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Do we get too caught up with gear to enjoy the music?


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2 minutes ago, MattyW said:

I reckon your gear would be pretty darn nice sounding.  You possibly a better trained ear too which may play into it :)

Hey....where do i see pics of ur current rig?

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Guest Eggcup The Daft
1 hour ago, crisis said:

1. Its a hobby. Guys hobbies are all about buying toys. Name it and there are toys.
 

2. There are some of us who like to make a point that the only thing that matters is the music.. Please.. Why are you even on this forum and not just listening to music?

 

I, like most of us, began this "hobby" because we wanted to hear music. My little National AM radio I inherited from my grandfather was my first piece of musical reproduction equipment. We also had a Goldentone record player but I was like, 6 or 7 years old and couldn't buy records. My father made himself a pair of speakers ( I have subsequently made many) and bought a Toshiba real to reel tape player. Another uncle had a variety of record players and records and my father taught me how to pirate music in my early years by recording my uncles albums.

 

Hi fidelity didn't bother me because I never knew how music could sound through a good system. Once I had heard what was possible I was on the slippery slope. My initial systems while satisfactory, never really hit the mark. I had been smitten. I lost my way for a time with kids and no dedicated room and domestic roadblocks but I recently had the opportunity to return to my quest. I am so happy with my current set up but am I still going to pursue "improvements"? Of course. I could set a limit and say once I have upgraded my cartridge, tonearm, phono amp and tweaked my turntable I will be satisfied. I'm not going to lie to myself. But being caught up in the gear is for me all (ok mostly) about enjoying the music.

 

No, it's not a hobby... well, not at its most basic. We can just buy a great system, set it up properly and listen to music.

It's a tool.

It becomes more only if we want/allow it to. I jumped off the upgrade bandwagon for my first 15 years in Australia, apart from a CD player replacement for a corpse. I've kind of let this place become a pastime because I have a limited something to offer.

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26 minutes ago, Happy said:

Hey....where do i see pics of ur current rig?

System 1... A bit blurry unfortunately

 

IMG_20180609_114818_HDR.thumb.jpg.b7327276657a91beb86b64f1351c9418.jpg

 

System 2:

 

IMG_20180624_163948_HDR.thumb.jpg.41467a1d8381edf4670b830b19b869f2.jpg

 

System 2 pic isn't fully up to date.  The Marantz CD63SE was replaced with a Shanling EC1B CD player and a Weilang Audio AKM 4497EQ DAC added :)

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Just now, Happy said:

@MattyW very nice...what speakers are they in system 1?

 

Those are Aurum Cantus F620 speakers sourced from the SNA classifieds. Fantastic speakers. Incredibly transparent. No real sound of their own. Very balanced top to bottom though less bass than the big Oatlon W2-1000F speakers downstairs. More air and sparkle at the top end though.

Just now, rantan said:

@MattyW

 

Nice looking systems mate. May I ask, is that a Schiit Saga pre amp connected to the copy Dartzeel?

Yes, a Schiit Saga with a RCA 6F8G smoked bottle tube in there. Running a mix of Litz copper and Van Damme silver plated copper RCA's :)

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13 minutes ago, MattyW said:

 

 

Yes, a Schiit Saga with a RCA 6F8G smoked bottle tube in there. Running a mix of Litz copper and Van Damme silver plated copper RCA's :)

 

hmm.

I am considering getting a Schiit Stack myself sometime and it is good to know the Litz cables work well. Are they from Geoff at Aurealis Audio ?

I have his Litz dragon ICs and his Litz speaker cable as well and won't be changing at all..
I am trying to work out if I want a Saga or Freya and if I want one or two Vidar power amps and a Mani phono stage.

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When I see an advanced turntable, I always wonder, does the owner only have discs that are the first 10 of the matrix?

You can not imagine how happy I was when the CD player came. The best record sound I had (have) was mono, it had dynamics !!

Turntables at the moment are probably the most because it looks sophisticated.
  I do not belong to those exotic in just this with discs.

 

A nice salesman told me what forces were in the record. He had no idea that if that was the case, that record could only be played once.
  Is not there any area that is spoken so much untrue as this or?

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1 hour ago, Eggcup The Daft said:

No, it's not a hobby... well, not at its most basic. We can just buy a great system, set it up properly and listen to music.

It's a tool.

But a fishing rod, golf stick, guitar, racing car, etc is a "tool". Except they are made pretty and alluring to suck us in. The only people for whom listening to music is not a hobby are those who listen through iPhone headphones to mp3 files or FM radio for background music. I have many friends who love music but have only the most rudimentary means of play back. They only need to hear it. Anyone who goes out of their way to seek "hi fidelity" and can utter the words "hi res" is an audiophile and for them it is a hobby.

1 hour ago, Eggcup The Daft said:

It becomes more only if we want/allow it to. I jumped off the upgrade bandwagon for my first 15 years in Australia, apart from a CD player replacement for a corpse. I've kind of let this place become a pastime because I have a limited something to offer.

hmmm. Ill take you at your word but you are unique.

There's nothing to be ashamed about being a gear-head though.

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I might have gone off on a one man tangent or rant -It can be like a powerful drug addiction, the chase for something else, the possible what if or will it sound or look better, when I personally hit 30 components- some good, some great and some not so i decided enough is enough and time to get on top of this and get back to the music, sna helps but also is part of the problem as its a 24 hour shop and feeding system for this addiction we call audiophilia, at the end of the day its about the music and capturing as much of the original magic as we can in our living rooms and deciphering the companies that tell us the newest greatest things are the greatest and that what we have is now out of date or we are missing out on something so much better, i am not trying to be profound just realistic and i just want to sit back and turn some boxes on and go wow and enjoy or forget that something might sound better. Something always sounds better...

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8 minutes ago, Happy said:

@MattyW how ya liking the oalton? Did u buy them from china new? What kind of coin?

 

Easily the best match I've had with my Oldchen KT88-K3. Deep and powerful bass, though nicely balanced. Very natural sounding top to bottom. A perfect choice for tube amps with its 50WRMS power handling at 4 ohms and 97db sensitivity.

7 minutes ago, rantan said:

 

hmm.

I am considering getting a Schiit Stack myself sometime and it is good to know the Litz cables work well. Are they from Geoff at Aurealis Audio ?

I have his Litz dragon ICs and his Litz speaker cable as well and won't be changing at all..
I am trying to work out if I want a Saga or Freya and if I want one or two Vidar power amps and a Mani phono stage.

Would be a nice pile of Schiit ;)

 

I've some Litz cables from Geoff and also some from Custom Canz in the UK. They've the same sound signature as Geoff's cables though are not as durable. I like the Litz where I want to add a little more body to the sound whereas the Van Damme silver plated copper has more extended highs.

 

I've not tried a Freya though the Saga sounds incredible and uses less space if that's a concern.

 

I did get a Modi 2 Multibit though didn't enjoy its sound at all. I find the Weilang Audio AKM 4497EQ DAC significantly more natural, and the Gieseler Gross DAC that bit better again.

 

The Weilang will need it's power supply replaced with a proper 240v transformer as it's 220v ones hum. Still, something of a bargain. I'd get that and replace the transformer over a Schiit DAC. :)

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46 minutes ago, MattyW said:

System 1... A bit blurry unfortunately

Very interesting indeed. How long did it take you to work out the exact positions of those various pieces of foam and plush on the floor? Did you use REW or just go by ear?

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1 minute ago, MattyW said:

 

Would be a nice pile of Schiit ;)

 

I've some Litz cables from Geoff and also some from Custom Canz in the UK. They've the same sound signature as Geoff's cables though are not as durable. I like the Litz where I want to add a little more body to the sound whereas the Van Damme silver plated copper has more extended highs.

 

I've not tried a Freya though the Saga sounds incredible and uses less space if that's a concern.

 

 

At this stage, I am likely to get  the Saga so that I can buy 2 Vidars and the Mani phono stage. The lower cost of the Saga will help fit the second Vidar into my budget. I would also do a tube swap immediately on the Saga. I just hope they are willing to talk turkey on pricing.

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8 minutes ago, Steffen said:

Very interesting indeed. How long did it take you to work out the exact positions of those various pieces of foam and plush on the floor? Did you use REW or just go by ear?

Lol. You mean my puppy, his bed and toys?:)

 

I don't run EQ. All rugs etc are about WAF except the one with my main system.  Had to put our cow skin rug away as the puppy kept using it as his toilet. 

Edited by MattyW
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6 minutes ago, rantan said:

At this stage, I am likely to get  the Saga so that I can buy 2 Vidars and the Mani phono stage. The lower cost of the Saga will help fit the second Vidar into my budget. I would also do a tube swap immediately on the Saga. I just hope they are willing to talk turkey on pricing.

Won't you need the Freya if you want to run Vidar monoblocks? you can only monoblock them from the balanced inputs:

 

 
Quote

 

Stereo or Mono Flexibility
Combine Vidar with a single-ended preamp like Saga for a complete system with insane, no-compromise performance—for just a little over a grand. Or, run two Vidars from a preamp with balanced outputs (like our Freya) for true monoblock performance and 400 watts per channel into 8 ohms.


 

 

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G’day Folks.  I have some time to spare, waiting for the weather to clear and get some work done (gardening).

I don’t engage with these threads too often, I did post on ‘My System this morning’ a while back, and after reading through that thread I was almost reluctant to post.  I admire and respect the high end gear I see on this forum, but made a decision not to get hooked or envious.

I am a fringe dweller with little income, but I have been debt free for just over 20 years.  For many of those I didn’t even have a bank account.  If I can’t save for something, I don’t need it.  If I had the resources though, I would probably upgrade a little, (new Turntable).  I personally can’t justify buying a new car over a used one, and it’s the same with Hi Fi gear, adhering to the point that the price drops as soon as you drive it off the lot.  Having said that, I would probably buy a ‘new’, or ‘near new’ Turntable.

The only gear I bought new was a pair of Harman/Logan Bass Reflex speakers about 12 months ago, which at first I had trouble adjusting to.  I was advised on the Vinyl Engine forum to persist and let them settle in, great advice as I now love them.  All my other gear was given to me or bought from Op Shops.  I have had minor repairs done to some speakers and my Optonica amp, and will continue to repair, rather than replace whatever I can.  You can see all my gear listed below.

I returned to my records just over a year ago.  It was a bit of a mission to get it sounding right (for me), and I did get a little frustrated, so I can definitely relate to finding a better sound.  Setting the Turntable up correctly was the first step and adding an Ortofon 10, speaker placement was the second, and washing my records was the third.

I grew up listening to my dad’s classical albums on a Pioneer system, which sounded great.  I started buying Heavy Rock and Metal as a teen, Kiss ‘Dynasty’ was my first, so I am no audiophile.  But, I’ve been to a lot of gigs and clubbing for a few years and know how music should sound.  I always check out the gear at any event, I love to see the equipment used.

I am proud of my ‘cheap’ system, which I refer to as the ‘Cosmic Rig’, and very content with the music I hear.  I am able to notice the difference with sub-standard releases, being stung with a couple of re-issues.  Quality Vinyl pressings such as Fleetwood Mac, Classical, and many others, also stand out. 

Recently I have been listening to a lot of youtube music as the bank balance is woeful at the moment, and I do like to hear fresh (for me) music.  Most of them sound great on the rig.  I rarely listen to any mp3’s now, after listening to my records again, as I definitely notice the inferior quality.

Another piece of advice I was given on Vinyl Engine was to enjoy the journey.

I’ve reached my destination and enjoy the satisfaction of having music that I want to listen to.   I have been posting a lot on the ‘Currently Spinning’ threads, finding new artists and albums and sharing what I have and discover.

Let the music play!!!

Cheers Big Ears, Ant.

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On 10/12/2017 at 12:15 AM, Gremrock said:

Sitting here after a few beers on a dreary night with the main system in pieces, replaced by loaned gear and unplugged anyway due to stormy weather.

Just playing random cd-ripped WAV tracks through Wifi into an Airport Express to a Marantz 5.1 amp and sub $2k Jamo's and just really enjoying the music. Get to thinking about how much i've spent on the main system and almost wondering why? Yes it's better, it's more accurate, it's cleaner and far more impressive to show off, but does it get to a point you go too far and find yourself searching for improvements instead of just trying to make the most of what you already have? 

 

Am I the only person who thinks about this from time to time or am I not alone?

 

"Do we get too caught up with gear to enjoy the music?"

 

Hell no! I love getting caught up in the gear. For me, its a real journey. I love my bits and bobs, and my tweaking. And experimenting. For me it is a "hobby".

 

I can't wait to play some new album that I've just bought to see how it sounds and to discover the inner bliss of the music. They go hand in hand.  

 

Since getting back into vinyl about ten years ago, I've expanded my musical horizons ten fold plus. The better the system has sounded the more music I want to play and enjoy on it! 

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Not sure we get too involved with the gear as in obsessed, .....but here on this forum it is made WAY too easy to keep climbing the gear ladder and upgrading.

Thank goodness my finance minister is onboard.

The ? music is the reason we buy the gear , round and round you go, where you get off....whose to know, just enjoy the ride. You are a long time on the other side “pushing up daisies “ ?

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3 hours ago, Mr 57 said:

Not sure we get too involved with the gear as in obsessed, .....but here on this forum it is made WAY too easy to keep climbing the gear ladder and upgrading.

Thank goodness my finance minister is onboard.

The ? music is the reason we buy the gear , round and round you go, where you get off....whose to know, just enjoy the ride. You are a long time on the other side “pushing up daisies “ ?

@Mr 57

 

I agree.

I do not consider that the upgrading and the listening to the music through my system are mutually exclusive.  They go together.  Upgrading if strategically planned and affordable will ultimately result in an elevated music experience listening outcome.

 

All music, regardless of its forms, is art and like all art it is an intrinsic, profound and emotional experience for all human beings.  Listening to music for me is about the beauty of the human spirit and pleasure.  The better the quality of the musical sound, the better the pleasure and emotional experience.  Listening to one’s system will never be the equivalent of the nirvana of a live performance for a number of reasons.  For me the objective is to get as close to nirvana as I can taking into account relative affordability.  Naturally, affordability will be different for everybody.

 

I have come to audio in recent years and still have much to learn.  Nevertheless, over the past few years I have proceeded through the cycle of upgrading to achieve the end game objective of enhancing my listening and emotional pleasure.  The upgrading was not for the sake of just upgraditis.  I have made a few mistakes but most of my upgrades have been beneficial.

 

I am now just a few weeks into my sixth amplifier upgrade in seven years. Wonderful.   Each time I say this is the end.  However, I now know that there is always more even though the law of diminishing returns becomes more significant.  Bring on the upgrades and the music.  The former improves the later.

 

John

Edited by Assisi
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