+ Reply to Thread
Page 5 of 6 FirstFirst ... 3456 LastLast
Results 41 to 50 of 52

Thread: Bakeoff in SE Cornwall, mid January 2020

  1. #41
    Join Date: Apr 2018

    Location: South East Cornwall

    Posts: 322
    I'm Dominic.

    Default

    Well with only 3 of us attending the bakeoff it went surprisingly well I think, so a BIG thank you to Paul and Will for a great music session and a big fat raspberry to those who said they wanted a meet up and couldn't be arsed to attend despite initiating the need for the event to happen

    Had to go out to friends this evening so will do the full report tomorrow.
    CD player = Marantz CD6006
    DAC/pre = Rotel RC 1572
    Power amp = ADA PF201
    Speaks = Quadral Chromium Style 6

  2. #42
    Join Date: May 2015

    Location: Sussex By The Sea

    Posts: 352
    I'm Paul.

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by nonuffin View Post
    Well with only 3 of us attending the bakeoff it went surprisingly well I think, so a BIG thank you to Paul and Will for a great music session and a big fat raspberry to those who said they wanted a meet up and couldn't be arsed to attend despite initiating the need for the event to happen

    Had to go out to friends this evening so will do the full report tomorrow.
    That's a real shame, but look forward to your write up and pics.
    HI-FI SYSTEM:-
    Revox B250 Amp.
    Revox PR 99 mk2 R2R.
    Revox B126 C/D Player.
    Yamaha GT2000 T/Table with Shure MKIV Cartridge and Jeco VN-45HE SAS/R Stylus.
    Bang & Olufsen Beolab18's and the 19 Sub Speakers.

    A/V 5.1 System :-
    Soundsend Wisa box.
    Harmen Kardon front and rear satellite.
    Legend 10.2 Silverback Active Centre.

  3. #43
    Join Date: Apr 2012

    Location: South West of England

    Posts: 263
    I'm Will.

    Default

    Many thanks for a nice afternoon out, had a nice time Gave the STA100 its first actual workout, was the first time I'd actually listened to the thing since its been done!

    Should be a nice little meeting point for future bakeoffs for those interested too, the room seemed to have pretty good acoustics as well, those Quadral speakers seemed to fill a surprisingly large space despite their form factor.
    Radford Revival
    www.radfordrevival.co.uk

  4. #44
    Join Date: Apr 2012

    Location: South West of England

    Posts: 263
    I'm Will.

    Default

    Ps these were the wire strippers Paul

    Everyone needs a set of these:

    https://www.rapidonline.com/weicon-5...r-no-5-86-0320
    Radford Revival
    www.radfordrevival.co.uk

  5. #45
    Join Date: Feb 2013

    Location: W Lothian

    Posts: 99,005
    I'm Grant.

    Default

    used to have a set very similar to these years ago.. got nicked lol
    Regards,
    Grant .... ؠ ......Don't be such a big girl's blouse

    I've said it before and I'll say it again: democracy simply-doesn't-work
    .... ..... ...... ...... ................... ..... ..... ..... ..... .....
    FIIO K7 BT, M11 PLUS, BTR7, KA5 - OPPO BDP-103D - PANASONIC UB450 - PANASONIC 4K ULTRA HD TV - PIXEL 6 - AVANTREE LR BLUETOOTH - 2* X600 SOUNDCORE - HEADPHONES INCLUDE, FIIO, NURAPHONES', FOCAL, OPPO, BOSE, CAMBRIDGE, BOWER & WILKINS, DEVIALET, MARSHALL, SONY, MITCHELL & JOHNSTON - 2*ZBOOK'S- MERCURY BD ROM, ROON, QOBUZ, TIDAL, PLEX, CYBERLINK, JRIVER - MULTI HDD'S -

    Oh my god! There's nothing wrong with the bidet is there?

    “Nothing discloses real character like the use of power. It is easy for the weak to be gentle. Most people can bear adversity. But if you wish to know what a man really is, give him power. This is the supreme test. It is the glory of Lincoln that, having almost absolute power, he never abused it, except on the side of mercy".

    “You see these dictators on their pedestals, surrounded by the bayonets of their soldiers and the truncheons of their police ... yet in their hearts there is unspoken fear. They are afraid of words and thoughts: words spoken abroad, thoughts stirring at home -- all the more powerful because forbidden -- terrify them. A little mouse of thought appears in the room, and even the mightiest potentates are thrown into panic.”

    "You don't have free will. You have the appearance of free will.”

    “There's a war out there, old friend. A world war. And it's not about who's got the most bullets. It's about who controls the information. What we see and hear, how we work, what we think... it's all about the information!”


    ***SMILE, BE HAPPY***

  6. #46
    Join Date: Apr 2018

    Location: South East Cornwall

    Posts: 322
    I'm Dominic.

    Default

    I think that people who have never hosted or even attended a bakeoff may have a misguided notion that it is a giant willy waving fest with endless comparisons designed to humble or embarass anyone who hasn't spent many thousands on shiny boxes with famous badges on. Not so, in fact the best sounding gear at the bakeoffs I have been to have been items that fall way under the mainstream radar and have probably never even been reviewed, usually bunged into a heap of tangled wires for good measure and many having their origins in late night soldering projects in a loft or shed. I take my hat off to these DIY pioneers.

    And so to yesterday's small gathering which didn't begin too well, with Paul's beautiful TEAC VRDS player having a major sulk. It would load the CD, spin the disc and read the TOC so the laser was working, but no play beyond that and what a massive shame. I took along my AVI player and my Marantz CD63 as a back up so at least we weren't going to be short of sources. I took my Shanling DAC 50 and Paul brought 2 DACs so my Shanling sat on a table the entire time. I wanted at some point to see whether the Shanling DAC was worth keeping given the quality of the AVI internal DAC so that will be on the to do list for a while.

    My Quadrals were the only speakers there and although I thought the room size overwhelmed them, they did just fine according to Paul and Will.

    As I said above, sometimes it looks a bit of a mess and this is one of those times:



    Began with my Yamaha amp and soon replaced with Will's STA-100 power amp and fed by my tiny little FX Audio valve pre. For a measly £28 delivered it really did shine coupled up to the Radford Revival power amp and to me had exceptional detail and clarity at the top end. Talking of which. here is a picture of the aforesaid power amp, freshly rebuilt and yet to be run in:



    and the little FX Audio pre in action:



    My little 6 way block/mains conditioner sating what the mains input voltage is:



    Will brought in his 'home brew' pre-amp and although it sounded good, it did seem to lack that crisp sparkle in the upper treble that the FX Audio has:



    Paul brought along his self built DAC which gave a very good account if itself so was left in for the whole time, plus a carrier bag full of CDs to play. Added to that I brought along a box full of CDs that we managed to get through most of them during the day. Top stuff.

    My missus did the coffee making and other catering during the day and I am very grateful that we were able to use the community centre. A couple of the other local residents popped in for a listen and were mighty impressed so I am told
    CD player = Marantz CD6006
    DAC/pre = Rotel RC 1572
    Power amp = ADA PF201
    Speaks = Quadral Chromium Style 6

  7. #47
    Join Date: Nov 2011

    Location: Seaton, Devon, UK

    Posts: 13,241
    I'm Adrian.

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by nonuffin View Post
    Well with only 3 of us attending the bakeoff it went surprisingly well I think, so a BIG thank you to Paul and Will for a great music session and a big fat raspberry to those who said they wanted a meet up and couldn't be arsed to attend despite initiating the need for the event to happen

    Had to go out to friends this evening so will do the full report tomorrow.
    Hi Dominic, Apologies for not attending but unfortunately I have been struggling with my health for the past few weeks and was not up to it. If there is another one arranged in the future and I am healthier I would be happy to come along.

    Glad you had a good day.

    Adrian
    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.

  8. #48
    Join Date: Apr 2018

    Location: South East Cornwall

    Posts: 322
    I'm Dominic.

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by AJSki2fly View Post
    Hi Dominic, Apologies for not attending but unfortunately I have been struggling with my health for the past few weeks and was not up to it. If there is another one arranged in the future and I am healthier I would be happy to come along.

    Glad you had a good day.

    Adrian
    Hi Adrian, yes I am fully aware that your health issues meant you couldn't attend, so my raspberries were aimed at the people who wished for a west country meet up yet kept very low when one was actually set up!

    I'm looking to hold another one possibly in March, so let's hope you are fighting fit for that one
    CD player = Marantz CD6006
    DAC/pre = Rotel RC 1572
    Power amp = ADA PF201
    Speaks = Quadral Chromium Style 6

  9. #49
    Join Date: Nov 2011

    Location: Seaton, Devon, UK

    Posts: 13,241
    I'm Adrian.

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by nonuffin View Post
    Hi Adrian, yes I am fully aware that your health issues meant you couldn't attend, so my raspberries were aimed at the people who wished for a west country meet up yet kept very low when one was actually set up!

    I'm looking to hold another one possibly in March, so let's hope you are fighting fit for that one
    I certainly hope so, they are playing around with my drugs to see if it can improve my day to day stability. Let’s hope so


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    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.

  10. #50
    Join Date: Jan 2012

    Location: Exeter

    Posts: 93
    I'm Paul.

    Default

    Enormous thanks to Dominic for organising the day and to his wife for keeping us fed, watered and well behaved.

    As Dom reported, despite some stripping, my CD player stubbornly refused to play ball. However Dom’s AVI performed very well and of course faultlessly.

    Will’s STA-100 power amp is a serrious bit of kit and when matched with his hybrid pre amp provided the core for most of the days listening. So pleased to have the opportunity to hear these!

    Perhaps the biggest surprise was the ability of Dom’s Quadral speakers which performed well beyond my expectations from first sight.

    Clearly Dom’s efforts deserved greater support and I was disappointed not to meet more like minded enthusiasts. However, it was great to meet Dom and Will and I look forward to the next opportunity. Now, I just have a CD player to fix.....
    Paul

+ Reply to Thread
Page 5 of 6 FirstFirst ... 3456 LastLast

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •