Guest Posted August 4, 2005 Share Posted August 4, 2005 Just wondering how many of you migh be what my girlfriend disparagingly calls 'hifi geeks'? What systems you got? I got a pretty modest 2-channel system that I chose for for its ability to rock with psy trance, as well as do well with the many other types of music i listen to. Denon 2200 Universal Player QED Qnect3 NAD C352 QED Silver Anaversary Dynaudio Audience 52's (previously B&W 602 S3 which are great for trance) Rel Storm 5 It's a very neautral sounding system that majors in dynamic, digs deep, and has very extended but non fatiguing highs. Also plays very loud without compression does the imaging thing to a T. There are some qualities such as neutrality and timbral acuracy that become less important if one were putting together a system purely for electronic music. But I wouldnt want to do without these if I listened to any instrumental or vocal music. I'm intersted to hear what you guys listen you your music through. cheers b. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
X-scream Posted August 4, 2005 Share Posted August 4, 2005 I have a pair of semi-shabby ESI near 06 monitors.. very clear sound but it lacks on the lows (only goes down to ~55 Hz) so I'm considering buying some other. But they'll do for now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lumpi Posted August 4, 2005 Share Posted August 4, 2005 I´m no expert when it comes to audio equipment but I´m very satisfied with my setup consisting of: - NAD C370 (Amplifier) - NAD 541i (CD Player) - Infinity SW12 (Subwoofer) - 2x Infinity Alpha 50 - 2x Infinity Primus 200 that´s it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ormion Posted August 4, 2005 Share Posted August 4, 2005 A PC and two speakers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ukiro Posted August 4, 2005 Share Posted August 4, 2005 - NAD C370 (Amplifier) 308341[/snapback] I have this too. A fucking BEAST! =) I also have Focal/JM-Lab Cobalt 806 speakers on Atakama stands, Supra 3.4/S speaker cables, and a very outdated Onkyo CD player =( It was a test winner in its time, but it's very old by now. I would love a Pioneer DV668 player, because it takes SACD and DVD-A as well as having STELLAR CD audio performance. It's a eral bargain, that thing... but still, I can't afford it. I also have a pair of turntables and a mixer, but that's not hifi =) I have a pretty good Thoréns turntable for serious vinyl listening, but I have yet to replace the damn cartridge on it. EDIT: Listened to the Focal/JM-Lab Elektra limited edition bookshelf speakers recently, and while my Cobalts sound very nice, I now want new speakers for €2000 too =/ The sound characteristics of JM-Lab speakers are my absolute favourites, each time I get to compare them to other brands they win. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 4, 2005 Share Posted August 4, 2005 i second the NAD 370 as by the best budget amp for trance or hard rock. this thing takes no prisoners yet doesnt lack subtlty either. Rotel or Roksan might offer a runner up? Ukiro, you had a listen to Spendor floorstanders by any chance? this speaker sounds very interesting from what i've read, but have not been able to demo it. b Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deepdrone Posted August 4, 2005 Share Posted August 4, 2005 Home-made ampli 100W mono + 2x50W russian speakers But they do have great bass system Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
staffan Posted August 4, 2005 Share Posted August 4, 2005 hifigeek =)) yes... this is what i have. speakers: dynaudio audience 42 on soundcare superspikes and atakama stands. amp: micromega minimum a60. cd-player: teac vrds-7. turntable: pro-ject rpm6 with a grado gold cartridge. cables: ixos 1112, audioquest copperhead and qed silver 25th anniversary edition. will buy a new dac to the cd-player soon. a musical fidelity x-dac v.3... i think. my plans are always changing... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krell Posted August 5, 2005 Share Posted August 5, 2005 I am using the following. Speakers. QLN 612 - Which is a swedish brand, cost effective as hell - It uses 2 6½" for the mid, it has nice soft highs (not too bright) and a very deep 12" long throw woofer. Max continuous powerhandling is around 300-400 watts. Amplifier - For this I use the NAD C370, for a nice price, giving me 2*120 watts and nice dynamics... A Rodec might have been good as well - but I thought I needed more watts :-) Cables - For this I use Tara Labs, not the cheapers I could get, but not really that expensive either. Music is routed thru a Vestax PMC 270A Mixer which is fed by either Pioneer CDJ100s, SB Audigy or a Reloop Turntable (technics clone). So not that much hi-fi there. I also have 4 other QLN speakers, for when I finally get enough money so that I can buy a surround recever. For my place, this sound is far too massive - I need a house really... I cant crank the volume up that much, and 12" woofers are far more than what I need for my living room... Actually, just 2 6½ would be enough - Still, overall, its an excellent system and its not ridiculously expensive compared to what real audiophiles buy. If you are to buy a stereo, I would suggest you get a cheaper rodec or Nad amplifier, and B&W´s cheapers speakers. Either floor standing or not. This will suit you fine I think, unless you have a really big room to put it all in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 5, 2005 Share Posted August 5, 2005 ah yes, Hi-Geek .. I sign up on that too my modest setup: speakers: Quad 12L cables: no name stuff turntable: Rega P2 cd player+int.amp: some Yamaha combo acoustics: big carpet, 4 pc's of DIY broadbandabsorbers it sounds great whenever I'm not bothered what next I need to upgrade or tweak the Yamah combo is gettin quite old now, and is far from the same level as the speakers I reckon. lookin into buying a Rega combo (planet2000+mira3). what else? yeh maybe change speakers to more full-boodier floorstanders if I get a bigger room to play in. and, and .... it never ends =) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ukiro Posted August 5, 2005 Share Posted August 5, 2005 Ukiro, you had a listen to Spendor floorstanders by any chance? this speaker sounds very interesting from what i've read, but have not been able to demo it. 308482[/snapback] Nope, haven't heard them... I actually try to avoid hifi stores, since I don't have the money anyway =) I'll just grow frustrated and end up robbing a bank... And while the NAD C370 is specified to 2x120W, it can actually deliver 2x200! I don't have time to dig out the review with the numbers right now, but it's erally way moer powerful than the specifications say, as is usual with NAD... they always have a very big margin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 5, 2005 Share Posted August 5, 2005 ya, must agree about the wisdom of avoiding hifi stores. Upgraditis is a costly disease. reccomend you also avoid ebay. got suckered this week into an Arcam A85 with 7.1 multichannel board for 'only' £500. Sould be more refined than my Nad but i'm doubting it will rock more. Trance more than most benfits from power, and high current power at that. Ukiro, those 370 can also be bridged to make 300W/channel monoblocks. Could throw a nice house party with that! or how bout the Rotel 1080 at 2x200W for only $1000, or the 1090 at 2x380W into 8 ohms!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! only resonably priced amp i'd take over that might be a second hand Krell Kav integrated than could be picked up for about $1500 in some countries. stephan, that X-dac would be a good move. been eyeing out the benchmark dac, but am starting to think such a highly resolving front end might be a bit of an overkill for trance? thinking instead about a Naim cd player which are known for being kings of PRAT(pace, rythem and timing). This should inject a bit more excitement into my system than the more sterile Benchmark dac i think anyone new to hifi and needing some advice feel free to ask questions or email me. i'd feel good if i could talk another person out of spending there hard earned cash on a Bose Acoustimass setup. cheers b Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amphiton Posted August 5, 2005 Share Posted August 5, 2005 My father was an audiophile some time ago... so he had a nice equipment, I think: Technics SL-PS50 - CD Player Sherwood RX-4030R - Amplifier Kenwood KL-666X - 2*120W Speakers I couldn't find anything about those Kenwoods on the net, because they are from the 60's... but they sound like 'OMG!', diamonds! There also was an equalizer, 'Photon' - the ukrainian company, but he gave it to his friend who never returned it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lumpi Posted August 5, 2005 Share Posted August 5, 2005 i'd feel good if i could talk another person out of spending there hard earned cash on a Bose Acoustimass setup. 308998[/snapback] Haha LOL, yeah I once had one of these Acoustimass sets and OMG did they suck, that purchase was a major stupidity for sure. anyone new to hifi and needing some advice feel free to ask questions or email me. 308998[/snapback] I have a question indeed: Besides the C370 I have a C350 as well which is merely collecting dust atm. Is there a way to connect these two to relieve the C370 a bit? It´s getting pretty hot sometimes when I´m blasting full throttle. Any clue? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 6, 2005 Share Posted August 6, 2005 i dont think theres much you can do with the 350. if it had the same gain as the 370 and your speakers had two sets of binding posts you could do a passive bi-amp and use the 370 to drive the woofers and the 350 to drive the tweeters. you would just use the pre-outs on the 370 to the pwer-in on the 350. but i doubt the gains are the same, though i could be wrong. what i would try do is try sell the 350 and get a 270(or another 370) which is the power amp section from the 370 and bi-amp, or bridge them and use as monoblocks. however, most hifi speakers(depending on there sensitivity rating) wouldnt need more power than a 370 on its own can provide. i wouldnt worry about it getting a bit hot. provided its not shutting down or clipping, the extra power of another 270 might not be a noticed improvement. cheers b Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
travbrad1001 Posted August 6, 2005 Share Posted August 6, 2005 I'm a poor audiophile, so im really more of a 'wannabe' since i cant afford good stuff. I really like my headphones though, Sennheiser HD280s. They are very clear/crisp and are designed for mastering. They're great for psy since you can hear every little thing, stuff i had never heard before getting them. They basically make the music sound how it was meant to They're really loud too. My stereo kinda sucks (two 6 1/2" woofers with tweeters) so i don't use it much. I listen to most of my music on headphones or in my car (i have a pretty nice system, no subs though since they just make the music sound like crap/muffled) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lumpi Posted August 7, 2005 Share Posted August 7, 2005 i dont think theres much you can do with the 350. if it had the same gain as the 370 and your speakers had two sets of binding posts you could do a passive bi-amp and use the 370 to drive the woofers and the 350 to drive the tweeters. you would just use the pre-outs on the 370 to the pwer-in on the 350. but i doubt the gains are the same, though i could be wrong. what i would try do is try sell the 350 and get a 270(or another 370) which is the power amp section from the 370 and bi-amp, or bridge them and use as monoblocks. however, most hifi speakers(depending on there sensitivity rating) wouldnt need more power than a 370 on its own can provide. i wouldnt worry about it getting a bit hot. provided its not shutting down or clipping, the extra power of another 270 might not be a noticed improvement. cheers b 309340[/snapback] OK, now I see, thanks very much for your advice Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 21, 2005 Share Posted October 21, 2005 has anyone had the chance to hear Rega Ear (headphone amp)? I am on the verge to buy a second hand copy. would like to get some comments on this piece of equipment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qa2pir Posted October 21, 2005 Share Posted October 21, 2005 A sony personal CD system or whatever they call them, bought in -98. But it delivers. 3 times it has had some problems with the laser but right now it works perfectly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reger Posted October 21, 2005 Share Posted October 21, 2005 yeah, well, not much of an audiophile, though would enjoy... notebook with sound sennheiser hd-212pro Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frontier Psychiatrist Posted October 21, 2005 Share Posted October 21, 2005 PC M-Audio Audiophile 2496 Card M-Audio BX8a Amplified Sound Monitors AKG K-55 Headphones (Crap) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psyfi Posted October 22, 2005 Share Posted October 22, 2005 unfortunately i don't know much about hifi but i find my current system to be ok for me. this system was my first "real" hifi system bought back in uuummm when i was 16 or 18. before i only had one of those micro or compact hifi systems which suck donkey balls. Technics SA-EX 120 Amplifier/Reciever Sony DVD-NS 300 CD/DVD Player (used to have a fitting technics cd player too but my mum is using it now) Sony PS LX 350H turntable Ares Alpha 10 speaker (also used to have a technics tape recorder but it takes too much space and i don't listen to tape anymore) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin OOOD Posted October 22, 2005 Share Posted October 22, 2005 My listening system is my production system - Cambridge Arcam Alpha amp driving Richard Allan RA8 (mkI) infinite baffle speakers. I've tried a few amps but this one (30 watts a side, 20 years old if it's a day, bought from a junk shop for £20 including matching tuner [since given away]) is the second-best amp I've heard with my speakers, including a Cyrus Two. The best amp was a Quad 303 which had recently been recapped, with a home-made passive attenuator on the input to get an appropriate input level from the mixer. I want one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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