jtcohenour Posted October 11, 2013 Share Posted October 11, 2013 I guess that is what makes it fun Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allenh Posted October 11, 2013 Share Posted October 11, 2013 If it's not fun anymore it's not worth doing. If I find myself taking it too seriously I get the wife to slap me about the head until I stop. Iv'e seen the results of taking records and HiFi too seriously and it's not pretty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jtcohenour Posted October 11, 2013 Share Posted October 11, 2013 I know the feeling, specifically with the records. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajxd Posted October 11, 2013 Share Posted October 11, 2013 Some photo's of my main system. Pretty poor photo's as it was a grey day here today so I will try some more on a brighter day. Now that's what I call a cool turntable. Finally, someone gets it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allenh Posted October 11, 2013 Share Posted October 11, 2013 The records don't spin very well and it tends to warp them I bought it at a yard sale last summer and thought it would look good with the hifi, I have absolutely no use for it as all my cars are injected but couldn't leave it there. I expect the customs guys at the little regional airport I fly into and out of PA have a sweepstake going on what I'm going to bring through in my suitcase next, things like records and turntables they are used to now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaizada Posted October 20, 2013 Share Posted October 20, 2013 Bought new speakers which were delivered exactly one week ago. Understandably, I've not gotten ANY meaningful work done since then! The speakers are Marten Design Bird 2. I'm committed to these speakers for a long time, but I chose well after searching/listening for a long time. The setup before with the Omega Super 8 with Dual Omega Deephemp Subwoofers in the back: My 20 month daughter old busting out the Air Guitar in the listening chair earlier in the day that the speakers arrived. Hmmmmm, how does this go in again? You handsome devil you! Initial positioning From the listening seat...just soaking it all in. It's a huge change in the system...just need to get my head wrapped around what just happened here. Looking forward to breaking in the speakers. This is my phonostream on Flikr. I'll update it with pics as I go: http://www.flickr.com/photos/84725387@N04/with/10241204764/ The turntables are on the left wall which I didn't take a picture of...I think I posted the tables a while back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slinch Posted October 20, 2013 Share Posted October 20, 2013 Those Martens are just dreamy... And your daughter is awesome! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaizada Posted October 21, 2013 Share Posted October 21, 2013 Those Martens are just dreamy... And your daughter is awesome! Thanks! My daughter just loves the music room so much, she will NEVER leave that chair once she is in there! LoL! The Bird 2 are really a dream to listen to...so much so, I cannot believe that this kind of sound if taking place in my room. The electronics and speakers are just a match made in heaven and I am so happy I was able to find it. Today, there was a meet of the LA Orange County Audiophile society at Weinhart Design in Bel Air (Very high end audio). We listened to a stupendously priced setup. Let me dig up some pictures I took from my phone (only the first two pictures are the ones I took myself): The $150,000 Clearaudio Statement Turntable with the Clearaudio Goldfinger V2 cartridge ($15,000) Tunes were playing through the $185,000 Magico Q7 loudspeakers: Preamp is the $13,000 EAR 912. Amplifiers were the Top of the line 1000 watt Bryston 28B-SST2 at $20,000 for the pair. Point of this post is....this system just DID NOT sound right! The sound was thin, lacking body, lacking realism, lacking truthfulness. It was extremely dynamic, but nowhere close what sound for this price should be like. The sound in my room at this very moment is in a different strata compared to this stuff I heard today. My setup is much more humble compared to the above and many many many times more musical. Point being, it is very easy to screw up and spending more doesn't mean better automatically. You HAVE to work at it no matter what... Thanks for reading! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3arl Posted October 21, 2013 Share Posted October 21, 2013 Thanks! My daughter just loves the music room so much, she will NEVER leave that chair once she is in there! LoL! The Bird 2 are really a dream to listen to...so much so, I cannot believe that this kind of sound if taking place in my room. The electronics and speakers are just a match made in heaven and I am so happy I was able to find it. Today, there was a meet of the LA Orange County Audiophile society at Weinhart Design in Bel Air (Very high end audio). We listened to a stupendously priced setup. Let me dig up some pictures I took from my phone (only the first two pictures are the ones I took myself): The $150,000 Clearaudio Statement Turntable with the Clearaudio Goldfinger V2 cartridge ($15,000) Tunes were playing through the $185,000 Magico Q7 loudspeakers: Preamp is the $13,000 EAR 912. Amplifiers were the Top of the line 1000 watt Bryston 28B-SST2 at $20,000 for the pair. Point of this post is....this system just DID NOT sound right! The sound was thin, lacking body, lacking realism, lacking truthfulness. It was extremely dynamic, but nowhere close what sound for this price should be like. The sound in my room at this very moment is in a different strata compared to this stuff I heard today. My setup is much more humble compared to the above and many many many times more musical. Point being, it is very easy to screw up and spending more doesn't mean better automatically. You HAVE to work at it no matter what... Thanks for reading! Damn! I just bought that exact setup! ruckis 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
circuit bored records Posted October 21, 2013 Share Posted October 21, 2013 Those Martens look (and sound) freaking beautiful. Congratulations to you, good sir. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allenh Posted October 21, 2013 Share Posted October 21, 2013 Those Martens are just dreamy... And your daughter is awesome! +1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allenh Posted October 21, 2013 Share Posted October 21, 2013 My setup is much more humble compared to the above and many many many times more musical. Point being, it is very easy to screw up and spending more doesn't mean better automatically. You HAVE to work at it no matter what... Thanks for reading! Very very true. All the parts have to complement each other and just throwing money at any question is rarely an answer. I've heard plenty of systems that fall into the emperors new clothes category, technically and aesthetically beautiful but musically flat and its the music that I want to hear and feel so the musicality is the most important part to me. I expect it was one or maybe two items in that system that just didn't fit, but chasing it around would have been an expensive nightmare. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jtcohenour Posted October 21, 2013 Share Posted October 21, 2013 Damn! I just bought that exact setup! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ErickSitter Posted October 24, 2013 Share Posted October 24, 2013 Thanks! My daughter just loves the music room so much, she will NEVER leave that chair once she is in there! LoL! The Bird 2 are really a dream to listen to...so much so, I cannot believe that this kind of sound if taking place in my room. The electronics and speakers are just a match made in heaven and I am so happy I was able to find it. Today, there was a meet of the LA Orange County Audiophile society at Weinhart Design in Bel Air (Very high end audio). We listened to a stupendously priced setup. Let me dig up some pictures I took from my phone (only the first two pictures are the ones I took myself): The $150,000 Clearaudio Statement Turntable with the Clearaudio Goldfinger V2 cartridge ($15,000) Tunes were playing through the $185,000 Magico Q7 loudspeakers: Preamp is the $13,000 EAR 912. Amplifiers were the Top of the line 1000 watt Bryston 28B-SST2 at $20,000 for the pair. Point of this post is....this system just DID NOT sound right! The sound was thin, lacking body, lacking realism, lacking truthfulness. It was extremely dynamic, but nowhere close what sound for this price should be like. The sound in my room at this very moment is in a different strata compared to this stuff I heard today. My setup is much more humble compared to the above and many many many times more musical. Point being, it is very easy to screw up and spending more doesn't mean better automatically. You HAVE to work at it no matter what... Thanks for reading! Did somebody just want to show off how much they can spend?... That's freaking ridiculous! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaizada Posted October 25, 2013 Share Posted October 25, 2013 Did somebody just want to show off how much they can spend?... That's freaking ridiculous! Those are pictures from a meet/gathering we had at Weinhart Design in Bel Air, Los Angeles. He is an audio dealer, so technically, that system is not owned by a end user. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaizada Posted November 1, 2013 Share Posted November 1, 2013 Ok, I setup a second system downstairs in the living room. I'll post pics later. The system is: - Omega Super 8 (Alnico magnet drivers) Speakers - 2 Deephemp Subwoofers - Almarro 205a MKII 5 Watt amp (Upgraded with Ampohm Tin Foil, Paper in Oil Capacitors as coupling caps) - Chord QBD76 DAC - Apple Airport Express to provide toslink connection to Chord Dac - Speaker cable, RCA cable and power cables is all Furutech Audio Reference III Cables. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcguirk Posted November 11, 2013 Share Posted November 11, 2013 Here it is. Nothing too exciting. Thorens TD 166 mk II with a bunch of mods (plywood base, RCA jacks and IEC connector, spikes, isolation base, dynamat dampening). Denon DL 110 into an Azure 551P and a Hifiman EF5. Not pictured are Sennheiser HD600s. Blue Jeans interconnects. The listening area (dog included): Smitty 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jtcohenour Posted November 11, 2013 Share Posted November 11, 2013 Here it is. Nothing too exciting. Thorens TD 166 mk II with a bunch of mods (plywood base, RCA jacks and IEC connector, spikes, isolation base, dynamat dampening). Denon DL 110 into an Azure 551P and a Hifiman EF5. Not pictured are Sennheiser HD600s. Blue Jeans interconnects. The listening area (dog included): Looks like a great setup Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allenh Posted November 11, 2013 Share Posted November 11, 2013 Here it is. Nothing too exciting. Nice, I've done a few of these decks over the years and have always had a soft spot for them. You can't go wrong with the 166 variants, the basics are spot on so you can just keep on going with the upgrades and make yourself a deck to run with some very high end company, it''s very easy to make MDF armboards for them so the options are pretty limitless for 9 and 10 inch arms, did you rewire the arm when you went RCA? if not rewiring with Cardas wire makes quite a difference to the stock arm, also that Thorens motor responds well to a PSU upgrade as well, an Armageddon clone is easy to make and very effective. That phonostage has always been a bargain as well but the 651 is worth the extra money and is even more of a bargain. Thorens TD 166 mk II with a bunch of mods (plywood base, RCA jacks and IEC connector, spikes, isolation base, dynamat dampening). Denon DL 110 into an Azure 551P and a Hifiman EF5. Not pictured are Sennheiser HD600s. Blue Jeans interconnects. The listening area (dog included): Does the dog share your taste in music? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcguirk Posted November 11, 2013 Share Posted November 11, 2013 Here it is. Nothing too exciting. Nice, I've done a few of these decks over the years and have always had a soft spot for them. You can't go wrong with the 166 variants, the basics are spot on so you can just keep on going with the upgrades and make yourself a deck to run with some very high end company, it''s very easy to make MDF armboards for them so the options are pretty limitless for 9 and 10 inch arms, did you rewire the arm when you went RCA? if not rewiring with Cardas wire makes quite a difference to the stock arm, also that Thorens motor responds well to a PSU upgrade as well, an Armageddon clone is easy to make and very effective. That phonostage has always been a bargain as well but the 651 is worth the extra money and is even more of a bargain. Thorens TD 166 mk II with a bunch of mods (plywood base, RCA jacks and IEC connector, spikes, isolation base, dynamat dampening). Denon DL 110 into an Azure 551P and a Hifiman EF5. Not pictured are Sennheiser HD600s. Blue Jeans interconnects. The listening area (dog included): Does the dog share your taste in music? Thanks for the compliments! You are right, it's a breeze to mod. I did not rewire the tonearm because it's working well right now. I've been thinking about grabbing a Rega RB200/300 arm but I'm not ready to take the plunge yet. Might do the PSU upgrade or I might pick up a Speed Box. I'm really enjoying the Thorens. I used to have a Debut III with a 2M Red and the Acryl-it platter. This blows it away and there's no point in buying anything else until I'm ready to drop a couple thousand on a TT. For instance I'm listening to Eisley's "The Valley" right now and I'm hearing faint, down tuned acoustic guitar parts I never knew existed before. Soundstage is unreal but I'm still adjusting the VTA because imaging is a little off. Doge doesn't care much for music. More into sleeping and chewing apart toys to be honest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allenh Posted November 13, 2013 Share Posted November 13, 2013 I've always been a fan of the TD160 variants, superb engineering and used to be good value but now people are realising there are alternatives to the LP12 without the price or BS that goes along with them which is pushing the price of the Thorens, AR and Ariston alternatives up.. Try the arm rewire before changing the arm, you can pick up pre done lengths of Cardas on ebay for $20 or less and it's probabaly an hour or two's work, it makes quite a difference over stock wire and if you use proper Cardas it's about as good as you can get before you go exotic. You can always make a Rega armboard and do an eggs for eggs comparison if you buy a Rega later. To my mind though the only reason to buy a speedbox is if you need to change the belt to change speed which you don't have to do on a Thorens, it won't give you much more than that and a couple of nice LED's. The reason to go down the Armageddon clone route is to smooth, isolate and stabilise the supply to the motor without electronic switching with the end result being much greater speed stability and a lowering of the noise floor. The transformers are expensive but worth it. The design is credited to Naim but my MRM Source has exactly the same PSU design and pre dates the Naim Armageddon's by quite some time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vinyl666 Posted November 13, 2013 Share Posted November 13, 2013 Lots of cool systems in this thread. My setup: Onkyo TX-8050 Fosgate Audionics 4125 Technics SL-1200 MK2 w/Shure M97E Polk Lsi9 Mac Mini for digital tunes and video Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike_eppenbro Posted November 13, 2013 Share Posted November 13, 2013 Pioneer PL-100 Yamaha AX-400/uAdvent Model 3 Speakers The Saint 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
castaway Posted November 13, 2013 Share Posted November 13, 2013 Scored these beauties on Craigs List a week or so ago and meant to post them here. Polk RTi8's and JBL-ND310's Price for both pairs? $275. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vinyl666 Posted November 14, 2013 Share Posted November 14, 2013 Scored these beauties on Craigs List a week or so ago and meant to post them here. Polk RTi8's and JBL-ND310's Price for both pairs? $275. Nice find!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.