Doors open.
Already planned out the set up. Got the nice granite base for the Rega. Can’t wait to set it up.
Doors open.
Already planned out the set up. Got the nice granite base for the Rega. Can’t wait to set it up.
Bet you can’t wait to spin your Gangnam style record on it!
Mine? I borrowed it from you.
Well in that case maybe I can come over to dance?
Nothing wrong with Gangnam style but for style points I’d suggest Led Zepp or The Who on a mostly British system like Gypsy’s. Won’t need to play it loud … the Roger’s will provide an inspiring sound stage that truly is moving. The are still the best sounding speaker I have heard thus far.
I’ve only got a humble set up but it inspired me to buy a bag of weed just to sit and listen and tune out with an additional glass of wine. My intention’s are good but the weed still sits in a drawer untouched after 3 weeks 'coz I’m old and keep making excuses why I can’t be bothered to smoke the herb. Meanwhile Tangerine Dream, Beethoven, Joy Division and Ashanti Roy have been on heavy rotation and listened to in a natural state.
Good tunes on a system where you can hear all the details make for really pleasurable listening. I’ve got some ordinary records, stuff I wouldn’t normally listen to but do play because it sounds good. I’m also listening to stuff that I’d never heard properly before and didn’t rate much … in particular an old album by Bread. It would bore the shit out of me on the radio or on a CD/MP3 but on the turntable I’m just in awe. Wow !! I don’t have a lot of records but I’m at the point where I’ve got something to cover most of my moods. More Neil Young coming next week.
Without doubt my favourite record is a 5 album EMI recording of Beethoven by musicians Pinchas Zukerman, Daniel Barenboim and Jacqueline Du Pre. There may be many cellists who are technically better but for mine none has as much feel and understanding for music as Du Pre. She is simply brilliant and an extraordinary talent who’s life was sadly short.
Jacqueline du Pré - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Otherwise I’ve been shuffling between my old Stanton deck and the new to me Sony which isn’t highly rated but has really impressed me so far. Also getting a feel for different cartrdige/headshell combo’s and better understanding which ones suit different types of music. Like bikes there is no one best for everything, but more a matter of different cartridges for different styles of music. In saying that i find myself leaving the Shure M4-7 which came fitted to the Technics headshell a lot … it’s a little too bright and lively but it sounds better than it has any right to. I haven’t got into any serious MM cartridges so far but am learning as I go along.
JVC tape deck got pulled out of storage. Old but still great sounding and the belts are all working. My old Marantz amp has just been replaced by an older, smaller Sansui receiver (amp + tuner … not pictured) that the the purists shunned, cost just over a $100 and was completely overhauled by the seller. The Bose 301’s I put tunes through are vivid and crisp and better sounding than I expected and my new to me $130 Tannoy’s will be on the slow burner bench. I’ve not scored a true Hi-fi system like Gypsy but I’ve certainly enjoying the system I’ve got so far without throwing too much coin down (in fact relatively little).
Sony PS-11 direct drive turntable - $75 … SONY Direct Drive Automatic Turntable PS-11 | eBay
Bose 301 series 2 speakers - $200 … BOSE 301 SERIES II BOOKSHELF SPEAKERS IN BLACK [1988 SERIES 2] | eBay
Sansui receiver - $102.43 … VINTAGE SANSUI R-7 STEREO RECEIVER - FULLY SERVICED AND CHECKED : ) | eBay
I have to recommend the seller of the Sansui amp. Outstanding seller, packed to perfection and he truly goes through every item he sells as if it were his own. Really genuine guy.
I took a punt on the Tannoy Cambridge T115’s for $130 TANNOY CAMBRIDGE High Performance Loudspeaker System MADE IN GREAT BRITAIN | eBay
I’ll need to replace the dustcaps and whilst not the famous Gold series or dual concentric’s they still have the ubiquitous gold ano’d surrounds. Not in a hurry, we’ll see how they go when I have time.
I have been changing things around a lot but feel like i’m happy to settle on the above for a while. I’ve also spent about $200 on cartridges (Ortofon, Shure, Stanton, JVC) but didn’t need to … just curious and getting a feel for what works for me. I’ve also tried to buy local to me and have taken back 1 x turntable, 2 x amp’s that weren’t as the sellers claimed. Also agreed with another seller to cancel the purchase of a valve amp that we found after auction end was wired/117v for US power supply and was more work than it was worth to convert. Just to prove it’s not all roses/beware as a buyer - it pays to be cautious with sellers claims.
Gyp you need to get a copy of Black Sabbath - Sabotage and play Symptom of the Universe through this rig. Should sound great.
And it’s alive! Pics in the next week when I move in some new furniture and get it set up properly.
Next time I am home I am bringing this back with me in lieu of the bigger stuff.
(I know, not strictly HiFi)
3d sound! awesome (but really heavy with 6 D batteries) for taking to the park.
Double tape, EQ!, line-in for ipods, its great.
$1975!
Good read, I enjoy your longer posts, nothing like the HiFi journey.
Find someone with a valve-amp / electrostatic speaker combo, it sounds great (but don’t be tempted yourself, so much upkeep and cost if anything goes wrong). Any non-electrified instruments/voice sounds amazing and the lack of a speaker ‘box’ makes the music alot more immersive.
x2
yeah, I have seen some eletrostatic’s recently and been a little curious. One day …
Good for the seller. he sometimes auctions some really interesting stufff and writes great copy/info.
You tease !! First impressions?
on another note: not a bad set of mid size speakers for Sydney folks ending soon. Wouldn’t throw a lot of money at them but certainly worth thinking about for little over $50.
Vintage Heybrook Speakers - English-Made | eBay
So much definition. In love! Thursday night, so can’t blast it like I want to.
Off topic a little, anyone played with the Lepai etc Class T amps?
Listened to friends “T” amps - the mini ones (not sure of brand or any details)
Not bad sound for a tiny box, not as good as a decent full sized amp and only one input usually.
Makes a nice minimal setup with small bookshelf speakers and just a line in.
Looking to pick one up to bolt to the wall in the shed, seems like the TA2020A+ is still the one to go with for now.
they’d be easily worthy of a shed - $50 shipped off ebay is pretty good.
edit: though I guess this depends on the shed
but you can also usually pickup a decent 90’s soulless amp/receiver for $50 on ebay these days,
This.
I keep thinking about a shed option. Thought of a Tivoli but too pricey for the options I want (internet radio). Thought about wireless headphones but limiting to other noise (phone/dog etc).
Just keep coming back to a cheap receiver and speakers/ Radio, ipod and some kinda streaming widget so I can catch cool tunes from the interwebs. If anyone has any suggestions for a little net radio/FM options I’d be interested. Would rather not stream from the house (unless I can do that whilst a cumputer is sleeping).
at an old flat we used to run a reaaaalllllyyyy long RCA cable made of skip bin scavenged wire from the lounge to kitchen (~10m, tape out to tape in), then another 10m RCA from the kitchen to the shed which was attached to the house (drilled a sneaky hole thru the back of cupboard) so you could listen to the same record in the lounge, kitchen and garden/shed!
though arguments would ensue over who would flip the record if we were in the garden and a side finished.
And from memory the amp in the kitchen has peculiarity that you could play a cd on it but the tape loop would still work so you could listen to the record in the lounge/garden and a diff cd in the kitchen.