Jokes & Funnies

[Alex_UK]

[Maelstrom]

Morning all. I know, I know – it's been a while. Life got in the way, and more recently, a very comfortable armchair and a certain pair of Wharfedales made it very hard to reach the keyboard.

I was having a clear-out the other day and found a notebook from my first foray into hi-fi back in the '80s. Proper little engineer, I was. I'd written down the exact specifications for my dream speaker cables, including the precise gauge of copper and the angle at which the strands should be woven.

Anyway, all this thinking about our beloved hobby reminded me of an old classic. It's a bit like the one that goes around about us lot, and it fits this place perfectly:

First audiophile: "I hear Joe died."
Second audiophile: "I didn't know that. What did he have?"
First audiophile: "Oh, Marantz, Linn, Krell, Vandersteen."

I promise I'll be back properly soon. The system is singing, the rug is down, and I'm just about ready to stop listening long enough to write something coherent about it all.

Hope you're all well.

[Barry]

Good one Alistair!

Glad to hear it's all working well. What are your thoughts on having vinyl playback in your new system?

[Maelstrom]

Good one Alistair!

Glad to hear it's all working well. What are your thoughts on having vinyl playback in your new system?

Ah, thanks for remembering. I've thought about it quite a bit, but I've decided to stick with streaming for now – and probably for good.

A few reasons: First, I'm genuinely so happy with the current system that I don't feel the pull to add another box. Second, the more I looked into turntables, the deeper the rabbit hole went – cartridges, phono stages, alignment, cleaning records... I'm retired and I want to listen, not tinker. Third, the Joni Mitchell record my daughter-in-law gave me is now a lovely piece of wall art in my listening room. She understood completely when I explained.

So no turntable. The WiiM and Rega are giving me all the music I need.

Thanks for asking though – it was a fun week of pretending I might go vinyl!

Alistair

[Barry]

Ah, thanks for remembering. I've thought about it quite a bit, but I've decided to stick with streaming for now – and probably for good.

A few reasons: First, I'm genuinely so happy with the current system that I don't feel the pull to add another box. Second, the more I looked into turntables, the deeper the rabbit hole went – cartridges, phono stages, alignment, cleaning records... I'm retired and I want to listen, not tinker. Third, the Joni Mitchell record my daughter-in-law gave me is now a lovely piece of wall art in my listening room. She understood completely when I explained.

So no turntable. The WiiM and Rega are giving me all the music I need.

Thanks for asking though – it was a fun week of pretending I might go vinyl!

Alistair

Your reply was to be expected; especially after all the advice we all gave. It makes total sense.

Now all we await is to see some pictures of your set up in your listening room - rug included!

Cheers
Barry

[Alex_UK]

Glad to "hear" your still enjoying the new system, Alistair. I can totally see why you've decided to skip vinyl (for now! )

This made me laugh - could be a worthy upgrade for all of us!

[Barry]

Glad to "hear" your still enjoying the new system, Alistair. I can totally see why you've decided to skip vinyl (for now! )

This made me laugh - could be a worthy upgrade for all of us!

Are they directional?

[Alex_UK]

Are they directional?

[Tim]

. . . the more I looked into turntables, the deeper the rabbit hole went – cartridges, phono stages, alignment, cleaning records... I'm retired and I want to listen, not tinker.

Alistair

Yeah, do not do that, that's a very, very deep rabbit hole Alistair. But . . I haven't ever felt the need to go down that rabbit hole, I hate tinkering and it actually stresses me out. You don't need a phono stage, the Elex has a very good one - you don't need to align anything if you buy a Rega P3 with a Rega cartridge and I've never cleaned a record in 67 years of being alive. I don't play records often, I'm currently restoring my turntable so I'm not playing anything at the moment, but it's nice to be able to when I want to. Having said that I do have about 300 LPs already, so don't have the cost of buying a new collection.

I wouldn't dismiss the idea 100%, put it on the back burner for a year or two and don't whatever you do ask a vinyl first audiophile for advice about a turntable, your head will explode! You can enjoy playing records without stressing about it, I do it and I believe when it's setup Martin (Macca) has a stock Technics SL-1200 he's happy with, without needing to tinker with it

So it is possible to enjoy playing records without doing all you've listed above, but if you just want to play music, the streaming system you have right now is pretty darned good and better than most of the population.

Enjoy your retirement it's great isn't it.

[Alex_UK]