Welcome New Members to ASR, introduce yourself here.

[xanalog]

Know very little but we've just bought a condo that is half glass with 14+ foot ceilings and hardwood floors and looking to see what I can do for whole house sound. Looking forward to learning more.

Welcome aboard, @zoomnbyu,

That 14 foot, recessed, pentagon ceiling may present a challenge. At least, it is not domed.

 

[Gio-G]

Hello all,
This is my first post. I'm quite out of my depth here and have been slightly hesitant to post up but I have enjoyed lurking and I've sent a few direct messages to forum members and received nice responses.

I built my system slowly and experimented with various amps, preamps and speakers. I completed the build back in the late 1900's, 1999 to be exact.
I've been very happy with the equipment, however, it is aging and I've recently replaced my preamp. Whatever I get from here out will be the "end game" gear.
I'm debating on a possible speaker upgrade/change but I also like the simplicity of what I have and may consider refurbishing some parts of the speakers if it can be done.

The speakers that I have are NHT 3.3s. My favorite part about them is the bass response without subs.

I am interested in Perlisten R7T's, and I think I'd have to also buy two R12s Subs or maybe the R10s subs for a little less if they still can match the NHT's bass.

I know nothing about crossovers or sub integration. The preamp is pure analog so I don't benefit from anything digital or any room correction options. I don't know if it has been measured here but I've seen favorable reviews here on the BP-25 I had prior to changing.

I wasn't going to go too in-depth with my equipment but in case anybody has thoughts I'll list my fairly simple system.

California Audio Lads CL-10 CD player. (I'm CD only and won't be changing at this point).

Bryston BP-19 Preamp. That's my newest addition. It replaced a Bryston BP-25.

Bryston 7B-ST mono block amps.

Speakers mentioned above.

The room.

I'm open to any thoughts or experience with the NHT's or the Perlisten gear I mentioned.

That was a longer intro/first post than I had planned but Amir told me I had to get a few posts and responses to threads up or the board will think I'm a bot so this is #1.

Thanks for looking.


Edit:
If there is a more appropriate area for this please move it there. It is my intro but I did hint around about speakers and would discuss them further.

 

[Soundproof]

Never too old to be a newbie. Or resurrected?

Been a reader for a while / a couple of years, having stumbled upon the site in search for a way out of the sphere of euphoric hailing of questionable products.

Not that often analytical in my listening (indeed appreciate the opportunity though) , thus I am rather convinced the path to my preferred "mood-guided pleasant sound" is the narrow one chosen by you guys. I use Qobuz whilst being a tad ambivalent. Thin on some genres, and there is some potential of improvement for the apps. What I DO like is that they are not forcefeeding me with more of the same - especially when I accidentally have listened to something really not up my ally. I like exploring new and old music with Qobuz.

The first true hifi gear I heard was the then still available 25W Ottala amp (Electrocompaniet), the beyond budget grail was Quad 63 ESL speakers, and the most memorable listening experience was with Stax (SR-001 I believe) and a Rotel source. Made me understand what's possible and what it was all about. Yeah that long ago, then "the lost years" or dark ages more like it, with Stax back in my mind as THE reference whenever anyone claimed great sound. Yeah, right....

My listening space is awkward as I can't cover all bases - use it with the telly, pure listening, and covering the entire room with pleasant sound messing about. Aesthetics is a little devil too, discression appreciated with no need for prestige, am a budget guy anyway.

As far as the ideas around gear and getting the right stuff on a budget, getting it right in first place saves a ton of cash. And I believe this community have rescued me from quite a few mishaps. Better spend a wee bit more getting it right than waste cash on bummers. Not vaccinated though, I have a Topping DX1 II coming from China. Had decided to get a DX5 II to cover my workspace head-fi needs, and therefore aware of the potential caveats. Believe they will get it right tuning the firmware eventually. I need 2 inputs, USB C from the Mac and optical for my Dab+ radio. Have decided to go balanced 4.4 as standard for all headgear including IEM, right now it looks like Sennheiser HD 650 as soon as I get the DX1 II, then probably Truthear Zero II Crinacle or Pure. Or Hane.

I share what seems to be the consensus on cables, nothing to gain from anything better than good. For instance, given the cables are sufficiently shielded and has quality plugs, I fail to picture any rational reason for spending thousands on USB cables. If the ones and zeroes leaving the source arrives timely and in the same order, there cannot be any impact upon sound.

Having done some homework, I will most likely order custom head-fi cables from Tyler, Texas - Hart Audiocables. Given they turn out as fully expected, Hart will be my only source both for IEM and over head cables. Considered Arachne Audio for HD650, but only braided cables available for the HD650 it seems.

As far as the rest goes, I haven't yet landed, believe the clever budget choice would be Ascilab F6B(s), Arendal 1961 S Subwoofer and SMSL AL400, but I am also drawn towards Arendal 1961 Monitors and 1S sub or 1961 towers without sub. That would tease me into Purify ET 6525 SA, either by Apollon which as far as I can establish is the better option, or building monoblocks myself, with boxes from Modushop and buffers from Neurochrome using Neutrik for connections/power. The snowball rolls, but I got to keep it sober. QED XT40 speaker cables I think, Inakustik for the rest.

Being one of these guys who dislike a lot of cables floating around, I have even less affection for Bluetooth, and am moving away from that best as I can. The DX1 II has no bluetooth, it has USB C for input AND power. Miss front USB C though, that would have been nice. Otherwise it has all the features I need/want including PEQ. I am in favour of standarising with USB C, including power for any device able to perform normally with it.

Also in the pipline, a Non-Android/Bluetooth non-streaming DAP with PEQ for IEM. I have to construct some trouble for myself to maintain my research skills

Anyway, I am not really of humble nature (sorry), but I am well aware of my limited technical and electronics knowledge, and the reason for signing up is that you guys know way way WAY more than I do in this field. I like that - people who knows more than me. Thanks!

 

[antcollinet]

Never too old to be a newbie. Or resurrected?

Been a reader for a while / a couple of years, having stumbled upon the site in search for a way out of the sphere of euphoric hailing of questionable products.

Not that often analytical in my listening (indeed appreciate the opportunity though) , thus I am rather convinced the path to my preferred "mood-guided pleasant sound" is the narrow one chosen by you guys. I use Qobuz whilst being a tad ambivalent. Thin on some genres, and there is some potential of improvement for the apps. What I DO like is that they are not forcefeeding me with more of the same - especially when I accidentally have listened to something really not up my ally. I like exploring new and old music with Qobuz.

The first true hifi gear I heard was the then still available 25W Ottala amp (Electrocompaniet), the beyond budget grail was Quad 63 ESL speakers, and the most memorable listening experience was with Stax (SR-001 I believe) and a Rotel source. Made me understand what's possible and what it was all about. Yeah that long ago, then "the lost years" or dark ages more like it, with Stax back in my mind as THE reference whenever anyone claimed great sound. Yeah, right....

My listening space is awkward as I can't cover all bases - use it with the telly, pure listening, and covering the entire room with pleasant sound messing about. Aesthetics is a little devil too, discression appreciated with no need for prestige, am a budget guy anyway.

As far as the ideas around gear and getting the right stuff on a budget, getting it right in first place saves a ton of cash. And I believe this community have rescued me from quite a few mishaps. Better spend a wee bit more getting it right than waste cash on bummers. Not vaccinated though, I have a Topping DX1 II coming from China. Had decided to get a DX5 II to cover my workspace head-fi needs, and therefore aware of the potential caveats. Believe they will get it right tuning the firmware eventually. I need 2 inputs, USB C from the Mac and optical for my Dab+ radio. Have decided to go balanced 4.4 as standard for all headgear including IEM, right now it looks like Sennheiser HD 650 as soon as I get the DX1 II, then probably Truthear Zero II Crinacle or Pure. Or Hane.

I share what seems to be the consensus on cables, nothing to gain from anything better than good. For instance, given the cables are sufficiently shielded and has quality plugs, I fail to picture any rational reason for spending thousands on USB cables. If the ones and zeroes leaving the source arrives timely and in the same order, there cannot be any impact upon sound.

Having done some homework, I will most likely order custom head-fi cables from Tyler, Texas - Hart Audiocables. Given they turn out as fully expected, Hart will be my only source both for IEM and over head cables. Considered Arachne Audio for HD650, but only braided cables available for the HD650 it seems.

As far as the rest goes, I haven't yet landed, believe the clever budget choice would be Ascilab F6B(s), Arendal 1961 S Subwoofer and SMSL AL400, but I am also drawn towards Arendal 1961 Monitors and 1S sub or 1961 towers without sub. That would tease me into Purify ET 6525 SA, either by Apollon which as far as I can establish is the better option, or building monoblocks myself, with boxes from Modushop and buffers from Neurochrome using Neutrik for connections/power. The snowball rolls, but I got to keep it sober. QED XT40 speaker cables I think, Inakustik for the rest.

Being one of these guys who dislike a lot of cables floating around, I have even less affection for Bluetooth, and am moving away from that best as I can. The DX1 II has no bluetooth, it has USB C for input AND power. Miss front USB C though, that would have been nice. Otherwise it has all the features I need/want including PEQ. I am in favour of standarising with USB C, including power for any device able to perform normally with it.

Also in the pipline, a Non-Android/Bluetooth non-streaming DAP with PEQ for IEM. I have to construct some trouble for myself to maintain my research skills

Anyway, I am not really of humble nature (sorry), but I am well aware of my limited technical and electronics knowledge, and the reason for signing up is that you guys know way way WAY more than I do in this field. I like that - people who knows more than me. Thanks!

Watcha!

Nice to see you.

 

[MattHooper]

Hello all,
This is my first post. I'm quite out of my depth here and have been slightly hesitant to post up but I have enjoyed lurking and I've sent a few direct messages to forum members and received nice responses.

I built my system slowly and experimented with various amps, preamps and speakers. I completed the build back in the late 1900's, 1999 to be exact.
I've been very happy with the equipment, however, it is aging and I've recently replaced my preamp. Whatever I get from here out will be the "end game" gear.
I'm debating on a possible speaker upgrade/change but I also like the simplicity of what I have and may consider refurbishing some parts of the speakers if it can be done.

The speakers that I have are NHT 3.3s. My favorite part about them is the bass response without subs.

I am interested in Perlisten R7T's, and I think I'd have to also buy two R12s Subs or maybe the R10s subs for a little less if they still can match the NHT's bass.

I know nothing about crossovers or sub integration. The preamp is pure analog so I don't benefit from anything digital or any room correction options. I don't know if it has been measured here but I've seen favorable reviews here on the BP-25 I had prior to changing.

I wasn't going to go too in-depth with my equipment but in case anybody has thoughts I'll list my fairly simple system.

California Audio Lads CL-10 CD player. (I'm CD only and won't be changing at this point).

Bryston BP-19 Preamp. That's my newest addition. It replaced a Bryston BP-25.

Bryston 7B-ST mono block amps.

Speakers mentioned above.

The room.

I'm open to any thoughts or experience with the NHT's or the Perlisten gear I mentioned.

That was a longer intro/first post than I had planned but Amir told me I had to get a few posts and responses to threads up or the board will think I'm a bot so this is #1.

Thanks for looking.


Edit:
If there is a more appropriate area for this please move it there. It is my intro but I did hint around about speakers and would discuss them further.

Man those NHT 3.3s I’ve always been one of the craziest looking speakers in terms of their depth. There’s another forum member who owns them as well.

My only experience was auditioning those speakers I think sometime in the late 90s.
And as I’ve mentioned before, aside from the generally excellent sonic characteristics - tight imaging and deep punchy bass - I’ll never forget what it felt like being seated, not too far from them, peering down the depth of those speakers. It was like a canyon or a trench in the death star and I kept imagining Luke Skywalker’s X-Wing making an appearance around the corner.

 

[Gio-G]

Man those NHT 3.3s I’ve always been one of the craziest looking speakers in terms of their depth. There’s another forum member who owns them as well.

My only experience was auditioning those speakers I think sometime in the late 90s.
And as I’ve mentioned before, aside from the generally excellent sonic characteristics - tight imaging and deep punchy bass - I’ll never forget what it felt like being seated, not too far from them, peering down the depth of those speakers. It was like a canyon or a trench in the death star and I kept imagining Luke Skywalker’s X-Wing making an appearance around the corner.

I love Mr. Hooper. a 1975 classic.

Thanks for the warm welcome!

I sent this (below post) to Tineared who I think is the member you are referring to. I am quite unqualified to post here judging by the very experienced members that are on the forum but I came here because of the common sense and I first found this board because of a YouTube post of Amir's about the whole cable/poer cord BS in the hifi world. How refreshing to see that.

This was my huge "veil lifted" mod for the NHT 3.3s that I pulled off yesterday.

I love these speaker but I don't know how they measure. The only speakers that I think would possibly be an upgrade for my situation would be Perlisten R7Ts with two R12s subs. But even if I did that, I don't think I could ever part with these NHTs. I got them for $4300 in 1999 and I can't find anything with the nice solid bass these have in one package. I'm a simple 2 channel listener with Bryston equipment. I'll likely stay with Bryston but I like what I see in the new Class D stuff.




This first picture is not mine. I believe it is a 2.9 speaker, even still, both of my acoustic foam diffraction strips were rotting in the same manner.

I ordered a 20FT, yep 20 feet of it was the smallest size I could get of this F13 felt. I cut 9" strips and used a Dremel tool to try to sand down some of the jagged areas near the cut.

After the messy job of using denatured alcohol to break down the prior adhesive, I cleaned up the faces and popped these adhesive backed felt strips on. I used painters tape to mark the lines so I could place the strips back in the same area. The trick is to place the new strips toward the inside by the drivers. The foam was 1 1/4 inches wide and the felt is only an inch wide. The felt is 1/2" thick which seemed thicker than my rotting foam.

Things turned out pretty nice.
I was pleasantly surprised by the sound changes. Ken Kantor of NHT did say the foam was important for early reflections, and I find the felt to be a better option although I'm comparing the felt to degraded 28 year old foam.

PS: you can't see the strips through the grill covers, and the "isolation feet" under my gear are only for bling purposes and ease of cleaning underneath the equipment!
Also, in 1999, I was given the Transparent speaker cables from the dealer I bought my first system from. They were demo models and I asked about them so they threw them in. I have them so I guess I'll keep them but I'd never buy anything other than what is typically recommended here.

Anyhow, thanks for the welcome and I'll see you and others around the forums.

 

[MattHooper]

I love Mr. Hooper. a 1975 classic.

Thanks for the warm welcome!

I sent this (below post) to Tineared who I think is the member you are referring to. I am quite unqualified to post here judging by the very experienced members that are on the forum but I came here because of the common sense and I first found this board because of a YouTube post of Amir's about the whole cable/poer cord BS in the hifi world. How refreshing to see that.

This was my huge "veil lifted" mod for the NHT 3.3s that I pulled off yesterday.

I love these speaker but I don't know how they measure. The only speakers that I think would possibly be an upgrade for my situation would be Perlisten R7Ts with two R12s subs. But even if I did that, I don't think I could ever part with these NHTs. I got them for $4300 in 1999 and I can't find anything with the nice solid bass these have in one package. I'm a simple 2 channel listener with Bryston equipment. I'll likely stay with Bryston but I like what I see in the new Class D stuff.




This first picture is not mine. I believe it is a 2.9 speaker, even still, both of my acoustic foam diffraction strips were rotting in the same manner.

I ordered a 20FT, yep 20 feet of it was the smallest size I could get of this F13 felt. I cut 9" strips and used a Dremel tool to try to sand down some of the jagged areas near the cut.

After the messy job of using denatured alcohol to break down the prior adhesive, I cleaned up the faces and popped these adhesive backed felt strips on. I used painters tape to mark the lines so I could place the strips back in the same area. The trick is to place the new strips toward the inside by the drivers. The foam was 1 1/4 inches wide and the felt is only an inch wide. The felt is 1/2" thick which seemed thicker than my rotting foam.

Things turned out pretty nice.
I was pleasantly surprised by the sound changes. Ken Kantor of NHT did say the foam was important for early reflections, and I find the felt to be a better option although I'm comparing the felt to degraded 28 year old foam.

PS: you can't see the strips through the grill covers, and the "isolation feet" under my gear is only for bling purposes and ease of cleaning underneath the equipment!
Also, in 1999, I was given the Transparent speaker cables from the dealer I bought my first system from. They were demo models and I asked about them so they threw them in. I have them so I guess I'll keep them but I'd never buy anything other than what is typically recommended here.

Anyhow, thanks for the welcome and I'll see you and others around the forums.

Good job!

The ASR member who owns 3.3’s that I was thinking of is @SIY

He has owned the 3.3 for many years and I believe he even modified his pair. He is very knowledgable and if you want any insight into the NHTs he’s the one to ask.,

 

[Gio-G]

Good job!

The ASR member who owns 3.3’s that I was thinking of is @SIY

He has owned the 3.3 for many years and I believe he even modified his pair. He is very knowledgable and if you want any insight into the NHTs he’s the one to ask.,

Perfect.
I very much appreciate that recommendation.

I will message that member about upgrading or anything that might improve what I have.

I don’t think I have issues but I had considered updating the Caps. But I have read that is not necessary usually.
I was also wondering about Ferrofluid but I think it is probably fine.

If not broken don’t fix.

 

[MAB]

I love Mr. Hooper. a 1975 classic.

Thanks for the warm welcome!

I sent this (below post) to Tineared who I think is the member you are referring to. I am quite unqualified to post here judging by the very experienced members that are on the forum but I came here because of the common sense and I first found this board because of a YouTube post of Amir's about the whole cable/poer cord BS in the hifi world. How refreshing to see that.

This was my huge "veil lifted" mod for the NHT 3.3s that I pulled off yesterday.

I love these speaker but I don't know how they measure. The only speakers that I think would possibly be an upgrade for my situation would be Perlisten R7Ts with two R12s subs. But even if I did that, I don't think I could ever part with these NHTs. I got them for $4300 in 1999 and I can't find anything with the nice solid bass these have in one package. I'm a simple 2 channel listener with Bryston equipment. I'll likely stay with Bryston but I like what I see in the new Class D stuff.




This first picture is not mine. I believe it is a 2.9 speaker, even still, both of my acoustic foam diffraction strips were rotting in the same manner.

I ordered a 20FT, yep 20 feet of it was the smallest size I could get of this F13 felt. I cut 9" strips and used a Dremel tool to try to sand down some of the jagged areas near the cut.

After the messy job of using denatured alcohol to break down the prior adhesive, I cleaned up the faces and popped these adhesive backed felt strips on. I used painters tape to mark the lines so I could place the strips back in the same area. The trick is to place the new strips toward the inside by the drivers. The foam was 1 1/4 inches wide and the felt is only an inch wide. The felt is 1/2" thick which seemed thicker than my rotting foam.

Things turned out pretty nice.
I was pleasantly surprised by the sound changes. Ken Kantor of NHT did say the foam was important for early reflections, and I find the felt to be a better option although I'm comparing the felt to degraded 28 year old foam.

PS: you can't see the strips through the grill covers, and the "isolation feet" under my gear is only for bling purposes and ease of cleaning underneath the equipment!
Also, in 1999, I was given the Transparent speaker cables from the dealer I bought my first system from. They were demo models and I asked about them so they threw them in. I have them so I guess I'll keep them but I'd never buy anything other than what is typically recommended here.

Anyhow, thanks for the welcome and I'll see you and others around the forums.

Those are tremendous speakers. Nice clean setup.

Your mod looks great, just the ticket to replace the old rotted material.

The Bryston gear is great. I posted a test of some 30 year old Bryston gear, plus a pair of their 7B-ST monoblocks. They are amazing. You really don't need anything else.

 

[Soundproof]

Watcha!

Nice to see you.

Likewise

The collective and individual competence of this community is flabbergasting.

 

[PristineSound]

Hello all,
This is my first post. I'm quite out of my depth here and have been slightly hesitant to post up but I have enjoyed lurking and I've sent a few direct messages to forum members and received nice responses.

I built my system slowly and experimented with various amps, preamps and speakers. I completed the build back in the late 1900's, 1999 to be exact.
I've been very happy with the equipment, however, it is aging and I've recently replaced my preamp. Whatever I get from here out will be the "end game" gear.
I'm debating on a possible speaker upgrade/change but I also like the simplicity of what I have and may consider refurbishing some parts of the speakers if it can be done.

The speakers that I have are NHT 3.3s. My favorite part about them is the bass response without subs.

I am interested in Perlisten R7T's, and I think I'd have to also buy two R12s Subs or maybe the R10s subs for a little less if they still can match the NHT's bass.

I know nothing about crossovers or sub integration. The preamp is pure analog so I don't benefit from anything digital or any room correction options. I don't know if it has been measured here but I've seen favorable reviews here on the BP-25 I had prior to changing.

I wasn't going to go too in-depth with my equipment but in case anybody has thoughts I'll list my fairly simple system.

California Audio Lads CL-10 CD player. (I'm CD only and won't be changing at this point).

Bryston BP-19 Preamp. That's my newest addition. It replaced a Bryston BP-25.

Bryston 7B-ST mono block amps.

Speakers mentioned above.

The room.

I'm open to any thoughts or experience with the NHT's or the Perlisten gear I mentioned.

That was a longer intro/first post than I had planned but Amir told me I had to get a few posts and responses to threads up or the board will think I'm a bot so this is #1.

Thanks for looking.


Edit:
If there is a more appropriate area for this please move it there. It is my intro but I did hint around about speakers and would discuss them further.

Welcome to the forum.

If you like bass, adding subwoofers with any new speakers will be the way to go.

 

[Gio-G]

Welcome to the forum.

If you like bass, adding subwoofers with any new speakers will be the way to go.

I think IF I decide to move into anything new on the speaker front the Perlisten R7ts and probably two R12s subs would be my first choice. I did look at some of the Arendal stuff and the SVS stuff as well but I think Perlisten seems fitting and should be a nice step up from the NHT speakers. I'll have to audition a few things in the coming 6 months.
The Genelic stuff looks great but I'll probably stick with the passive speakers and may just keep these NHTs right where they're at. My little repair/upgrade seems to have tamed some reflections and they have huge bass.
I suppose I'm beyond the "intro phase" here.

If this needs to be moved to another area, apologies and feel free to move it.

 

[PristineSound]

I think IF I decide to move into anything new on the speaker front the Perlisten R7ts and probably two R12s subs would be my first choice. I did look at some of the Arendal stuff and the SVS stuff as well but I think Perlisten seems fitting and should be a nice step up from the NHT speakers. I'll have to audition a few things in the coming 6 months.
The Genelic stuff looks great but I'll probably stick with the passive speakers and may just keep these NHTs right where they're at. My little repair/upgrade seems to have tamed some reflections and they have huge bass.
I suppose I'm beyond the "intro phase" here.

If this needs to be moved to another area, apologies and feel free to move it.

You can never go wrong with Perlisten, except for your wallet

There is just something uncanny with them.

 

[Gio-G]

You can never go wrong with Perlisten, except for your wallet

There is just something uncanny with them.

Indeed that seems to be a widely shared view. I am looking forward to auditioning their speakers in the future. The R7Ts with two subs seems to make the most sense as far a value goes in my situation. I'd love the Black Edition S7Ts but I'm not going head to head with my wife on any of that. 17K is probably where the R7Ts and R12s subs sit as a purchase. I'll probably re-do our whole bedroom, ceiling to floor with new furnishings to make everybody happy.

 

[Jojjelito]

Hi all,

Been a reader/lurker here for years, but decided to cave in and get registered since I wanted access to tools that will let me spruce up my first ever CD player, my trusty old Denon DCD-1420. It needs new belts, new optics and a quick check with an oscilloscope to be fresh again.

I’m an AV guy at heart, so the main rig is using a Denon AVR-4310. It’s still stuck in the HDMI 1.3 1080P world, so the plan is to update. I’m a total gear head.
The TV is a 65” LG OLED, looking to get upsized. My speakers are mostly B&W 600 S2 series, plus Monitor Audio Silver RSFX for side channel duties. An upgrade to Atmos and more subs is planned. The rest of the AV room is centered around an Oppo UDP203, a Pioneer CLD R7G, various Denon units, a RetroTink 4K, an Apple TV 4K, plus various game consoles. There’s a pair of Technics SL-1210 Mk2 turntables in there too. I mix modern and old; to be fair the cassette deck in the machine closet doesn’t get used too often. Mainly it’s there in case I feel like archiving old media. Same as the old S-VHS with a TBC…

The study contains a B&O Beocenter 9500, plus a matching Beogram 9500 and Beolab speakers. It’s wild that a stereo that old still feels futuristic and is fully remote controlled. I plan to add a white OLED and CD-TEXT, plus a RDS decoder to the tuner, change LED colors and see if I can’t control it all via a Raspberry Pi running the old B&O datalink. Add an audio streamer and it’s brought into the modern world. Tinkering is fun! Give me a good old service manual, my oscilloscope and some free time.

Been ogling Perlisten and Arendal, or maybe Focal speakers, but there’s no stress. Been tempted by some Topping gear for a small system upstairs. I blame this site for tempting me with the dark arts of modern DACs and streamers.

 

[Gio-G]

Hi all,

Been a reader/lurker here for years, but decided to cave in and get registered since I wanted access to tools that will let me spruce up my first ever CD player, my trusty old Denon DCD-1420. It needs new belts, new optics and a quick check with an oscilloscope to be fresh again.

I’m an AV guy at heart, so the main rig is using a Denon AVR-4310. It’s still stuck in the HDMI 1.3 1080P world, so the plan is to update. I’m a total gear head.
The TV is a 65” LG OLED, looking to get upsized. My speakers are mostly B&W 600 S2 series, plus Monitor Audio Silver RSFX for side channel duties. An upgrade to Atmos and more subs is planned. The rest of the AV room is centered around an Oppo UDP203, a Pioneer CLD R7G, various Denon units, a RetroTink 4K, an Apple TV 4K, plus various game consoles. There’s a pair of Technics SL-1210 Mk2 turntables in there too. I mix modern and old; to be fair the cassette deck in the machine closet doesn’t get used too often. Mainly it’s there in case I feel like archiving old media. Same as the old S-VHS with a TBC…

The study contains a B&O Beocenter 9500, plus a matching Beogram 9500 and Beolab speakers. It’s wild that a stereo that old still feels futuristic and is fully remote controlled. I plan to add a white OLED and CD-TEXT, plus a RDS decoder to the tuner, change LED colors and see if I can’t control it all via a Raspberry Pi running the old B&O datalink. Add an audio streamer and it’s brought into the modern world. Tinkering is fun! Give me a good old service manual, my oscilloscope and some free time.

Been ogling Perlisten and Arendal, or maybe Focal speakers, but there’s no stress. Been tempted by some Topping gear for a small system upstairs. I blame this site for tempting me with the dark arts of modern DACs and streamers.

From one new guy to another, welcome! You seem a lot more well versed in this stuff than I am, but I love this forum. My very first lesson here was because of an Amir YouTube video about overpriced cables and cords not only being a complete waste of money, but that some of them actually spec out terrible and degrade the sound of your audio. This forum is a threat to all of the "snake oil" in the hobby. Blind tests and showing specs are what rule here from what I gather.



"Been ogling Perlisten and Arendal,"
I too have been looking at those. I'm close to pulling the trigger on some demo model S7Ts. The audio store rep said he'd knock 10K off of the price, but I also noticed they priced their S7Ts at $11,995.00 each. Their own web page lists them at $9,995.00 each so I'm not sure I'm feeling the 10K discount. Most places are selling the standard S7T for either $9,995.00 or $10,995.00. The standard "Piano Black" is not an upgraded color and they also told me the grills were not included with the S7Ts, which I think is inaccurate, unless Perlisten changed that this year.

Since you are new, I suggest reaching out once in a while via private/direct message to any member you may want advice from.

I've had some very nice exchanges with extremely knowledgable people here, and they kept responses simple because I am way out of my depth here.

I find reading full threads start to finish is a great learning experience because you are able to see multiple, usually very well informed comments on equipment.

Glad to see people joining the forums.