Checking back in...

[RichB]

Hi All,

Checking back in here as I've not really been around much in the last few years. So hello to all the members old and new and especially to those of you I've met and know personally.

The story of my system has been documented on the other pages here but where I find myself now is at a bit of a juncture where we've been having some work done on the house (dampproofing and otherwise) which has required a tear down of the whole thing and also a bit of a pause on the other activities I enjoy due to the ongoing Coronvirus which means I'm now looking at this as an opportunity to overhaul the system again.

So whats been happening? Well in the last few years I've not made any big changes to the system as life and other activities seemed to get in the way. I've changed jobs a few times which for a spell saw me travelling more, I've kept playing with few bands and recorded some stuff with one and gigged regularly with another. I also bought a campervan which found me spending my downtime differently. Alongside this I've returned to DJing which I did in my younger days and also, with my sister and brother in law, helped out putting on techno nights here in Newcastle. (Never thought I'd find myself at age 46 being part of a rave crew but that's been immense fun and I love running sound and lights at those kind of events). I also resolved to getting a bit fitter so now do gym 5 days a week which I enjoy and find good for my mental wellbeing as well as keeping the weight off and party lifestyle in check.

So the system now lying in bits was composed of:

Modified Technics SL1210mk2 which some of you may have heard at NEBO
Arcam A29 which I was using as phono stage/preamp
A power amp which I don't know if I can mention here (its 60w and comes in a black acrylic case)
An Arcam irDAC2 with separate linear psu
Marantz battleship CD17 player with Trichord mods
My beloved Rega RS5 speakers.
Cabling a mix of Klotz and some regular fat OFC copper stuff as I don't really go in for fancy wire any more.
Sources are mostly Chromecast or my laptop nowadays.
I have a Pioneer DDJ console I use for mixing which also outputs to the system.

In other places in the home I have a Yamaha mini system and monitor audio speaks, and some Pioneer active monitors I use for mixing and recording.

I still have my music gear, several bases and guitars, amps etc and now a load of extra lighting gear to store also.

So in putting the main room back together I'll be likely changing out all of the main components and currently thinking along the lines of a tube pre/phono stage, some class A watts for power, and maybe a new digital front end too. Speakers as always will be the first thing I decide upon and I'm in no hurry as I want to get them right.

So thats pretty much up to date, hoping I'll join in the discussions again and keep updating as things change.

All the best