Help! I'm an audiophile!
Discussion
Its terrible, i used to be a normal teenager, content with Radio 1 and the trendy rock pop it serenaded me with via my Argos Hifi. However I have since been converted to a strange being that cannot listen to anything on a sub £200 sound sytem without pining to hear the full reange of sound being reproduced as it was when it was recorded. I long for symbols to tingle their way into my inner ear lobes and for the subtle bass of Pink Floyd to reverberate around my lungs. Ive even started listen to classical music!
Its got to the point where my computer speakers are worth more than my computer and my car stereo is worth twice as much as the car!
Can someone please offer help or atleast reassure me that im not alone before my search for perfect sound reproduction renders me skint!
Bernie
Its got to the point where my computer speakers are worth more than my computer and my car stereo is worth twice as much as the car!
Can someone please offer help or atleast reassure me that im not alone before my search for perfect sound reproduction renders me skint!
Bernie
Pop over to www.diyaudio.com, it won't help the affliction but it will make you richer.
Audiophiles Anonymous member 14227
Audiophiles Anonymous member 14227
It is indeed very addictive.
My problem now is vibration which is pretty horrendous in a J reg French hatchback thats done the best part of 200k. My efforts to drown out the vibrations with more sound have failed but i dont have the time or money to dynamat the whole car. What to do?!
Bernie
My problem now is vibration which is pretty horrendous in a J reg French hatchback thats done the best part of 200k. My efforts to drown out the vibrations with more sound have failed but i dont have the time or money to dynamat the whole car. What to do?!
Bernie
It merely makes me jealous. Ive spent more than i can afford already, dont tempt me.
Although i do still need a couple of floor standers to complete the surround sound affect, and an amp for the fronts in my car...
It never ends does it...
Any ladies have similar problems or is it just a man thing?
Bernie
Although i do still need a couple of floor standers to complete the surround sound affect, and an amp for the fronts in my car...
It never ends does it...
Any ladies have similar problems or is it just a man thing?
Bernie
Audiophilia, in the traditional sense, only involves the domestic hi-fi, thick knitwear and an offensive goatee.
An aversion to proper music helps: pretentious, slightly trad jazz cack, ridiculous, slightly laborious white women painfully lamenting "those old 'Noo Orleans' rag time blues" and young scamps like Jamie Callum who thuis far has resisted the temptation to affect the fez dubious.
You will probably pull through but if you don't and find entwinement in the rigours of the matrimonial home, remember there exists always, the wonderful world of Sennheiser and the supreme pastime of floating away, late at night, to the serene acoustics, of Napalm Death Unplugged {Gateshead Bus Shelter Days Revisited}.
Long live rock 'n' roll, what-oh?
An aversion to proper music helps: pretentious, slightly trad jazz cack, ridiculous, slightly laborious white women painfully lamenting "those old 'Noo Orleans' rag time blues" and young scamps like Jamie Callum who thuis far has resisted the temptation to affect the fez dubious.
You will probably pull through but if you don't and find entwinement in the rigours of the matrimonial home, remember there exists always, the wonderful world of Sennheiser and the supreme pastime of floating away, late at night, to the serene acoustics, of Napalm Death Unplugged {Gateshead Bus Shelter Days Revisited}.
Long live rock 'n' roll, what-oh?
Incorrigible said:
Audiophilia, in the traditional sense, only involves the domestic hi-fi, thick knitwear and an offensive goatee.
Bugger off
Heh - I know what Der is referring to. Any read of an 'audiophile' magazine immediately confers the exact image he describes.
I have succumbed too. My audio affliction (caused by a friend who builds his own stupendously high-end hifis) has resulted in a multi thousand pound spend on a Musical Fidelity/PMC system; having been spoiled by it, my teeth now actually grate if I hear music on anything sub standard. It's a real handicap, and hateful - I wish I had never bought the damned (but utterly wonderful) thing.
Vinyl_Junkie said:
Me too - see nickname. Analogue and valves all the way.
My turntable:
And I'm going to build one of these soon:
I agree with you entirely. But I would have thought valves were the antithesis of hi-fi. It may sound far better, but any form of distorsion is a bad thing (apart from even harmonics).
Having had a big pile of valve amps, I can confidently say that valves are a headache, but worth it.
I had a Hammond organ and Leslie Rotary speaker, as well as 2 Hammond Cabinets. All valvestate. I cleared out an old radio shop and ran everything from US military spec valves, to old ones I had kicking around. The difference in sound was amazing. Particulary with the 6550 output tubes on the Leslie. I rebuilt my amplifiers with the best stuff. I would agree, valves produce the best sound, but reproduction wise, it's not hifi.
Modern electronics are where it's at, but I would choose valves. Valve science vs sound reproduction is a serious science.
Vinyl_Junkie said:
Me too - see nickname. Analogue and valves all the way.
My turntable:
I wanted a Linn Sondek till i saw this, how much, what and where? I still spin my vinyl, nothing to beat the sense of occasion and the overal sound effect ( a bit of noise is natural IMHO) is unbeatable, sure, cd/mp3 is more convenient, but for the inexperienced younguns, you should check out the sleeve notes on vinyl!!
Okay I am ready to be shot down in flames but here goes:-
IMHO for us avarage wage slaves it is self defeating to spend more than £250-£350 per seprate, unless you have the sort of income that allows you to buy a new Tuscan. That is unless you spend every evening in listening only to your music.
I honestly believe that the difference in quality between the best at this price and those at £1,000 is so minimal the money is best saved.
Of course you would hear a definate difference if you were spending £20k on a system but at the end of the day where are you listening to this? you average 10'x15' lounge or the Albert Hall?
Having heard the difference I would recommend a seprate DAC and CD. And never, ever, ever, ever stint on the interconnects and speaker cable.
I found that when Mrs and kids moved in my system doesn't get used half as often as I'd like.
IMHO for us avarage wage slaves it is self defeating to spend more than £250-£350 per seprate, unless you have the sort of income that allows you to buy a new Tuscan. That is unless you spend every evening in listening only to your music.
I honestly believe that the difference in quality between the best at this price and those at £1,000 is so minimal the money is best saved.
Of course you would hear a definate difference if you were spending £20k on a system but at the end of the day where are you listening to this? you average 10'x15' lounge or the Albert Hall?
Having heard the difference I would recommend a seprate DAC and CD. And never, ever, ever, ever stint on the interconnects and speaker cable.
I found that when Mrs and kids moved in my system doesn't get used half as often as I'd like.
Cheers rude boy, thats just the post i need to steer me away from money linching habit.
Now £350 tops you say? So if i need 4 seperates, minus the amp which i already have, ooh, that nicely equals one semesters loan
Its back to beans on toast again then....
And people wonder why students are poor!
Bernie
Now £350 tops you say? So if i need 4 seperates, minus the amp which i already have, ooh, that nicely equals one semesters loan
Its back to beans on toast again then.... And people wonder why students are poor!
Bernie
shirley temple said:
Me too - see nickname. Analogue and valves all the way.
My turntable:
I wanted a Linn Sondek till i saw this, how much, what and where? I still spin my vinyl, nothing to beat the sense of occasion and the overal sound effect ( a bit of noise is natural IMHO) is unbeatable, sure, cd/mp3 is more convenient, but for the inexperienced younguns, you should check out the sleeve notes on vinyl!!
That is a Nottingham Analogue Dais - it's their top-of-the range machine. Usually costs £3.5k
less arm and cartridge, I got mine for £2k (still a bit ) as an ex-demo. I have close to 1000 LP's in total and still collect them. This is the last deck I will ever buy, it will last for the next 30-40 years, so from that perspective it's probably worth it (to me anyway). The Linn Sondek was the best in its day, and is still a good deck, but there are better, more up-to-date designs around now.
For what it would cost you, I would recommend the Nottingham Analogue Spacedeck. I had one before the Dais, lovely piece of kit. I also recommend the Morch UP-4 arm to go with it - sheer eye candy.
There are not many dealers for Nottinghm Analogue, Walrus Systems in West London ( www.walrus.co.uk ) is where I got mine, that's a REAL hi-fi shop! Talk to Les, he really knows his stuff. The Spacedeck and Morch arm is listed under 'Turntables and Tonearms'. Check out the Michell Gyro SE as well.
I’m infected as well. Just taken delivery of my new AV Amp (Marantz SC7500 – 7 channels @ 105W). It really is the dogs danglies. It does video switching and has a HUD so I actually spend more time playing with the menu on screen that watching movies ATM. It also has a mic that automatically calibrates the output of each speaker to get a consistent sound pressure in the listening position. And it allows you to reassign different audio inputs to each video source so you can mix and match video and audio sources. 
Welcome to the dark side my friend 
Welcome to the dark side my friend busta said:
Cheers rude boy, thats just the post i need to steer me away from money linching habit.
Now £350 tops you say? So if i need 4 seperates, minus the amp which i already have, ooh, that nicely equals one semesters loan
And people wonder why students are poor!
Bernie
You have a lot of options even with a limited budget. Front-end wise, you could do a lot worse than the Pioneer DV-575. This is a multi-format DVD player, it does CD's, SACD's, DVD-Audio... the lot. I got one following a recommendation on the grapevine. Paid about £130, and was absolutely blown away by just how good it was.
It pi$$es all over my old Rotel CD player which was £350 back in 1994, and on SACD it comes worryingly close to my analogue rig (though I think this is partly because I need to upgrade my phono pre-amp stage - I hope!).
Speakers - these make the biggest difference and are a very personal thing. There are bargains on eBay, but ideally you need to hear them first with your own equipment. How about DIY-ing to save money - according to the grapevine IPL Acoustic speaker kits are supposed to be very good value although I haven't heard them myself: www.iplacoustics.co.uk follow the 'Transmission Lines' link. If you already have an amp you're happy with, then the DV-575 and M3TLM speakers would give you a cracking rig for less than £500.
But if you want to get into valves (I never looked back!), DIY valve amps: www.worldaudiodesign.com . KEL84 is supposed to be very good value. Very active BBS as well.
>> Edited by Vinyl_Junkie on Wednesday 19th January 02:07
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