scratch-and-sniff "what hi-fi have you got" thread.
- Thread starter sufi
- Start date
Grievous Angel
Beast of Burden
LOL, good one Sufi, just picked this up.
Probably get laughed at but I'll post mine anyway...
Rega Planet CD player (fab, very analogue sound)
Marantz SR5300 receiver (a surround amp, but good enough for stereo)
B&W 601s (very good, but you miss the deep bass on dubstep and reggae)
Plus a cheap but good (if slow) Pioneer DVD, and a B&W LCR60 centre speaker -- no room for surrounds in current house, sadly. And no sub.
In the studio:
Technics with Grado Signature Gold hifi pickup -- fabulous -- through a Graham Slee Gram Amp 1 phono stage (cheap but excellent), Behringer and Vestax mixers, and some active monitors.
I'd really like a Naim amp (maybe an old Nait 3 - or even an old pre-power combo) and some bigger speakers, maybe 602s (which I could have bought years ago, but stupidly didn't).
Probably get laughed at but I'll post mine anyway...
Rega Planet CD player (fab, very analogue sound)
Marantz SR5300 receiver (a surround amp, but good enough for stereo)
B&W 601s (very good, but you miss the deep bass on dubstep and reggae)
Plus a cheap but good (if slow) Pioneer DVD, and a B&W LCR60 centre speaker -- no room for surrounds in current house, sadly. And no sub.
In the studio:
Technics with Grado Signature Gold hifi pickup -- fabulous -- through a Graham Slee Gram Amp 1 phono stage (cheap but excellent), Behringer and Vestax mixers, and some active monitors.
I'd really like a Naim amp (maybe an old Nait 3 - or even an old pre-power combo) and some bigger speakers, maybe 602s (which I could have bought years ago, but stupidly didn't).
nomos
Administrator
Haha, thanks sufi! I was thinking of starting it myself.
I don't actually know a lot about this stuff but we recently replaced our tiny bookshelf stereo with a proper system.
Cambridge Audio Azur 540A intergrated amp - "the bottom end of audiophile," as the man at the shop described it to me. 80 watts per channel and a very sexy brushed metal face with blue LEDs.
http://cambridgeaudio.com/summary.php?PID=12&Title=Azur+540A
Then we got a fantastic deal on a pair of Energy C-7 speakers as the line was being closed out. They look like this: http://www.avprime.co.kr/prod_image/c-7.jpg Sound just sort of wafts out of them rather than being thrown at you. I thought they'd be light in the sub department but with dubstep on they can rattle the apartment at relatively low levels. Very nicely defined bass and not at all boomy.
Apart from that, we have a very cheap LG DVD/CD player and a basic DJ setup with Shure SC35C cartridges. Although now Paul has me considering a Grado cart for archiving vinyl.
I'd resisted spending much on a system for ages, partly because I didn't have the money but I also thought it was a frivolous luxury. But then I realised that if so much of my time is spent listening to music for pleasure and for work, it made sense to actually be able to hear it properly.
I don't actually know a lot about this stuff but we recently replaced our tiny bookshelf stereo with a proper system.
Cambridge Audio Azur 540A intergrated amp - "the bottom end of audiophile," as the man at the shop described it to me. 80 watts per channel and a very sexy brushed metal face with blue LEDs.
http://cambridgeaudio.com/summary.php?PID=12&Title=Azur+540A
Then we got a fantastic deal on a pair of Energy C-7 speakers as the line was being closed out. They look like this: http://www.avprime.co.kr/prod_image/c-7.jpg Sound just sort of wafts out of them rather than being thrown at you. I thought they'd be light in the sub department but with dubstep on they can rattle the apartment at relatively low levels. Very nicely defined bass and not at all boomy.
Apart from that, we have a very cheap LG DVD/CD player and a basic DJ setup with Shure SC35C cartridges. Although now Paul has me considering a Grado cart for archiving vinyl.
I'd resisted spending much on a system for ages, partly because I didn't have the money but I also thought it was a frivolous luxury. But then I realised that if so much of my time is spent listening to music for pleasure and for work, it made sense to actually be able to hear it properly.
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autonomicforthepeople said:
I was like that, figured my dad's old Yamaha amp/receiver was 'classic' enough to do the business. Then it packed up and I thought, what the hell, and got myself one of these (probably just below entry level audiophile, but top value) and I'm never looking back. Like having an entirely new record collection all over again.
nomos
Administrator
That's the best part, especially putting something on that you'd sort of forgotten about for a few years and hearing parts in it that you hadn't ever noticed.Rambler said:Like having an entirely new record collection all over again.
Also, we have a tiny pantry/hall just next to the livingroom and it seems the bass gets trapped in there and bounces back and forth. It gets amplified and you can feel slight air pressure changes.
oh man, this is making me want to get a decent setup... I'm away at school, and most of my listening is done on my mediocre computer speakers or my decent headphones... I was at a friend's party a couple nights ago, and he was blasting some dubbed out house sort of thing, and it just sounded soooo good on his decent (but by no means great) setup. At least, so much better than I am used to. Then he played this gorgeous string quartet music (it was an after party for a new music ensemble...), which also sounded so much more alive than on my speakers.
matt b
Indexing all opinion
i had a lovely nad for years (first amp i ever bought). it literally caught fire in protest at bass. got same amp as rambler now in our kitchen w/turntable and wharfedale speakers. hasn't been above 2 on the volume scale and shakes the house.
my main source of listening now is in the living room (record collection having been banished upstairs- boo):
iriver h420
harman kardon soundsticks
plus, when i can be arsed a numark deck ( possibly a TT1650?)- other one is in the kitchen
you can probably guess, i ain't an audiophile but like low frequencies
my main source of listening now is in the living room (record collection having been banished upstairs- boo):
iriver h420
harman kardon soundsticks
plus, when i can be arsed a numark deck ( possibly a TT1650?)- other one is in the kitchen
you can probably guess, i ain't an audiophile but like low frequencies
Grievous Angel
Beast of Burden
The Cambridge stuff is just amazing for the money. Those energy speakers look MAD.
Matt likes bass but has sound sticks? Surely they don't have any?
Matt likes bass but has sound sticks? Surely they don't have any?
Rambler said:I was like that, figured my dad's old Yamaha amp/receiver was 'classic' enough to do the business. Then it packed up and I thought, what the hell, and got myself one of these (probably just below entry level audiophile, but top value) and I'm never looking back. Like having an entirely new record collection all over again.
i've got one of those in the bedroom with a pair of smallish monitor speakers - it's a great amp. but i think the silver with blue leds sold me
i've got another one in the lounge an old 80's thing that's been referbed for decks and cd that i bought with my girlfriend .
It;s alright too, but i think i prefer the ccambridge one at the end of the day
OldRottenhat
Active member
Arcam CD72 cd player
NAD C350 amp
Acoustic Energy Aegis 3 (? the bookshelf entry in the line, whichever that was) speakers
and my once well-loved Rega P3 w/ Rega Superbias cartridge and a malfunctioning NAD pre-amp more or less gathering dust/acting as a holding place for cds (how the mighty have fallen etc etc)
sadly I'm about to move back across the Atlantic and am not certain that the stereo is following me. If it comes to buying a new one, I'd certainly take an Arcam cd player again - open to suggestions for what to put with it.
NAD C350 amp
Acoustic Energy Aegis 3 (? the bookshelf entry in the line, whichever that was) speakers
and my once well-loved Rega P3 w/ Rega Superbias cartridge and a malfunctioning NAD pre-amp more or less gathering dust/acting as a holding place for cds (how the mighty have fallen etc etc)
sadly I'm about to move back across the Atlantic and am not certain that the stereo is following me. If it comes to buying a new one, I'd certainly take an Arcam cd player again - open to suggestions for what to put with it.
old (1976) NAIM audio speakers, amp and radio- all part of a record player set bougt by my parents on their London honeymoon...
made in Glasgow, Scotland- lush as f*ck and pure quality, still going strong after all these years...
cd player is an old Philips 1988 model they flogged at the local Op-shop some years ago...it wobbles a bit...
made in Glasgow, Scotland- lush as f*ck and pure quality, still going strong after all these years...
cd player is an old Philips 1988 model they flogged at the local Op-shop some years ago...it wobbles a bit...
bassnation
the abyss
matt b said:
me too, but try to keep the volume down now. the other day i had a low end rumble going on in my right ear, like one of those subbass lines which makes everything vibrate - problem is, i wasn't listening to any music when it happened. not sure what thats all about, but i'm guessing its probably not positive.
the problem is, bass heavy music sounds so good loud, what are you supposed to do?
Fright night
bassnation said:me too, but try to keep the volume down now. the other day i had a low end rumble going on in my right ear, like one of those subbass lines which makes everything vibrate - problem is, i wasn't listening to any music when it happened. not sure what thats all about, but i'm guessing its probably not positive. QUOTE]
In other words, you increasingly resemble your avatar
Grievous Angel
Beast of Burden
No, the ear's response peaks hugely in the mid-range where the human voice has most energy. Good soundsystems with have very few mid-range speakers.shudder said:
You can have bass as loud as you want without troubling your hearing, and high treble won't hurt either. But bad, spitty mid-range can do real harm.
Sounds like Marc's got some tinnitus. Might be caused by smoking - a doctor told me tobacco smoke strips the fine hairs off the surface of the inner ear, making them less sensitive, and prone to ringing.
bassnation
the abyss
Lichen said:In other words, you increasingly resemble your avatar
hey, thats my real face your talking about there!
bassnation
the abyss
2stepfan said:
roll on the day someone invents bionic ears! surely it can't be long in coming....