What audio system do you have, or plan on getting?

[marvinbrown]

My experience with divers Monitor Audio speakers, was always a pleasant one. Those guys are dedicated in making good speakers. See that you get a matching amplification, those speakers are very picky what they accept and what not.

I've heard Monitor speakers at a friend's house and in the shop.  I like them (very tight bass, really great for Bruckner!), but they can tend to be glassy sounding with the wrong equipment.  Here's the Stereophile review of the RS6.

  Gentlemen thank you so much for your replies. I'll have to investigate if the amplifiers/CD players with amplifiers I have are the "right" equipment for the monitor speakers I plan to buy.   

  marvin

[Herman]

Herman seems to be talking about mixing power cables with speaker cables. As an electrician for 27 years, I am very well aware that the induced transients in a signal cable that arise from being in too close proximity to the power cables can screw up even an indelicate piece of equipment. If they can do that, they certainly can screw up an audio signal in a speaker wire. And although I am clearly in the camp of those who aren't buying lunar green cheese, I will buy this one with no problem...

That was one simple aspect I was talking about. A lot of people would get much better results from even the most mundane equipment if they didn't stack the equipment and if they would keep speaker cable and power cable well apart.

I also think using good power cable, speaker cable and interconnects helps, though I'm aware "good" ranges from affordable to completely silly.

[Daverz]

  Gentlemen thank you so much for your replies. I'll have to investigate if the amplifiers/CD players with amplifiers I have are the "right" equipment for the monitor speakers I plan to buy.   

Will the dealer let you do a home audition?

[Bogey]

Will the dealer let you do a home audition?

That is the key if you truly want to test a system.  Without, it is VERY difficult to tell IMO.

[drogulus]

We're not talking quantum mechanics, here. We're talking about something that's as do-it-yourself as it gets - home stereo.

If you must leave it to the "experts" to tell you how to run your home stereo, then you have my sympathies.

    I don't leave it to the experts, I use their knowledge to help me understand my reactions. Why are they so vague, like the pinkish ring that isn't there?

   

  Gentlemen thank you so much for your replies. I'll have to investigate if the amplifiers/CD players with amplifiers I have are the "right" equipment for the monitor speakers I plan to buy.  

  marvin

    I know this sounds like I'm just peddling a line, and a minority line at that, but it really matters what your concept of investigating is. Frequently you'll be told to trust your ears, which has sort of a Frank Capra-ish "hooray for the little guy" ring to it. And we all know how much eggheads contribute to the misery of the world with their bombs....(OK, stop it!!)

    What I mean to say is that while speakers and amps sound different in ways that require you to use your ears to choose, most other components don't. If you only consult audiophile opinion you'll be encouraged to make the same mistakes they (I!) made. So get a second opinion, do a little research outside the lines and then decide. End of sermon.   

[Bogey]

    I don't leave it to the experts, I use their knowledge to help me understand my reactions. Why are they so vague, like the pinkish ring that isn't there?

What pinkish ring? 

[drogulus]

    That's the spirit! 

[Dancing Divertimentian]

     I don't leave it to the experts, I use their knowledge to help me understand my reactions.

I fail to understand why a hobby should require such rigorous psychological examination. 

Why are they so vague, like the pinkish ring that isn't there?

Because a ring is boring. Now, if you had said it was a donut...

[drogulus]

I fail to understand why a hobby should require such rigorous psychological examination. 

     Only because it has to be fun. 

[Dancing Divertimentian]

     Only because it has to be fun. 

You need outside help to make home stereo fun?

[marvinbrown]

Will the dealer let you do a home audition?

  Not sure just yet I'll have to ask  .  I can see how that can be beneficial though.  The acoustics of the rooms should be determining factor. 

    I don't leave it to the experts, I use their knowledge to help me understand my reactions. Why are they so vague, like the pinkish ring that isn't there?

   
    I know this sounds like I'm just peddling a line, and a minority line at that, but it really matters what your concept of investigating is. Frequently you'll be told to trust your ears, which has sort of a Frank Capra-ish "hooray for the little guy" ring to it. And we all know how much eggheads contribute to the misery of the world with their bombs....(OK, stop it!!)

    What I mean to say is that while speakers and amps sound different in ways that require you to use your ears to choose, most other components don't. If you only consult audiophile opinion you'll be encouraged to make the same mistakes they (I!) made. So get a second opinion, do a little research outside the lines and then decide. End of sermon.   

   By investigating further I meant hearing the system play various genres (opera, symphonies, chamber music etc.), my porsonal taste is quite important.  But I also need some guidance, so I will be looking for advice. It's difficult for me to say at this point what it is excatly that I am looking for. Yes I am a bit lost, but as they say what better way to find yourself than to get lost!   

[drogulus]

You need outside help to make home stereo fun?

    Sadly, yes. I read magazines, go to websites, try to get questions answered.

    Why can't I just enjoy life like a normal person?

[Herman]

    Sadly, yes. I read magazines, go to websites, try to get questions answered.

    Why can't I just enjoy life like a normal person?

well, with all due respect, you don't seem like a Truly Normal Person, looking at this thread.

[drogulus]

     

well, with all due respect, you don't seem like a Truly Normal Person, looking at this thread.

     
     
   

There is no ring, per se, rather, the screen is colored and it makes a vestigial "pinkness" on the white background (which is white). So is the implication that the ears are dithering in "sound" to fill in what isn't actually there? If so, I think I can go along with that.

     We don't respond directly to sensory inputs without first running them through judgmental filters that tell us how to react to them. When we try to see/hear things "as they are" something gets in the way, the judgment that we already made. If you focus on the process itself you can undo the illusion in some cases. With music this requires special tests because sounds don't persist well in memory. Because a visual illusion persists (like the ring) you can actually make your self unsee it in a way you can't easily do with music. There's a pattern to these illusions: They tend to be false positives where you see or hear things that are not there. But there are also false negatives, like change blindness.

     

[Daverz]

I've wanted to upgrade my tonearm for some time from the Rega RB300 I've had for ages, and also get an arm with a removeable headshell to make cartridge swapping easier.  A used SME 309 finally came up for auction at Audiogon at a reasonable price (at least reasonable compared to the nearly double amount the US importer charges over the UK price.) 

No, it won't play CDs.

[Bogey]

I've wanted to upgrade my tonearm for some time from the Rega RB300 I've had for ages, and also get an arm with a removeable headshell to make cartridge swapping easier.  A used SME 309 finally came up for auction at Audiogon at a reasonable price (at least reasonable compared to the nearly double amount the US importer charges over the UK price.) 

No, it won't play CDs.

Do you have the skill to replace it, or would the shop do that? 

[Daverz]

Do you have the skill to replace it, or would the shop do that? 

Pretty much on my own here since I bought used.  I think it would be rude to presume on the local SME dealer after bypassing him, or on my Michell dealer as he sells Moerch tonearms.  I did rewire my RB300 myself, so that sort of thing doesn't intimidate me too much, though I ended up paying a tech to solder on the cartridge clips on the hair thin wire. 

I took a look at the SME 309 manual, and it's one of the most detailed manuals I've ever seen for any kind of equipment, really outstanding.  A few things confused me, and the writing is sometimes quaint, but hopefully with the arm in my hands things will become clear.

http://www.vinylengine.com/library/sme/309.shtml

(You have to register to download the manual.)

I do have to remove the old Rega armboard on the Michell and install a new SME one, something I've never done.  I'll have to see if I have the right tools for that.

[Shrunk]

Pretty much on my own here since I bought used.  I think it would be rude to presume on the local SME dealer after bypassing him, or on my Michell dealer as he sells Moerch tonearms.  I did rewire my RB300 myself, so that sort of thing doesn't intimidate me too much, though I ended up paying a tech to solder on the cartridge clips on the hair thin wire. 

If you're at all in doubt, don't hesitate to ask your local dealer.  To my mind, anyone dealing with analogue these days is at least partly in it for the love of it, not just the business, so they might not mind you asking.  My local dealer has never hesitated to do any work asked, often for free, even though I offer to pay.  But is sounds like you've got some experience.

[drogulus]

    What I'm planning on getting (the currant fantasy, that is) is a new receiver. I want to hook it up to the cable box and from there to a new PC monitor which will also be a TV/movie display. So I will have an HDMI connection from the cable to the receiver and another to the TV/monitor. The receiver will handle audio for everything: TV, DVD/BD player, and all computer functions including music, games etc.

    My one requirement beyond the necessity for HDMI is that the receiver be fairly shallow to fit on my desk shelf next to the computer. Right now I'm looking at the SONY STR-DG820:

     

     This isn't what I'd get if I didn't have space restrictions. It doesn't have pre-outs, which I'd really like. It will do the job in a small room, though.

[Daverz]

  So I will have an HDMI connection

I don't see a DSD logo.  Odd, since Sony were the ones pushing SACD and DSD originally.

The UPS guy brought 4 of these today:



RCA 6SN7 GT tubes for my pre-amp.

Also recently I've been thinking about getting more into do-it-yourself projects, so I ordered the PCB and parts for this little guy:



The Hagermann Bugle phono pre-amp (it uses op amps).  This is just warm up for the Piccolo head amp kit.  He has kits for a line stage, a tube phono pre-amp, a tube headphone amp, and several other things.