My sources are a circa 1998 Rotel 991 CDP and Rega Planar 3/RB300 (1987 vintage). Amplifier is Sugden A21a class A integrated. Speakers are stand mount NHT (US made). I have a second system running old Tannoy dual concentric 12" drivers (HPD 315) driven by a Cyrus2/PSX with Ariston RD80 turntable.
Hi Fi Junkies: Come out of the closet
- Thread starter FR Drew
- Start date
stewyh
Likes Dirt
That would mean procuring 2 or 3 devices with the dreaded "I" prefix. No offense to appleophiles but that's never gonna happen. And converting all my flacs to alacs is a daunting prospect.
I wouldn't be averse to running some incarnation of Linux on it. In fact there is a version called "audiophile linux" but last I checked was not touchscreen compatible.
Seriously media monkey would be brilliant if it scrolled with a vertical swipe instead of having to stab at the scroll bar. WMP seems to be rocking along OK despite the universal hate.
Haakon
has an accommodating arse
haha, no worries. I feel a deep and intense sense of hate and dread at the thought of anything remotely related to microsoft in my house. apple works for me.
FLAC/ALAC doesn't matter, lossless is lossless. Either way though, for whatever your OS choice is, there are good audiophile players that handle the playback way better than iTunes (which natively has a bloody terrible conversion) or media monkey.
Then its a matter of finding a good external DAC. I prefer an optical out from the computer, USB is prone to noise from hard drives and whatnot. I use a cheapie Muse eBay job, but it runs 4 TDA chips which for the $60 it cost has a really nice sound.
stewyh
Likes Dirt
I use usb into my audiolab dac. The beauty of that is being able to control the player with the audiolab remote. I haven't noticed any noise but I haven't really done much of a comparison. I read somewhere that digital coax was superior to optical. The little Musiland dac i use for my laptop has both. Compared them for a while and couldn't tell the difference, shrugged and just left it on coax.
Dene Dweller
Likes Dirt
Finally got down to the audio store today and will place the order tomorrow, have settled on a Yamaha A-S501 amplifier and B&W 685 S2 bookshelf speakers. Had a listen in store with a slightly lesser grade amplifier and was very impressed.
sane
Likes Bikes and Dirt
Looking to sort this out.
I am trying to find the weak link in the system I cobbled together some years back. At the time I figured I could get more value from the pro audio shops than the audiophile shops. The accuracy is phenomenal & there is plenty of power but it has always lacked warmth. Part of my reasoning at the time was longevity, & I figure the studio gear has a heap of life left in it.
Wondering whether to replace the pre/ power with an integrated amp like an Arcam a19 & stick with the flat response of the monitors.
Get some new loudspeakers like ProAc studio 140s to warm it up a bit.
Listen to the mrs & get some tiny active monitors to hang off the walls out of sight & a hide a sub behind the couch.
Rotel RTC-940AX pre amp tuner
Alesis ra100 power amp
Tascam cd201
JBL 4408a
Any help from the gurus out there would be appreciated.
I am trying to find the weak link in the system I cobbled together some years back. At the time I figured I could get more value from the pro audio shops than the audiophile shops. The accuracy is phenomenal & there is plenty of power but it has always lacked warmth. Part of my reasoning at the time was longevity, & I figure the studio gear has a heap of life left in it.
Wondering whether to replace the pre/ power with an integrated amp like an Arcam a19 & stick with the flat response of the monitors.
Get some new loudspeakers like ProAc studio 140s to warm it up a bit.
Listen to the mrs & get some tiny active monitors to hang off the walls out of sight & a hide a sub behind the couch.
Rotel RTC-940AX pre amp tuner
Alesis ra100 power amp
Tascam cd201
JBL 4408a
Any help from the gurus out there would be appreciated.
Cropduster
Likes Dirt
get a turntable and start investing in Vinyl..... again.
Calvin27
Eats Squid
That's exactly my setup!
I've dropped the sub, but my problem now is my room is acoustically shit. 3m high ceilings with a full 10 wall of glass and hard surfaces as far as the ear can hear. So sad.
born-again-biker
Is looking for a 16" bar
I don't currently have much (next year may be different when the "toy budget" gets reset).... but when I was growing up my old man used to spend an eye watering amount on his home stereo.
He gave me his late 70's KEF speakers when I was about 18 or 19 and then set me up with a NAD CD player & Marrantz amp. As a teenager this was quite the system.
His current set-up (which is sitting in storage, unused!!) is a pair of Rogers LS7's (or similiar I think), 2 x Quad 405's fully reconditioned and a Quad 33 pre-amp & tuner. The shear depth, clarity & volume this set up can produce is like nothing you can buy for regular money these days. The older British Hi-Fi products (and some earlier Japanese stuff) is just timeless for quality.
And there's tons of it on eBay these days for a lot less than what it used to sell for.
I've been lusting after the new Yamaha NX-N500's for regular listening & occasional home theatre duties....
He gave me his late 70's KEF speakers when I was about 18 or 19 and then set me up with a NAD CD player & Marrantz amp. As a teenager this was quite the system.
His current set-up (which is sitting in storage, unused!!) is a pair of Rogers LS7's (or similiar I think), 2 x Quad 405's fully reconditioned and a Quad 33 pre-amp & tuner. The shear depth, clarity & volume this set up can produce is like nothing you can buy for regular money these days. The older British Hi-Fi products (and some earlier Japanese stuff) is just timeless for quality.
And there's tons of it on eBay these days for a lot less than what it used to sell for.
I've been lusting after the new Yamaha NX-N500's for regular listening & occasional home theatre duties....
sane
Likes Bikes and Dirt
It's on the list for later, just as soon as my 4 YO stops moving around the house with all the grace of a cyclone.
Hey all, I've got an old Sony 2x channel amp. Must be 15 or more yrs old. Heavy fucker of a thing. But like it and prefer not to replace it.
Lately the right channel drops in and out. Seems OK for a while, then goes crackly. It doesn't seem to be the connections, played with them enough. Turning it off or pull the input out and back in again often gets it going for a little while again.
Wondering if could be dry joints? Worth cracking open and going over it with the soldering iron?
Lately the right channel drops in and out. Seems OK for a while, then goes crackly. It doesn't seem to be the connections, played with them enough. Turning it off or pull the input out and back in again often gets it going for a little while again.
Wondering if could be dry joints? Worth cracking open and going over it with the soldering iron?
link1896
Mr Greenfield
Worth a shot. Look for burn/discolouration marks on the Pcb too. It will change colour due to heat.
Don't bridge gaps with excess solder.
When you go to turn it back on, drop one speaker wire off on both channels and just touch them on the terminal to begin with to be sure you haven't utterly stuffed the channel.
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stewyh
Likes Dirt
If I may briefly hijack this thread for personal gain... I'm in the market for a new (used) power amp after frying the outputs of my Audiolab 8000px. Anyone looking to offload one, hit me up. 75wpc @ 8 ohms min. Happy to consider pa/studio amps.
Using powered Yamaha HS80s in the interim and they're just not doing it for me.
Cheers.
Using powered Yamaha HS80s in the interim and they're just not doing it for me.
Cheers.
Lazmo
Old and hopeless
Go to Jaycar and buy some Deoxit... open the amp and spray Deoxit into the back of the volume pot while winding back and forth through its travel... zero to ten. Try to spray it on the pot tracks and not too much...