High end audio

[catatonic]

I guess it's safe to assume that my Cerwin Vegas, Pioneer Amp & CD player, and Monster Cables don't belong in this thread!

Hey, I have some C-Vs in my bedroom stereo

In the end it's all about if you are pleased with what you have....if so, then kudos! I'm still looking for a better DVD changer for my setup though...I'll probably just get a Yamaha and call it done. It seems nobody really makes any nice DVD changers anymore.

 

[SamKennard]

Sam, I grew up in St. Louis and still consider it "home", even thought I've been gone since '89. I envy someone with the money and room for a pair of 20.1's Those are some incredible speakers. Is Flip's Stereo still around? They were the STL Maggie dealer last I saw, but it's been several years since I have shopped that kind of stuff.

Flip's folded around three years ago but Tom still keeps a room somewhere for Maggie sales. One of his ex employees worked for me for several years, Bonnie Perry.

Sam

 

[dawgball]

Amps...Mac Monoblocks (Mac is McIntosh)

Preamp...Mac

Speakers...B&W

CD Player....Old Sony ES

Turntable....Dual ( I got a lot of old vinyl)

 

[dszpiro]

Here is my modest system, I have toned down my audio habits.

Turntable: Systemdek llx w/linn basik plus arm W/Project phono amp
CD: Onix XCD-99 pretty much a moded Music Hall player
Amp: Tube integrated-65w Separo ( Pacific Creek ) P-901 Valve
Speakers:Epos m 12.2 w/ lead filled Atacama stands
Cables ZU Julian etc.
Sub: Aperion Audio 10" powered

I really love the sound of tubes
Cheers, DJ.

Hi DJ,

Through most of the 1980s I worked for the company that was the North American distributor for Systemdek. Our customers were the retail stores that sold the products to the end user. The IIX was a model that we pushed the manufacturer in Scotland to make for the NA market: at the time, they were busy making the more unusual Systemdek II that never sold quite as well.

Many Systemdek IIX were sold with a Profile tonearm. I designed that arm and our firm had it made in Japan. "Profile" was our house name for many components and accessories.

I happen to own a Systemdek II myself. When the very first run of 500 black ash IIX arrived in North America we had the manufacturer of the Profile tonearm make a matching run of 500 champagne-colored arms and put numbered brass plaques on each deck: I kept 1/500 for myself.

Reading your post brought back memories...thanks!

Cheers,

 

[peacefrog]

My modest home office system: NAD CD player, Cambridge Audio integrated amplifier, NAD Image 4T speakers, Grado SR225 headphones.

My 5.1 system: Integra receiver, can't even remember what DVD player, and NAAD Image series speakers.

My home office is going to become a kid's room soon, so I'm thinking of selling the amp and speakers and getting a decent headphone amp instead.

 

[slcsteve]

My high end stuff is ancient. I can't recall the last time I turned it on.

Vandersteen 2CI speakers w/sound anchors
PSE Mono-amps
PSE FM Tuner
PSE Studio SL pre-amp

 

[ouch]

Very cool turntable you have there. I had a Linn back in the 80's, and it was a marvel. The currently make some of the best CD players I've seen.

 

[ratcheer]

I used to be very much in to high-end audio, but I haven't put my stuff back together in the 13 years since we moved. I still have all the stuff, but it is all just sitting there.

• Audio Research SP-10 pre-amp
• Audio Research D-70 II power amp
• Goldmund Studio turntable
• Pierre Lurne arm
• I forget what the cartridge is called, but it was from the same person who made the "Black Widow"
• Magnepan Tympani IV speaker systems

Tim

 

[ouch]

I used to be very much in to high-end audio, but I haven't put my stuff back together in the 13 years since we moved. I still have all the stuff, but it is all just sitting there.

• Audio Research SP-10 pre-amp
• Audio Research D-70 II power amp
• Goldmund Studio turntable
• Pierre Lurne arm
• I forget what the cartridge is called, but it was from the same person who made the "Black Widow"
• Magnepan Magneplanar IV speaker systems

Tim

I believe that back in the early 70's, Magnepan was owned by Audio Research. No surprise that they make a wonderful combination.

 

[Jason]

Wow, more people with the same addictions.

I have

Townsend turntable (with cool air suspension and silicone trough)
Encore tube preamp (excellent phono preamp)
VTL monoblocks
Hologram Speakers (dorky name, wonderfull speakers)

I'll avoid the cables, it would take way too long to go through those.

 

[ouch]

VTL is one of the great "unknowns" of high end audio. They make top notch stuff with excellent, beefy power supplies. I'm currently enjoying very good results with one of their preamps. It's so nice to see companies specializing in vacuum tubes (Balanced Audio Technology, Lamm, etc.) prosper.

 

[jazzman]

I believe that I'm a budget audiophile:

iPod with Sony headphones
car stereo

And I'm a musician!

Every musician I've ever known has been able to hear "through" the equipment to appreciate the performance. The rest of us are doomed to search for components that sound the best to our less acute ears (although I love my iPod):

Oracle Delphi Mk. II turntable (old/hoping for a VPI in my future)
Benz H2 cartridge
Old Rotel 955 CD player, pushing digits through
Musical Fidelity 3-Box with tubes digital processor
Audio Research SP-8 preamp, modified by a very knowledgable friend
Audio Research D-115 amplifier
Emminent Technology LFT-8 speakers (panels for mid and treble, boxes for bass)

Almost all of the above is old and/or was bought used, so it didn't cost an arm and a leg.

Happy listening, folks.

Steve

 

[ouch]

Every musician I've ever known has been able to hear "through" the equipment to appreciate the performance. The rest of us are doomed to search for components that sound the best to our less acute ears (although I love my iPod):

Oracle Delphi Mk. II turntable (old/hoping for a VPI in my future)
Benz H2 cartridge
Old Rotel 955 CD player, pushing digits through
Musical Fidelity 3-Box with tubes digital processor
Audio Research SP-8 preamp, modified by a very knowledgable friend
Audio Research D-115 amplifier
Emminent Technology LFT-8 speakers (panels for mid and treble, boxes for bass)

Almost all of the above is old and/or was bought used, so it didn't cost an arm and a leg.

Happy listening, folks.

Steve

If you can find a reputable dealer, buying used is a good idea. The good stuff is built to last for many years, and you can get top of the line products for the cost of some entry level equipment.

 

[dangert]

If you can find a reputable dealer, buying used is a good idea. The good stuff is built to last for many years, and you can get top of the line products for the cost of some entry level equipment.

Excellent advice! That's what I followed in my last 3 upgrades. Right now:

dCS P8i CD Player
MBL 4004 upgraded pre-amp
MBL 8011S power amp
Montana EPS speakers

Onix Grand Master interconnect (CD->pre)
Wireworld Super Eclipse balanced (pre->amp)
Wireworld Eclipse bi-wire speaker cable

Audiophile furniture BASE rack

 

[180gVinyl]

Nottingham Analogue Spacedeck
Mentor Arm
Audio Technica AT33 cartridge
Audio Innovations 800 moving coil transformer
Audiolab 8000A
Aiwa AD 850 cassette deck
Marantz CD63 SE cd player
B & W CDM2SE

 

[drP]

I'm not an audiophile, by no means. Have an old Bose system at my house which i use about two times a year; most of the time i turn on my old transistor on the news network; i listen to music in my car.

Yesterday i read an article about high end audio speakers; i read that the absolute top goes as far as $300.000,- for a pair of speakers

After having read this, i decided to stick with my collection of shaving brushes

BTW: my neighbour had an equipment with two speakers of $4000,- each; he sold them because he wanted better ; now he has two speakers which cost about $6000,- each and he says he definitely can hear the difference.....
He even talks about speaker wires made of silver or gold


I think he's completely nuts

But guess what he's thinking of me.................

Peter

 

[jduffy]

You can roll your own and save a lot of money with tube amps, chip amps, and the same with preamps.

Plus you understand what they do, including the joy of "Hey, I built that!"

Speakers can be done cheaply with great results using fullrange drivers.

 

[javyn]

I can tell you from experience, Denon is nothing but trouble. My family shelled out the bucks for it, and the components are ALWAYS going out.

My setup is pretty humble. Refurbished TEAC 110w theater receiver off ebay. Not bad, it has a glitch where sometimes I have to switch the sound source from optical to coax after a period of idling, but other than that I love it. Cheap too, 100 bucks. The only complaint I have is the volume setting 1 is a little too loud. Sometimes I like to go to sleep listening to stuff, and it makes it difficult, most things being barely too loud.

Refurbished 7 disc JVC DVD/CD/Mp3, blah blah carousel, around $79.

20" Sony TV

Apex DVD player with hacked firmware plugged into a Toshiba VCR. Nice little Macrovision buster

2 Polk speakers and a subwoofer.

Sure it's kind of a cheap hodgepodge, but it has served me better than the pricier garbage I've previously let salesmen sucker me into. Now that that is in my mind, don't bother with Harmon Kardon, either heheh.

Up until this, my last 4 setups have been disasters, and warranty nightmares. It wasn't until I gave up and decided to go the cheap route, thinking if it breaks, hell with it I'll replace it with something else cheap, I don't care anymore. Of course, these components have lasted me longer than anything else I've had in my life!

I guess I'm kind of crazy like that. My entire home networking rig is old, refurbished stuff off ebay as well. I bought the old Netgear routers and wifi access points because they used to actually make them out of metal, and I thought that was cool.

 

[scagooch]

I used to be an audiophile until I realized how poorly built most of the equipment was. I love the high end stuff but I wouldn't go broke buying it. I auditioned a $4000 pre-power combo that couldn't do bass. I brought it back and bought Gear costing a quarter of the price. Speakers are like shaving brushes you got to try them all!

 

[ouch]

What are your favorite audiophile recordings?