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Thread: Hi Fi in lockdown

  1. #1
    Join Date: Apr 2016

    Location: Bishops Stortford

    Posts: 1,250
    I'm Chris.

    Default Hi Fi in lockdown

    I am interested to hear other peoples opinions of listening to their Hi Fi systems in lock down. Has it given you a retreat to restore the mind, or like me are you at a low ebb with the emotional involvement.
    Source
    SW1X Universal Music Server UMS I Signature with Power Supply Unit PSU I Signature
    SW1X USB II
    SW1X DAC III Special
    Audiolab 6000 CDT transport
    Amps
    Pre amps -- Hi fi Collective twin mono ladder stepped attenuator, with Charcroft Z-foil and silver wired. And First Watt B1 active no gain buffer.
    Power amps -- Welborne 45 SET monoblocks 1.8W / Decware Taboo 6W / Elekit 300B TU-8600SVK plus further improved components 9W / ICE Power 1000W
    Speakers
    Highly modified Endorphin P17 open baffle speakers containing both vintage and modern alnico drivers and paper cones. All silver wired - 8" Cube Audio FC8 full range drivers and vintage 15" Altec VOTT 416 bass drivers. All sat on Townsend Audio Podium seismic isolation platforms.
    BK Electronics XLS400FF Sub.
    Cabling
    Silver mains cables, interconnects and speaker cables by SW1X
    Headphones
    HRT HeadStreamer and SennHeiser HD650 headphones

  2. #2
    Join Date: Oct 2012

    Location: The Black Country

    Posts: 6,089
    I'm Alan.

    Default

    Hi Chris, sorry to hear you are at a low ebb.
    I have been improving the system somewhat during lockdown and really enjoying the better sound. The bank balance has taken quite a hit but no regrets.

    I shall be posting in the gallery section very soon.

  3. #3
    Join Date: Jun 2015

    Location: London/Durham

    Posts: 6,869
    I'm Lawrence.

    Default

    Hi Chris
    Do you just mean low ebb in terms of musical involvement? I hope it's not more general.
    I'ts certainly been challenging for me with the kids at home all day, I don't get to listen until 10.30pm when I'm nackered and I then feel more like putting my headphones system on in bed.

  4. #4
    Join Date: May 2017

    Location: Glasgow

    Posts: 231
    I'm Rohan.

    Default

    I feel much the same as Lawrence. Having a baby who's just turned one and being in lockdown means that I often just don't have the energy to even listen by the end of the day.

    Emotional involvement in the music? I think it is as great as ever, but the doses are far, far smaller.

    On the other hand, I have been enjoying buying some cheapish old amps and messing around with those. I've actually been (positively) surprised at the results. Doing things for the first time like setting idle current.

    So it's been a mixed experience.

    One lasting effect is that I don't think my vintage amp fetish is going to go away any time soon...

  5. #5
    Join Date: Feb 2013

    Location: W Lothian

    Posts: 99,005
    I'm Grant.

    Default

    Think ive found myself living more for the moment.. less audio, more film... better food and drink. cherish any sights of nice days, family messages etc..
    Still enjoy thoroughly my tunes, but there are less of them these days..
    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. #6
    Join Date: Apr 2016

    Location: Bishops Stortford

    Posts: 1,250
    I'm Chris.

    Default

    Thanks for your concerns good people. I am in general good spirits, but find I cant connect emotionally with my music like I used to. In a similar vein, I also used to paint watercolours regularly, but cant be arsed to pick up a brush at present.
    Source
    SW1X Universal Music Server UMS I Signature with Power Supply Unit PSU I Signature
    SW1X USB II
    SW1X DAC III Special
    Audiolab 6000 CDT transport
    Amps
    Pre amps -- Hi fi Collective twin mono ladder stepped attenuator, with Charcroft Z-foil and silver wired. And First Watt B1 active no gain buffer.
    Power amps -- Welborne 45 SET monoblocks 1.8W / Decware Taboo 6W / Elekit 300B TU-8600SVK plus further improved components 9W / ICE Power 1000W
    Speakers
    Highly modified Endorphin P17 open baffle speakers containing both vintage and modern alnico drivers and paper cones. All silver wired - 8" Cube Audio FC8 full range drivers and vintage 15" Altec VOTT 416 bass drivers. All sat on Townsend Audio Podium seismic isolation platforms.
    BK Electronics XLS400FF Sub.
    Cabling
    Silver mains cables, interconnects and speaker cables by SW1X
    Headphones
    HRT HeadStreamer and SennHeiser HD650 headphones

  7. #7
    Join Date: Feb 2013

    Location: W Lothian

    Posts: 99,005
    I'm Grant.

    Default

    think this lockdown with kids may show dads how tough being a mum can be, and why she has a headache
    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***

  8. #8
    Join Date: Sep 2009

    Location: west mids, UK

    Posts: 3,268
    I'm Phil.

    Default

    chris , i think many folks are at a low ebb , i have relatives who have not seen their husband for months , others shut in due to shielding , we have in our small circle knowledge of about 20 deaths from covid . listening to music certainly helps and especially uplifting stuff . and these forums are great so we can talk , saves me going bonkers sometimes
    ou might slip, you might slide, you might
    Stumble and fall by the road side
    But don't you ever let nobody drag your spirit down
    Remember you're walking up to heaven

    Don't let nobody turn you around
    … Walk with the rich, walk with the poor
    Learn from everyone, that's what life is for
    And don't you let nobody drag your spirit down

    Eric Bibb

  9. #9
    Join Date: Mar 2017

    Location: Seaford UK

    Posts: 1,861
    I'm Dennis.

    Default

    I'm sure that many things affect our receptivity, including our point in our lives and our preoccupations and responsibilities.

    For me those great moments, mainly form my early twenties, have gradually become more infrequent, but this has to an extent been offset by improving the Hi-Fi over the years, I suppose, trying to get more of that intensity.

    I listen to a lot of FM, this mainly because I can get on with other things, and because it has the advantage that what is going to be played is not known, and so the surprise allows a 'virginal' impact on the brain; that is, the mindset is not pre-setup as it is when we decide to play something.

    Yesterday, as always if possible, I listened to Sounds of the 70s, and it was very good in quality, channels balanced, and care taken with mic technique and generally good sound. The same was true of a listen on Saturday to Rylan, this after a 9 mile walk over the cliffs and back as fast as I could, and I wonder to what extent aerobic condition helps sound perception.

    It is also possible to hear after a programme an immediate decline in sound quality on occasions.

    But it remains for me, that many other things in our daily lives which affect our psychology, have an effect on how we perceive the sound.

  10. #10
    Join Date: Jan 2013

    Location: Bristol

    Posts: 6,843
    I'm Justin.

    Default

    I am not sure I have made any distinction between hi-fi in or out of lockdown.

    Got a big new room due to a recent house move. Have almost set up my TT after 5 years or maybe more of non-use.

    Got a 100 inch ultra short throw 4K projector in there with an ambient light rejecting screen, which is fun. Nothing makes you more aware of video source quality than a 100 inch screen. It's a bit like owning a pair of Apogees but for video.

    Been enjoying Alan FearBottle's mods to my Lampizator a very great deal. He's done a great job on it - much better than Lampizator themselves ever achieved. It's just an awesome piece of hi-fi esoterica now. Crazy but excellent fun. Which is the way it should be.

    Now I just need a job again but TBH I am in no rush. Lockdown weather has been excellent. We should lockdown more!

    That said I am finding the general public's attitude almost crazy at the moment. They seem to have forgotten what's happened and the whole social distancing thing appears to be being largely ignored.

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