+ Reply to Thread
Page 5 of 5 FirstFirst ... 345
Results 41 to 49 of 49

Thread: So what is your HiFi story and views, has your journey been worth is?

  1. #41
    Join Date: Mar 2016

    Location: Brighton, UK.

    Posts: 3,061
    I'm Mike.

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by karma67 View Post
    why?
    Guess cos I've just plugged in my HK 6500 after listening to a valve amp for a month or so, instantly bigger soundstage, real feel to instruments, most of them have loads of power on tap as well. You yourself went from a Sony beastie to a valve amp, why did you stick with the valve? I look forward to getting my valve amp back, but just wish I had room for two systems, I really would separate my record collecting into what sounds best with valve or solid state.
    Current system 1210 GR. CDP - Meridian G08. Amp -Sugden A21I - Sig. Wharfedale Lintons.

  2. #42
    Join Date: Mar 2016

    Location: Brighton, UK.

    Posts: 3,061
    I'm Mike.

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by RobbieGong View Post
    Dont have comprehensive answers to all of that Mike and never owned a valve based set-up but I believe there's a rather enjoyable warmth to the music, maybe richness too that people really like.

    They look cool to my eyes as well, although with the luck i have, I'd be scared to own valves.
    Yes I'm guessing that's why too, I'd like to try the amp you have someday, if one ever came up for auction.
    Current system 1210 GR. CDP - Meridian G08. Amp -Sugden A21I - Sig. Wharfedale Lintons.

  3. #43
    Join Date: Sep 2014

    Location: brighton uk.

    Posts: 4,737
    I'm jamie.

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Mikeandvan View Post
    You yourself went from a Sony beastie to a valve amp, why did you stick with the valve? I look forward to getting my valve amp back, but just wish I had room for two systems, I really would separate my record collecting into what sounds best with valve or solid state.
    a good question,well i spotted it browsing the forums as you do,took note of the comments others were leaving about it,did some more research and arranged to view it. i liked what i heard and took a gamble,it wasn't until i got it home and in my system that i knew id made the right choice,the sony i had was a very good amp but my jw kt88 was miles better. i noticed straight away a big step up in clarity no cuddly warmth here!
    My System
    John Wood KT88 Amp.
    Paradise Phono Stage
    Sony TTS-8000 Turntable.
    PMAT-1010 MK6 Tonearm.
    Ortofon Cadenza Bronze
    Sony X555ES Cd Player
    Yamaha NS1000m Speakers

  4. #44
    Join Date: Jul 2016

    Location: West Wales

    Posts: 143
    I'm Jonathan.

    Default

    There are some great stories here so this is mine...

    I became interested in music in my teens early seventies and bought a kit system with a turntable, amp and speakers with a self build cabinet in vinyl coated chipboard. Not the greatest but a start. The next step was a Pioneer PL12d and courtesy of a genius teenage brother an amplifier he built from his own design! I pestered many a hifi shop in Norwich at the time and had a soft spot for Kef Cadenzas. Woodwork lessons at school produced some cabinets for a B200/T27 kit which I was very pleased with. The guy at Basically Sound tested them and gave them the thumbs up.

    Next came a PL112D and then a Rega Planar 3. I seem to remember a few cartridges but an Ultimo was probably the best. I upgraded the amp and speakers when I was 21 to Cambridge A21 and Heybrook HB2s.

    Next up was an upgrade to Exposure X amp which was lovely albeit prone to earth hum.

    Then came the kids! I decided to ditch vinyl and move to CD. In hindsight probably a wrong move especially since I sold all my records!

    Ruark Talisman II speakers gave me more bass and the next step was to move to AV and sell the Exposure.

    Several years later and after the kids went off to Uni I decided to give vinyl another go. This was about 9 years ago.

    First stab was a Project Debut into a basic phono into the AV amp. The bug started. Next was secondhand Arcam pre amp and two 9p power amps into the Ruarks. Sounded great but the TT needed upgrading. Next was a Roksan Radius 5 and an Ortofon Red cartridge. After I managed to blow one of the power amps I thought I would try valves in the form of a Minimax pre and Audion KT88 power amp. Loved the midrange and thought a change if speakers would be the next step. Next a secondhand pair of Living Voice Avatars. These really brought out the best of the amps. Next upgrade was the phono stage to Edwards Audio MC3 and an older model Zyx cartridge from 2Juki. Getting better but never satisfied I bought a John Wood EL84 power amp and changed the pre to a TVC passive.

    The next upgrade was to a Michell Orbe and SME IV both secondhand.

    Then I moved house. The speakers did not suit a smaller listening room and I had an opportunity to treat myself. After a trip to the North West Audio Show I ended up with Tune Audio Prime speakers and Grandinote Shinai amp. I also moved up the Zyx range to an Airy 3.

    I now really loved the range of sound and involvement it gave me, plus a lot more clarity and treble refinement. Still not satisfied I dabbled with a Whest PS30RDT SE phono stage and this gave me more detail and bass definition.

    The latest upgrade was to the phono stage and cartridge to give me greater dynamics, a Whest PS40RDT SE and Audio Technica ART9.

    I am very happy. I don’t think I could get any better without a significant spend so am holding tight and enjoying the music. I do have a CD player (Simaudio Moon) and DAC (Audiolab MDAC) but listen mostly to records.

    Lately I have been building a second system in the workshop and this has been fun getting a good sound from vinyl with a reasonable outlay.

    I don’t have a favourite piece of kit, I think that they all work together to give me the enveloping involving sound I have been after.

  5. #45
    Join Date: Mar 2016

    Location: Brighton, UK.

    Posts: 3,061
    I'm Mike.

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by karma67 View Post
    a good question,well i spotted it browsing the forums as you do,took note of the comments others were leaving about it,did some more research and arranged to view it. i liked what i heard and took a gamble,it wasn't until i got it home and in my system that i knew id made the right choice,the sony i had was a very good amp but my jw kt88 was miles better. i noticed straight away a big step up in clarity no cuddly warmth here!
    Be good to do a mini bake off sometime.
    Current system 1210 GR. CDP - Meridian G08. Amp -Sugden A21I - Sig. Wharfedale Lintons.

  6. #46
    Join Date: Nov 2011

    Location: Seaton, Devon, UK

    Posts: 13,240
    I'm Adrian.

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by bosa View Post
    There are some great stories here so this is mine...

    I became interested in music in my teens early seventies and bought a kit system with a turntable, amp and speakers with a self build cabinet in vinyl coated chipboard. Not the greatest but a start. The next step was a Pioneer PL12d and courtesy of a genius teenage brother an amplifier he built from his own design! I pestered many a hifi shop in Norwich at the time and had a soft spot for Kef Cadenzas. Woodwork lessons at school produced some cabinets for a B200/T27 kit which I was very pleased with. The guy at Basically Sound tested them and gave them the thumbs up.

    Next came a PL112D and then a Rega Planar 3. I seem to remember a few cartridges but an Ultimo was probably the best. I upgraded the amp and speakers when I was 21 to Cambridge A21 and Heybrook HB2s.

    Next up was an upgrade to Exposure X amp which was lovely albeit prone to earth hum.

    Then came the kids! I decided to ditch vinyl and move to CD. In hindsight probably a wrong move especially since I sold all my records!

    Ruark Talisman II speakers gave me more bass and the next step was to move to AV and sell the Exposure.

    Several years later and after the kids went off to Uni I decided to give vinyl another go. This was about 9 years ago.

    First stab was a Project Debut into a basic phono into the AV amp. The bug started. Next was secondhand Arcam pre amp and two 9p power amps into the Ruarks. Sounded great but the TT needed upgrading. Next was a Roksan Radius 5 and an Ortofon Red cartridge. After I managed to blow one of the power amps I thought I would try valves in the form of a Minimax pre and Audion KT88 power amp. Loved the midrange and thought a change if speakers would be the next step. Next a secondhand pair of Living Voice Avatars. These really brought out the best of the amps. Next upgrade was the phono stage to Edwards Audio MC3 and an older model Zyx cartridge from 2Juki. Getting better but never satisfied I bought a John Wood EL84 power amp and changed the pre to a TVC passive.

    The next upgrade was to a Michell Orbe and SME IV both secondhand.

    Then I moved house. The speakers did not suit a smaller listening room and I had an opportunity to treat myself. After a trip to the North West Audio Show I ended up with Tune Audio Prime speakers and Grandinote Shinai amp. I also moved up the Zyx range to an Airy 3.

    I now really loved the range of sound and involvement it gave me, plus a lot more clarity and treble refinement. Still not satisfied I dabbled with a Whest PS30RDT SE phono stage and this gave me more detail and bass definition.

    The latest upgrade was to the phono stage and cartridge to give me greater dynamics, a Whest PS40RDT SE and Audio Technica ART9.

    I am very happy. I don’t think I could get any better without a significant spend so am holding tight and enjoying the music. I do have a CD player (Simaudio Moon) and DAC (Audiolab MDAC) but listen mostly to records.

    Lately I have been building a second system in the workshop and this has been fun getting a good sound from vinyl with a reasonable outlay.

    I don’t have a favourite piece of kit, I think that they all work together to give me the enveloping involving sound I have been after.
    Great story and read, lovely to here another happy ending enjoying the music
    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.

  7. #47
    Join Date: Oct 2015

    Location: KL, Malaysia

    Posts: 258
    I'm shahrin.

    Default

    Really enjoyable read gents. Some really interesting hifi journeys.

    Jamie, NS1000 s sound great driven by push pull valve amps 40 to 75 wpc and altho i havent heard the JW I am sure it does a great job.
    I have an unadulterated pair of NS1000 s that sound good driven by an old valve sansui .
    Thorens td124 mk2 / Bokrand AB309/ 103r
    SLAT L75 / Jelco 850S / AT VM740ML
    Marantz CD63 / Bluesound / Musical Paradise 701 II/ ESP 500Hz eXO / PL Prologue 4 and Nord 1UP amps / JK Wynn semiactive NS1000 upgrade
    /ESP 700 Hz eXO / JBL 4333 components

  8. #48
    Join Date: Sep 2014

    Location: brighton uk.

    Posts: 4,737
    I'm jamie.

    Default

    yes they do,i also run mine on 4 ohms.
    My System
    John Wood KT88 Amp.
    Paradise Phono Stage
    Sony TTS-8000 Turntable.
    PMAT-1010 MK6 Tonearm.
    Ortofon Cadenza Bronze
    Sony X555ES Cd Player
    Yamaha NS1000m Speakers

  9. #49
    Join Date: Jun 2010

    Location: Liverpool, UK.

    Posts: 1,228
    I'm Geoff.

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Macca View Post
    I'd say it's possible to get superb ampfication in either valve or solid state. It's not that simple.
    Spot on. Good results can be achieved from either. I have a preference for SS but I have heard lovely valve systems.

    Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk
    Main system: Sony TTS8000; AT1010; Audio Technica Art1; The Lentek; Cambridge 851n, Yamaha NS1000.
    System 2 - SBT; Technics SH-X1000 DAC; Denon PMA-850

+ Reply to Thread
Page 5 of 5 FirstFirst ... 345

Posting Permissions

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