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Post by gns on Sept 25, 2007 0:12:44 GMT
LastFi...
Did you register that?
If not, could I coin the phrase too?
Graham
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rowuk
Been here a while!
Pain in the ass, ex-patriot yank living in the land of sauerkraut
Posts: 1,011
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Post by rowuk on Sept 25, 2007 22:06:52 GMT
Graham, feel free, I am sure that you understand what I mean and will use it with care!
a couple of my favorites that qualify: The old Quad Electrostatic panels, Dynaco PAS3, Thorens TD160 TT, Tchaikovsky Symphony #4 with the New York Phil-Leonard Bernstein, Mobile Fidelity direct cut disk Dark Side of the Moon, all of my Sheffield Labs direct disks. I think my AKG701s will end up being timeless - they sound sooo much like the instruments that I hear on stage - even with only the BT928 (I'm saving for that green solo!). I also have a CD recommendation: Stämning by the jazz vocal group The Real Group (www.virgin.se). It is a collection of swedish folk tunes and conducted by the swedish choral god Eric Ericson. The music draws you in, the hardware has NO CHANCE!
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Post by PinkFloyd on Sept 25, 2007 22:20:35 GMT
As good as the BT928 is for the money rowuk..... lose it fast! You are missing out on a lot of information and that's a fact!
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Post by MrJoshua on Oct 1, 2007 21:13:53 GMT
I listened to an Orpheous setup at the 2005 UK Head-Fi meet and preferred the PPX3/Grado setup that was next to it (the Grados were the metal ones with the toggle switch in the middle of them). I think the owner of the Orpheous was a bit annoyed when I told him my preference.
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Post by PinkFloyd on Oct 1, 2007 21:22:48 GMT
I listened to an Orpheous setup at the 2005 UK Head-Fi meet and preferred the PPX3/Grado setup that was next to it (the Grados were the metal ones with the toggle switch in the middle of them). I think the owner of the Orpheous was a bit annoyed when I told him my preference. I heard the £12,000 Sennheiser orpheus flagship at the Edinburgh hi fi show back in the 90's and remember saying to the guy demoing it "I think my X-Can and HD-535 sounds better than that contraption"......... thing is, I meant it.
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Post by hooograa on Oct 3, 2007 1:16:19 GMT
I totally agree with Mike, but you some times gotta just find out for yourself. It doesn't matter how many times I tell apprentices chefs not to do this or that because you will get burnt or cut. Sometimes you just have to step back and let them blister and bleed! Then they sometimes figure out that what you said before is true. To that end, sorry Miguel but can you sacrifice yourself for the common good and listen to all that expensive stuff.
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Sol
100+
loves motorcycles !
Chief Technical Numpty
Posts: 135
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Post by Sol on Oct 3, 2007 7:28:15 GMT
No not seen Floyd. Bridgewater Hall is good, not just for Classical, saw some traditional Japanese drumming that was fantastic. I've a CD of Japanese drumming that'll test the dynamics of any system ... I saw the Kyoto Drummer sin newcastle many years ago, and was completely blown away by the precision of the drumming, and the range of size of drums.
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FritzS
Been here a while!
Sound of Blue Danube
Sound of Blue Danube
Posts: 1,364
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Post by FritzS on Oct 3, 2007 15:06:13 GMT
I have a Kodo drummer SACD (Sony import) - a exquisite range of music
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Post by minivan on Oct 5, 2007 12:33:20 GMT
i had seen the kodo drummer perform live many years too. try the poem of chinese drums, yim hok man cd, different style , equally impressive.
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Post by bozzy on Oct 5, 2007 14:13:31 GMT
Well: here I am, asbestos suited in case of flames, and this is my first post to this group. Before I get to the point, I just need to say that the anarchic slant of this forum certainly works for me, as does the breadth of musical preference - good to hear discussion which is NOT centred on choosing music to demonstrate the system, just music.
I've gone and ordered a Green Solo, hoping to coax some life out of my recently purchased and so far lack-lustre Grado's. Can't wait to get lost in some Derek Trucks, Norah Jones, JJ, etc. without provoking late night hostilities.
My speaker based system is probably what you would describe as "high end", but was put together with the sole intent of not compromising just because of price. I find it very satisfying to listen to always, but have been struck by the amount of maintenance it needs. I tend to be a bit “plug it in and leave it” - years of ATC actives did this to me. Recently I took the whole lot apart to move and clean it, and cleaned all the contacts and plugs. As I'm sure you all know, the difference as in this case, can be an immediate and significant improvement.
Thinking back over the trial and error of different interconnects, speaker and power cables, digital interconnect etc I was struck by how much a system can be "tuned", and reading this thread recognised many of the sentiments expressed – many of which seem to have their origins in the basic urge to avoid buying “snake oil”, whilst recognising that some improvements can cost a lot. Looking under the hood of my Aesthetix preamp, Edge power amp, and Accustic Arts transport and DAC, there is not one Jensen cap on display. In fact most componentry is not state of the art at all. Fuses and fuseholders, speaker binding posts, internal signal cable all could be significantly upgraded had I the nerve and the skill to do it. In fact, the dealer from whom I bought most of the items did indeed modify a similar collection, to a very audible improvement, though his verbal imagery started to get a bit off the wall – “inky blackness of the background silence etc”
Looking at the casework of my equipment however tells a very different story. All cases are massive, immaculately designed and detailed. Never mind what it sounds like, what will it look like? Will its appearance make the right sort of statement about its owner? Etc. And so it comes about that I was persuaded to spend £1,200 on a Stealth digital interconnect ( and yes, it made a very audible difference ) only to couple it straight onto signal cable of nondescript provenance and quality inside the devices it connects. Logic says that there is clearly widespread manufacture to a price point, rather than manufacture to the point of no easily available performance improvement. How much of that hard earned cash I parted with would in fact have been better spent on a systematic upgrade of the componentry in much less expensive devices ?
I wonder how many apparently mediocre or underperforming devices are out there which could be transformed simply by refactoring with top quality components. Additionally and conversely, I wonder how much a methodical approach to system tuning and maintenance will benefit my own listening. If this were a speaker based system thread I’d be going on about room coupling effects too…. How amazing is it to hear the benefit of reducing corner reflections and at such little cost in time and money !
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rowuk
Been here a while!
Pain in the ass, ex-patriot yank living in the land of sauerkraut
Posts: 1,011
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Post by rowuk on Oct 6, 2007 20:11:27 GMT
Bozzy, great post! Is it not a question of what you expect from your hi fi? If you define yourself with what you own, then there is certainly motivation to listen to the interconnect and not the musical instruments on display. If you have a fine system and it fits like an old shoe, then there is no hurry to destroy your joy of music by letting technology get in the way. Maybe more live concerts will show you that you are VERY close? The first step for me is to become more aquainted with the REAL thing and then you have a better grip on what to expect! Most live concerts that I go to (most often as the trumpet player on stage) have serious room mode issues..................... Imaging is also not that what we would expect from first rate hi fi either. Tell us what you have, there seems to be plenty of qualified opinions here!
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Oct 6, 2007 22:14:35 GMT
Bozzy
NICE !
SandyK
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Post by gns on Oct 7, 2007 0:24:23 GMT
Working as I do, in very confined space(s) (office at one end of the kitchen - workshop large enough for 1.5 men - my address IS Monks Way, and it seems I have to do everything the Monk's way...), although I'd like to do more with speakers (leading to a Slee power amp one day - just maybe...), I am stuck with a pair of JBL Control One "Xtreme" fixed to the wall in front of me using the supplied "ball and cup" brackets. I can't even sit at the "sweet-spot" being nearer the right speaker than the left. It is very much like a studio near-field monitor set-up done very badly. Your posting encouraged me to ask here, just how do I make this set-up better without having to sell our "matchbox brand" bungalow and mortgage myself up to the hilt thereby preventing me buying any more audio gear? I will also post this reply as the start of a new thread which is at rockgrotto.proboards39.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=m&thread=1191717434
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Oct 7, 2007 0:42:29 GMT
"my address IS Monks Way, and it seems I have to do everything the Monk's way...), " AREN'T MONKS CELIBATE ?
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Post by gns on Oct 7, 2007 1:48:48 GMT
"my address IS Monks Way, and it seems I have to do everything the Monk's way...), " AREN'T MONKS CELIBATE ? Rules are meant to be broken ;D the exception to the rule - and the result -
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Post by fanboi on Oct 7, 2007 2:35:55 GMT
Sounds like what you need is a good ecclesiastical outfitters - that should be the place a monk could change his habit at.
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Post by gns on Oct 7, 2007 2:56:58 GMT
Could you show me on the map where there is a good ecclesiastical outfitters please?
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Post by fanboi on Oct 7, 2007 5:11:12 GMT
The tall one in the diddle with a + on top rings a bell (should have a good acoustic for organ music too )
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Post by gns on Oct 7, 2007 12:32:17 GMT
Shit! Tried it - It's not only closed, there's only a few bloody ruins left. Looks like it's been well and truly raped and pillaged. Sodding Benedictines!
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Post by bozzy on Oct 7, 2007 13:01:07 GMT
Rowuk - thanks for reading. You asked what's in the system at the moment. Well, It changes only very occasionally - I believe that we "tune" "psycho-aurally" - i.e. we "learn" to listen to the system we posess, and that after a while, we mask or filter unpleasantries to some extent in the same way that we don't see double (most of the time), despite having two eyes - (most of us).
So here it is: Zu Druids, Zu Method sub, Zu mother power cables, Alner Hamblin power block, Zu IBIS speaker cables, Zu Varial interconnects, Edge G4 power amp, Aesthetix Calypso pre-amp, Accustic Arts Drive 1 Transport, Stealth digital Interconnect, Accustic Arts DAC 1.
Elsewhere, I have also a second system: Revox Exposure integrated amp, Tannoy Sensys bookshelf speakers, Zu Wax speaker cables, Zu Gedde interconnects, and have just received my BlueNote Stibbert CDP back from Bluenote. It is essentially this system to which I want to add the Grado GS1000's and the Green Solo - as it lives in a small property where I can make myself a nuisance very easily at the levels I like to listen at.
So far, the Grado's have been left running to burn in, but remain uninvolving and bland - not dynamic - when used from the headphones output on the Revox, whereas the little Tannoys, though coloured, never fail to please when driven by the same integrated amp.
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