The kit we bought, our current setups

[Mart68]

Been after a new rack for a while, was fed up with having the Krell sat on the floor as just too wide to go in my existing stand.

it takes up some floor space which is not that big a deal, but it's on the route from kitchen to living room and I could visualise myself one day walking in with a beverage, stumbling, and dumping the lot into the top of the amp.

Had a look everywhere on the internet, spent hours on it, no joy. I wanted something that would fit the Krell, place the transport and pre-amp at around chest height, not look awful and not cost a fortune.

Yesterday went out a usual to get a bap for dinner. Next to the sandwich shop, which is in a row of industrial units, is a place called 'Stoke Sales.' No idea what they sell as there's no indication on the outside, no window, and it's always closed.

Anyway yesterday it was open and having a closing down sale so I took a peek inside and it turns out that it's a small furniture showroom. I spied a unit that looked to be perfect for what I wanted and it was on offer at thirty quid. So bought it on the spot and they delivered it about an hour later.

Not going to be to everybody's taste, I know, feel free to say so. But it does do all the things I wanted and at thirty quid delivered it was practically free:





The two draw units have a smooth action and are ideal for storing my CD overflow.

 

[JiiPee]

This may be a bit heretical viewpoint, but here's my current system in all its simplicity:

A Linn LP12, a Linn DS-I, and pair of System Audio Rangers. A DLNA-server running on QNAP is located in another room and connected via wifi.

The Linn DS-I may not represent current SOTA from audio science perspective, but I have tested couple of external streamer/DAC-combinations connected to Linn's digital input, and I could not detect an improvement in sound quality. The same happened when I tested couple of external power amplifiers connected to Linn's pre outs. I don't claim that my tests constitute any kind of scientific proof, or reveal any objective truths, but I think that the DS-I is good enough for my purposes.

My listening room is my living room, which is about 4m x 5,5m x 2,5m and in an apartment building. The Linn has easily enough power to drive the Rangers as loud as I want. I'm fairly sure that my neighbors would clip me before the amplifier would clip the sound.

What I like about the Rangers is that they respond quite nicely to placement. Approx. 35 cm in front of the wall as in the picture creates a slightly warm sound that I usually prefer, and pushing them approx. 15-20 cm forward gives me a bit more "analytical" sound for those recordings that benefit from it. Also, D'Appolito MTM-arrangement seems to work well in my room.

While my room is fairly small, it is probably not a total disaster from acoustics point of view - some heavily padded furniture, a rug on the floor, bookshelves full of books, the wall opposing to the speakers is a room divider made of chipboard etc... Anyway, my next acquisition is likely to be some kind of microphone and audio interface, so that I can measure what I've actually got..

 

[TheBatsEar]

An LDAP-server running on QNAP is located in another room and connected via wifi.

LDAP as in Lightweight Directory Access Protocol?

 

[JiiPee]

LDAP as in Lightweight Directory Access Protocol?

Oops - silly mistake. I meant DLNA of course in this context. (QNAP runs LDAP server too)

 

[Mart68]

Philips 280 'Black Tulip' pre-amplifier (slightly modded, gain has been reduced to be more compatible with CD player output levels and some caps and resistors replaced). Comes from the days when equipment looked purposeful and not like something to decorate a tart's boudoir.


facebook marketplace link

 

[Colin5619]

My stereo system below, but presently I use a Shanling UA2 Dac and KZ AST IEMs to listen to music. Stereo is in my closet.

 

[Doodski]

My stereo system below, but presently I use a Shanling UA2 Dac and KZ AST IEMs to listen to music. Stereo is in my closet.

Love that woodgrain. I'm a sucker for wood. It's so warm and organic.

 

[napfkuchen]

My stereo system below, but presently I use a Shanling UA2 Dac and KZ AST IEMs to listen to music. Stereo is in my closet.

Owned a Sheng Ya CD-S10 once, paired with Marantz PM 8000 and Kef XQ1 in red. Are these Sheng Ya or Vincent components? Awesome setup aesthetically! If I had the money then the preamp and poweramp of the same series would have been mine.

 

[TheBatsEar]

Comes from the days when equipment looked purposeful and not like something to decorate a tart's boudoir.

Check out the brutalist design of my Yamaha A-1020:

Designed to visually dominate any living room.

 

[Colin5619]

Owned a Sheng Ya CD-S10 once, paired with Marantz PM 8000 and Kef XQ1 in red. Are these Sheng Ya or Vincent components? Awesome setup aesthetically! If I had the money then the preamp and poweramp of the same series would have been mine.

ShengYa.

 

[Mart68]

Check out the brutalist design of my Yamaha A-1020:

Designed to visually dominate any living room.

Yamaha never made a bad-looking bit of kit.

 

[TheBatsEar]

Yamaha never made a bad-looking bit of kit.

You wouldn't call the Yamaha NS-20 good-looking without a few beers first:

Hmm, styrofoam open baffle woofers.

 

[TheBatsEar]

Just got a Yamaha NP-S2000 for 550€:

And a Yamaha A-S1000 for 600€:

I'll keep the NP-S2000 and add it to my A-S1200, T-S1000 and CD-S1000 collection. Took quite some time to get the complete set .

I'll sell the A-S1000 for maybe 700€.

What a nice saturday

 

[sarumbear]

You wouldn't call the Yamaha NS-20 good-looking without a few beers first:

Hmm, styrofoam open baffle woofers.

They went from that to this?

 

[TheBatsEar]

They went from that to this?

And then from that:

To that:

 

[freemansteve]

I resisted this, but, light the blue touch-paper....

Here is a wife-approved mid-Fi set up. Seat is 3.5m in front of fireplace. Ceiling is about 2.4m, average width of room is 4m (narrow by fireplace - it's granite behind that back wall, and to the right of the old green chair, no kidding), length 6m.

It just an Evo 75, B&W 606 V2 anniv., (with rear ports baffled of course), 2x qAcoustic 3060s (one behind chair), Austrian Audio HiX15 phones, cheapo Lenovo 7" tablet as a controller, and a small blue box with dental floss in it (not sonically critical, but you never know; best to be prepared). The RAID/NAS is in my office upstairs. For younger viewers, the objects on shelves are "CDs", some of my most played, but I'm "between CD players" right now.

There were "energetic discussions" about the existence of pretty much everything in the left alcove, shelves CDs etc, and the height of the bookshelf speakers. My wife insisted that they needed to be high enough to avoid injury - I argued against. She insisted I test them at "my" ideal height and her "safe" height. Fair enough - there was no difference, and I am still married.

 

[TheBatsEar]

View attachment 198743

https://www.reddit.com/r/TVTooHigh/.

 

[tedgeo]

My list:

1973 US

Sony TC-730 Reel to Reel Deck New
Teac AN-50 Dolby NR Unit Used
Garrard 301 Turntable Used
Sony PUA-286 Tone Arm Used
Sony VC-8E (x2) Phono Cartridge Used
Stanton 681EEE Phono Cartridge New
Pioneer SE-50 Headphones New
Kenwood KA-5500 Integrated Amp New
Kenwood KA-2002 Integrated Amp Used
Kenwood KA-1500 Integrated Amp Used
JBL L26 Speakers New

1979 US

Kenwood KR-3090 Receiver New
Pioneer RT-707 Reel to Reel Deck New
Realistic Minimus 7 Speakers New

1983 US

Technics RS-M270X Cassette Deck New
Akai AA-R22 Receiver New
Bose 901 Series III Speakers Used
Pioneer PL-320 Turntable New

1985 US

JBL 250 Ti Speakers New
Yamaha C2X Preamp New
Yamaha B2X Amp New
Yamaha YH-100 Headphones New
Yamaha KX-580 Cassette Deck New
Sony SL-HF600 Super Betamax VCR New
Sony PCM-501ES PCM New
Sony CDP-502ES CD New
Sony SEQ-333ES Equalizer New
DBX 400X Program Selector New
DBX 3BX III DR Expander New
DBX 120X Subharmonic Syth New
DBX 2015 Equalizer New
Carver C-9 Sonic Hologram New
Shure V-15 IV Phono Cartridge New
Technics SL-QL5 Turntable New
Audio Technica AT152LP Phono Cartridge New

1987 US

AR Stereo Remote Control Remote Control New
AR 570 Powered Partners Active Speakers New
Technics SL-XP7 CD Portable New

1990 US

Quicksilver KT-88 Monos Mono Amps New
Quicksilver Preamp Preamp New
Martin-Logan Monolith II Speakers Used
Martin-Logan CLS II Speakers Used
Koss ESP-950 Headphones New
Sony CDP-X7ESD CD New
Linn LK1 Preamp Used
Linn LK2 Amp Used
ADS T2 Tuner New
JBL Control 10 Speakers New
Meridian D600 Active Speakers Used
Meridian 200 CD CD Transport Used
Quad ESL-63 Speakers Used
Sunfire True Subwoofer Active Subwoofer New
Quad 77 Integrated Integrated Amp Used
Quad 405 Amp Used
Sony D-555 CD Portable New
Sony WM-D6C Cassette Portable New

2000 UK

Rega Mira Integrated Amp New
Rega Maia Amp New
Rega Planet CD New
Rega Radio Tuner New
Rega Jura Speakers New
Rega Ear Headphone Amp New
Sony MDR-F1 Headphones New
Celestion A1 Speakers New
Target R2 Speaker Stands Used
REL Storm III Active Subwoofer New
Celestion A3 Speakers New
Meridian 501 CD Used
Meridian 502 Preamp Used
Meridian 505 Monos Mono Amps Used

2002 UK

Sony MDS-JB930 Minidisc Deck New
Sony MZ-R900 Minidisc Portable New
Sony LISSA System (x2) Receiver/MD/CD New
Elac 310 Jet Speakers Used
Elac 310 Jet III Speakers New
Elac LS50 Stands Speaker Stands New
REL Q200E Active Subwoofer Used
Sharp SM-SX100 Amp New
Sharp SM-SX1 Amp New
Quad 303 Amp Used
Cyrus Pre Preamp New
Eclipse TD-512 Speakers Used
Eclipse D2 Stands Speaker Stands Used

2008 UK

Lyngdorf Millennium IV (x2) Integrated Amps Used

2012 UK

ATC SCM20ASL Pro Active Speakers New
ATC SCM25A Pro Active Speakers New
Eximus DP1 DAC/Pre New

2015 UK

Genelec M040 (x4) Active Speakers New
Loewe Airspeaker (x3) Airplay Speakers New
Libratone Lounge Airplay Speaker New

2019 UK (Current)

Genelec 8030C Active Speakers New
Genelec 7040A (x2) Active Subwoofer New
Behringer Monitor1 Passive Pre New
Apple USB C DAC (x2) DAC New
TC Electronic Level Pilot X Passive Pre New
TC Electronic Level Pilot C Passive Pre New

Hello from Greece ! Could you help me to decide which speakers may I use with Sharp SM-SX1 ? Thanks a lot !

 

[TheBatsEar]

Hello from Greece ! Could you help me to decide which speakers may I use with Sharp SM-SX1 ? Thanks a lot !

This one?

SM-SX1 Features and Specifications

Tell us about your room size, how loud you want to crank it, do you plan to use a subwoofer?

And welcome

 

[tedgeo]

Yes this one. I have a 25m2 room and i have tried mission 761, kef q3 and 2 days ago i tried quad 77-11L, but i'm not satisfied....any suggestions ?