mk2 Tuner
Digital:- Marantz SA-KI Pearl CD player, RaspberryPi/HifiBerry Digi+ Pro, Buffalo NAS Drive
Amplification:- AudioValve Sunilda phono stage, Krell KSP-7B pre-amp, Krell KSA-80 power amp
Output: Wilson Benesch Vector speakers, KLH Ultimate One Headphones
Cables: Tellurium Q Ultra Black II RCA & Chord Epic 2 RCA, various speaker leads, & links
I think I am nearing audio nirvana, but don’t tell anyone.
A friend has Krell monos (FPB250m) driving a pair of XTZ Alpha Divines. He often plays Reggae and other bass heavy stuff - at high SPLs. Feels like your insides are being rearranged.
I have 15 inch Tannoys driven by a Radford. Nice solid/tight bass but not like the big JBLs mentioned in this thread. Pity you are not round the corner Arthur as you are most welcome for a listen. No black circles here though.
Current: [P20] Roon/Tidal > Custom PC> Chevron Paradox NDF16 > Phast Pre > Neuro. 686 > Tannoy Berkley (RFC tweaks)
Location: London, UK
Posts: 65
I'm Syed.
I'll try and respond in line in bold......
Does the Krell KSA80 make a noise as well as produce a lot of heat? Will I have to wait after turning it on to actually play music? There is a 5 second gap after you switch it on.....it can run down to 1 ohm and throw out 640W so you could string up a a bunch of 8 ohm speakers in series and it won't blush!
Do you reckon the Jah Tubby preamp is good for me then because it has an EQ? Would you recommend it as a preamp or should I just get a separate EQ - is a preamp really important in terms of sound i.e. can a cheap preamp cheapen the whole operation sonically?
Jah Tubbys pre-amps are built for sound system use...he's been making them for years for other sound systems. As I said, for sound system use as opposed to hi-fidelity, he's tuned them for playing out. http://www.jahtubbys.co.uk/equipment.html
Your listing all the heroes - what about Scientist!? Yes, he was an engineer at Tubby's Studio and I'm a big fan of his inventive mixes. Also Prince Jammy's and Philip Smart......all Tubby's engineers
'Striker' lee was behind so much - was Tubby his engineer or something?. Striker used Tubby's studio to add vocals/DJ and to mix down dubs. Yabby You, Glen Brown, Augustus Pablo and numerous others also used Tubbs studio for the same.
Its the really early dub im trying to track down, still finding my way tbh trawling discogs - dropping crazy cash on good condition 45s, its mad pricey. Think the Japanese market has inflated things or at least that what I was told.
The price of original press yard tunes has always been going up. The Japanese got heavily in to ska and rocksteady in the nineties. Nowadays, our European cousins are piling in to the roots tunes from the 70's.
A bit off topic but..........When you say early dub, what style/type of tune are you talking about? Early dub for me would LP's like Blackboard Jungle, Pick a Dub, Aquarius dub. Before that it would be version.....
There are lots of represses around with variable sound quality as well as legitimacy! Give my mate Lol a call at Dub Vendor and he'll fix you up with tunes...... Tell him I sent you....https://www.dubvendor.co.uk/
Peace
Sid
Having given this some more thought I think you could end up spending some serious cash and still not get the sound you seek.
You want to get the best from your 45s but a higher end turntable, once an arm and catridge is added could easily eat up all your budget. The amps pre/power second hand another £1500. Then most of the speakers mentioned are getting on for £1k secondhand good condition.
I think I would be looking to buy a used turntable and arm in the £300/350 region, Technics/Rega/Project/Michell something that plays 45 and is easy to set up, in case you want to move it to the barn. See how this sounds with your current gear, what you like what you dont. Should be easy enough to sell on if you want to upgrade
Then I would make a trip to one of both of the upcoming this month/next hifi shows and take some music with you, single, cd, usb and try and see what the different systems sound like. Try some valve, sold state and class d amps. Try some large speakers, small speakers and some horns. try to get a feel for the sound you like and the type of amp/speaker etc used
Once you have an idea of the sound you are aiming for play around with the speakers, buy second hand try and sell on till you find some you like.
Some good speaker recomendations above plus maybe pioneer hpm100 or impulse h2 if horns work for you, bass might not there strongest point but they do fill the room with sound in a way that many other speakers do not
amp wise I would be going hypex class d based myself or old school 1976-79 grunge, big silver amps or tuner/amps with lots of knobs. Pioneer, Sansui, Technics. look for 100w per channel rms. These wont be cheap. Easy to service but check the light bulbs work these can be troublesome to source.
EQ - buy a used Klark Teknik DN360 and put it in the tape loop.
Once you have the basic sound you want - if needs be get a better turntable/arm/cartridge. But remember hifi cartridges wont stand the abuse a dj biased cartridge will
My Ardens did reggae very well (Luxman amp)
Arthur,
Here you go this is what you want to find https://www.hifiengine.com/manual_li.../sh-8075.shtml there are several around but most abroad seem to be about £400-500 they made other models.
Also reggae and dub sound extremely good on my Tannoy Legacy Ardens, I am still getting used to then as only had them a week.
Last edited by AJSki2fly; 16-09-2019 at 06:59.
Listening is the act of aural discrimination and dissemination of sound, and accepting you get it wrong sometimes.
Analog Inputs: Pro-Ject Signature 10 TT & arm, Benz Micro LP-S, Michel Cusis MC, Goldring 2500 and Ortofon Rondo Blue cartridges, Hitachi FT5500 mk2 Tuner
Digital:- Marantz SA-KI Pearl CD player, RaspberryPi/HifiBerry Digi+ Pro, Buffalo NAS Drive
Amplification:- AudioValve Sunilda phono stage, Krell KSP-7B pre-amp, Krell KSA-80 power amp
Output: Wilson Benesch Vector speakers, KLH Ultimate One Headphones
Cables: Tellurium Q Ultra Black II RCA & Chord Epic 2 RCA, various speaker leads, & links
I think I am nearing audio nirvana, but don’t tell anyone.
JBLs - take a look at the 4367 or if you feel really spendy the 4365. Either one is better than 99% of speakers out there and will do exactly what you want. You can get older JBLs that are similar but because they have a cult following they are often more expensive than the new ones. And hard to find in the UK. JBL 4365: https://thevinylfactory.com/features...nce-turntable/ and 4367 review here: https://hometheaterhifi.com/reviews/...peaker-review/
Krells - I have the KSA100Mk2 and the KSA50s, either would do the job. I've never heard the KSA80 so can't advise you there. You probably don't need such a monumental power amp, although it wouldn't hurt.
Technics - SL1200GR is better than the old SL1200 I think because it has a better arm and the new price is a steal for the level of engineering on offer. I would not recommend a Rega or any belt drive turntable. Most belt drive turntables do not rotate consistently at the correct speed and this will affect the bass slam and timing - on a lot of music you might not notice, on dub and reggae you will. Provided you have a solid floor (not planks on beams) any sturdy, level table will do to site the deck, just keep it as far away as possible from the speakers.
You don't need EQ but if you want it no-one does old school EQ better than Klark Teknik https://www.thomann.de/gb/klark_teknik.html - expensive though. I'd leave that for now as I think when you have the whole thing set up you'll realise there's no need. If you must have it and don't want to lay out that kind of cash you can pick up an equalizer from Technics et al on ebay for about a ton. Yes it will degrade the sound a little, maybe not enough that you'll notice. You can always get a Klark further down the line.
Current Lash Up:
TEAC VRDS 701T > Sony TAE1000ESD > Krell KSA50S > JM Labs Focal Electra 926.
Location: Ipswich
Posts: 76
I'm Arthur.
This has been some journey people.
Oli - Only just saw that picture of the JBL DD55000. Literally lmao. One day! Look like its 10k each one on Ebay. Its not out of the question but will take me a long time - or maybe teachers will finally get bankers wages. Never know...
This is a distillation of everyones input that has been sincerely appreciated. Ive said it before but it really makes you believe in humanity all this outpouring of wisdom to an ignorant stranger asking for help.
Amp: it doesn't sound like (unless I stump up 20k for the DD55000s - which is to some extent the dream but not possible) I need the power of the Krell KSA100 and I should actually, given my budgetary constrictions go for the Sansui AU-919 amplifier. This feels like a good fix and its nice to see some consensus here. I like the look of it and have faith in Bigman80 (Oli's) advice - particularly given that he is literally doing himself out of work. Appreciate it bud.
Oli I know you said that your friend would be potentially be appalled at the refurbishment is this one going to be spoilt too? https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Sansui-AU...8AAOSwFalccrrv
Speakers: Right now it is the Tannoy 15 DMT II, Tannoy Arden or the JBL 4367 or 4365s. I know that the last two are significantly out of my budget but Ive got a good mind to listen to Macca and just start saving. If anyone knows a reputable person who has any of these for sale please let me know. Even if its in six months!!!
Equalizer: Here what Macca is saying about suddenly seeing what it should have sounded like all along and not needing to f with the levels but I still feel like it might need it so am keen to hear his and Mr. Ian's advice and get Klarke Technik. Adrian is this same company your talking about? Is this Technics SH-8075 better?
Oli what does this mean? New cart like the AT95: £100? Is this the Cartridge for the TT that people keep referring to?
Turntable: I am inclined to listen to Macca again on this one and stump up for the SL1200GR. I know this will hurt my budget but somehow I think this whole thing deserves another year saving...
That said if anyone hears of those models of speakers around for a good price and in good shape I will find the money immediately!
Just a general question if I end up going for the more expensive JBLs - say the 4365 - should I have stumped for the beefy Krell in the first place or is the Sansui still going to work?
Shahsy - lets continue this chat in private. You seem to know a tonne more than me and I look forward to sharing some killer cuts. Unless anyone wants to here us clash!?
Spent the afternoon teaching Reception PE. A world away from this forum although I've been waiting all day to get back here. Thank you all so much!!
Last question: Do I need gold plated speaker cables or something - someone told me that once!