Justin & Jerry's Hifi Blog

[jandl100]

Hee hee - there's a lesson for you there, Stan. Not that most folks here would want you to learn it!

[DSJR]

Isn't that terrible

You know, Cambridge Audio make some good stuff I understand, but the still highly profitable low prices they sell for means that snooty audiophools ignore them 'cos they can't be any good at their selling prices, can they?

As the industry continues on it's death throes, perhaps the few decent companies that are left can correct this and not be so greedy.

[Techno Commander]

but the still highly profitable low prices they sell for means that snooty audiophools ignore them 'cos they can't be any good at their selling prices, can they?

Or they have been conned into paying extortionate prices for so long, they believe its normal and required.

[DSJR]

Absolutely - IMO.

I believe this is definitely true in Hong Kong, a £2500 phono stage isn't regarded in the same league as a £12,000 one, despite the cheaper one being better if anything and made for profit

[StanleyB]

Hee hee - there's a lesson for you there, Stan. Not that most folks here would want you to learn it!

I'll keep that in mind for 2011, so keep £499 under your mattress for me.

[jandl100]

My latest Yamaha amp arrived today.

A P7000S power amp. 700wpc.



It's not at all what I was expecting.

Let's face it, it's a pro-audio DJ amp with 700wpc, right? Bound to be tonally stark and ultra-slammy with no finesse or subtlety, right? Probably a bit too much even for a transparency-obsessed basket case like me.

Err, nope, it's not like that at all! I'd say it has a 'beautiful sound'. A bit on the R-r-r-r-omantic side.

I started off with a string quartet, with finger on the remote control volume 'down' button, just in case!

My jaw practically hit the floor - it sounded gorgeous !!

I then moved on to some large scale symphonic - Wow, sweeping & majestic.

Then onto Loreena McKennitt "The Visit" - some nice deep synth bass lines in there, as well as some ultra-clear female vocal and Celtic harp with really sharp transient twang.
Yummy!! very transparent, clear and articulate - but no undue emphasis on vocal sibilance. A bit too relaxed? Maybe. But then I am in ultra-dynamic sound mode as far as my listening preferences are concerned at the moment.

The power is pretty much limitless, as you'd expect, but almost in a "Gentle Giant" kind of way.
Whodathunkit? Not me!

Must admit I am enjoying it very much at the moment - but it may well turn out to be just too nice for me after a day or so!

[The Grand Wazoo]

One thing that intrigues me Jerry, and I'm sure it must occupy your mind from time to time, is this.

It's a genuine question & I have no agenda other than pure interest. How do you think this amp (for example) would have faired, say 12 months ago in your system,.......or 6 months ago,......or 2 yrs ago? Do you think your impressions could be vastly different given an alternative situation. Have you listened to enough stuff that you can home in on the inherent character of a component regardless of the rest of the system?

Have you ever looked back on gear you've played with and thought "Ah yes ,if only I still had item X it would match seemlessly with this (currently in my possession) item Y"?

Have you ever considered which of your past dalliences could go together to make pure magic?

Have you ever tried to put those things together?

If you did, would it worry you that you might finally have met the girl you want to settle down with?

I only ask because you seem to have found your speakerish soulmate.

[jandl100]

Whew!- that's a set and a half of questions!

Lessee....

How do you think this amp (for example) would have faired, say 12 months ago in your system,.......or 6 months ago,......or 2 yrs ago? Do you think your impressions could be vastly different given an alternative situation.

I have no real idea, of course. But I think the main variable is my taste/listening preferences which I know do vary over time. As hinted in my previous post, at the moment I value transparency and transient detail above other characteristics - but this kind of preference is a function of time. A few months/year ago I was happily listening to much warmer sounding valve kit. I wouldn't choose to do that now. In a few months/year I may well go in that broad direction again.

Have you listened to enough stuff that you can home in on the inherent character of a component regardless of the rest of the system?

Ummm ... yes, I think so.

Have you ever looked back on gear you've played with and thought "Ah yes ,if only I still had item X it would match seamlessly with this (currently in my possession) item Y"?

No.

Have you ever considered which of your past dalliences could go together to make pure magic?

No.
Although I might (perhaps) as an example go back to a relatively stark sounding amp like the AVI Lab Series integrated amp if I had a fine sounding, but a tad too warm, CDP, for example. But I have never actually done this.

Have you ever tried to put those things together?

No. In general, I have found it a mistake to return to components I have already owned - I find that I pick up very quickly on the flaws that had previously taken some time to get to notice and have them irritate me!

If you did, would it worry you that you might finally have met the girl you want to settle down with?

Well, yes, it would worry me, in that I get a huge amount of enjoyment out of trying different equipment.

I only ask because you seem to have found your speakerish soulmate.

Yep, that remains true. The MBL remains my Dream Speaker, now happily attained. But I am not even dreaming of spending a similar amount of £ on other components, so I very much doubt that I would wish to settle down with non-speaker components that I do choose to afford.
Does it all come down to money? No, of course not. I've owned and heard many amps costing far more than my new Yammie, but I don't think many of them sounded any where near as good.

Nonetheless, the MBLs have been my Dream for some years, albeit a dream I never actually expected to attain, and I would be truly amazed if I heard something even remotely affordable that could dislodge them from my affections.

Does that answer your questions, Chris? looking at your own motives is a notoriously tricky thing to do! Perhaps my answers would have been different if it wasn't 20 minutes after midnight and way past my bedtime!

[The Grand Wazoo]

Yeah, thanks for that Jerry.
Sorry did I come across as a little too interrogative? Not the intention at all.

To be supportive, I'm hugely gratified by this bit:

If you did, would it worry you that you might finally have met the girl you want to settle down with?

Well, yes, it would worry me, in that I get a huge amount of enjoyment out of trying different equipment.

!!!!
...........but, sort of not!!

I'm very jealous of your ability to indulge in this particular method of getting your hi-fi kicks but if I were to do it, I would also need to have a seperate slowly evolving system - a constant reference, if you like.

[jandl100]

I'm very jealous of your ability to indulge in this particular method of getting your hi-fi kicks but if I were to do it, I would also need to have a seperate slowly evolving system - a constant reference, if you like.

Nah, that wouldn't do it for me. When I change a component I am looking for a significant change in the sound not a gradual evolution. My reference is in my head - and as I said, I acknoweldge that that changes quite significantly with time!

My constant slow-changing reference would quickly be dismissed as 'old hat' and not worth listening to!