When did you but your first really good HiFi
Discussion
Well I've had my eyes opened , earlier this week I decided a speaker upgrade was in order as I found a mint amp at an auction , never heard of the make but it looked mint, a Sonab R4000-3 from 1970 when it cost £229 which is a whopping £2500 today
Won the auction, got it home, set it up and yes it worked but it didn't like my speakers so I started trawling eBay for an upgrade , I'm a used kind of guy so that looked like the best way of getting something really good for a modest outlay.
Sunday I took a drive to Blackpool and after a demo handed over £400 for a pair of Spendor S6e floorstanders which cost £1600 when new
Got them home, set them up and , I've spent the last 30 years listening to s
t hifi, I'm utterly blown away with how good it sounds , I'm sitting here doing something I haven't don't for years , just listening to music in the dark , I feel like dragging people in from the street , have you heard how good this soundsJust ordered a audioengine B1 Dac Bluetooth receiver so I can get Spotify on it so I may have started on a slippery slope
I once listened to something truly epic... A full Aktiv Linn system - multiple power amps, the ultimate turntable etc etc...
Nothing since has approached the sheer dynamic oomph that this system threw at me. I returned a number of times to that shop to buy cheaper components, each time I took a different record to try out on that Linn kit (Zenyata Mondatta was spectacular) but at something like £30K, the ROI was beyond madness so I contented myself with less. Good, but less.
Over the years I've noticed my increasing inability to hear the difference that good hi-fi can eek out of music sources and, believe it or not, this handicap has brought me nothing but happiness. I loved my stupidly expensive hi-fi back "then" but there was no doubt that I was listening to the equipment and not the music.
Now I either listen in the car, or on a barely-stereo Sonos at home. I love the experience more than ever.
But I still catch myself looking at "kit" on eBay and I have the parts to build a Quad amp in my garage. I'm saving those for when I have the time... one day.
Nothing since has approached the sheer dynamic oomph that this system threw at me. I returned a number of times to that shop to buy cheaper components, each time I took a different record to try out on that Linn kit (Zenyata Mondatta was spectacular) but at something like £30K, the ROI was beyond madness so I contented myself with less. Good, but less.
Over the years I've noticed my increasing inability to hear the difference that good hi-fi can eek out of music sources and, believe it or not, this handicap has brought me nothing but happiness. I loved my stupidly expensive hi-fi back "then" but there was no doubt that I was listening to the equipment and not the music.
Now I either listen in the car, or on a barely-stereo Sonos at home. I love the experience more than ever.
But I still catch myself looking at "kit" on eBay and I have the parts to build a Quad amp in my garage. I'm saving those for when I have the time... one day.
I kept upgrading bits over the years, ending up with a Acoustic Energy speaker setup with a cheap Richer Sounds sub (15" paradigm sub) with a good denon avr amp. Mostly for home cinema with a good helping of music on the weekends.
One day I wandered into a high end hifi place in London and said I was tiring of constantly upgrading and wanted to go the the "next level" (since I'd heard a mind blowing demo of a Definitive Technology AV setup a year or two previously). Movies was a big factor for me.
I demoed a setup and simply handed over my card. This was over 13 years ago.
I ended up spending £4k on a 5.1 Mirage omnipolar speaker setup with OM9s , OM centre, dipole OM surrounds , all ex demo so discounted heavily, and a B&W ASW750 sub (£1k just for that).
Film performance aside, which is amazing, I was totally blown away with music on CDs. I would sit at home listening to music with goose bumps. A full, airy performance that is truly on a different level. Movies are amazing too. I'd watch Later with Jules Holland on my projector at a high volume in DD5.1 on BBC and it was genuinely like being there.
We are at least 13 years down the road and I have the same speakers . I can't imagine when I'd ever need to replace them. Only thing I've replaced is the amp with an HDMI version . Denon again. So a great investment overall.
The leap in sound from a £700 speaker setup to a £5k one was, and still is, truly epic.
A word on streaming music. I slowly moved from CDs to Sonos (320kbp mp3s mostly) and after many years kept noticing I wasn't getting music goose bumps any more. Put it down to familiarity. Few months ago dug out my CDs and played them head to head. The magic was back, and everyone I blind test hears it straight away. Something is most definitely lost with mp3s in the compression. There is a dynamic loss somewhere. Music just loses a certain impact and openness. And this is using a basic Samsung Blu-ray player.
I have since bought an old Cambridge audio CD player off eBay and it is superb. I now keep my CDs to hand . I'm sure lossless must be the same but haven't gone down that route yet.
So don't just rely on Spotify. Dig out your old CDs !
One day I wandered into a high end hifi place in London and said I was tiring of constantly upgrading and wanted to go the the "next level" (since I'd heard a mind blowing demo of a Definitive Technology AV setup a year or two previously). Movies was a big factor for me.
I demoed a setup and simply handed over my card. This was over 13 years ago.
I ended up spending £4k on a 5.1 Mirage omnipolar speaker setup with OM9s , OM centre, dipole OM surrounds , all ex demo so discounted heavily, and a B&W ASW750 sub (£1k just for that).
Film performance aside, which is amazing, I was totally blown away with music on CDs. I would sit at home listening to music with goose bumps. A full, airy performance that is truly on a different level. Movies are amazing too. I'd watch Later with Jules Holland on my projector at a high volume in DD5.1 on BBC and it was genuinely like being there.
We are at least 13 years down the road and I have the same speakers . I can't imagine when I'd ever need to replace them. Only thing I've replaced is the amp with an HDMI version . Denon again. So a great investment overall.
The leap in sound from a £700 speaker setup to a £5k one was, and still is, truly epic.
A word on streaming music. I slowly moved from CDs to Sonos (320kbp mp3s mostly) and after many years kept noticing I wasn't getting music goose bumps any more. Put it down to familiarity. Few months ago dug out my CDs and played them head to head. The magic was back, and everyone I blind test hears it straight away. Something is most definitely lost with mp3s in the compression. There is a dynamic loss somewhere. Music just loses a certain impact and openness. And this is using a basic Samsung Blu-ray player.
I have since bought an old Cambridge audio CD player off eBay and it is superb. I now keep my CDs to hand . I'm sure lossless must be the same but haven't gone down that route yet.
So don't just rely on Spotify. Dig out your old CDs !
dvshannow said:
Spotify...?! Try tidal
I'd test it first. I'm on Spotify Premium and have some great playlists. I signed up to Tidal and the music library is hopeless. It had hardly any of the tracks I have in Spotify. My other half is more mainstream in her tastes so we added This Is Chill, a compilation album with a load of more current artists. 3/4's of it was missing! Some message about the artist not wanting their content on Tidal. I did a lot of testing on sound quality using my iPhone 6S with FiiO E11 headphone amp and Bowers & Wilkins P5's. On a couple of tracks I did notice the extra quality but it wasn't night and day and I don't know if I convinced myself as I knew it had less compression. On my Yamaha RN 602 through Monitor Audio Silver 6's, I noticed no difference at all.
I found Tidal has the best classical music selection I've tried, I can normally find the actual recording I want rather than just generic rubbish for a symphony or sonata. I also listen to a lot of niche metal music and again Tidal has just about everything I search for.
Worth doing a trial of Tidal, just make sure you get the full fat HiFi subscription with the lossless audio not the cheaper one that isn't any higher quality than Spotify. I hear a clear difference both on my office, my living room, and my reasonably cheap portable setup (phone, dragonfly red DAC, B&W P5s)
My living room setup is decent, Nvidia Shield for Tidal outputting via HDMI to Marantz SR7011 then to Monitor Audio Silvers with matching sub. I'd like something better but I know it is a rabbit hole I'd not come out of again.
Same applies to CDs and Records, made the switch to streaming first from a NAS and latter from online, the declutter and ease of selection of music a big boon.
Worth doing a trial of Tidal, just make sure you get the full fat HiFi subscription with the lossless audio not the cheaper one that isn't any higher quality than Spotify. I hear a clear difference both on my office, my living room, and my reasonably cheap portable setup (phone, dragonfly red DAC, B&W P5s)
My living room setup is decent, Nvidia Shield for Tidal outputting via HDMI to Marantz SR7011 then to Monitor Audio Silvers with matching sub. I'd like something better but I know it is a rabbit hole I'd not come out of again.
Same applies to CDs and Records, made the switch to streaming first from a NAS and latter from online, the declutter and ease of selection of music a big boon.
RogerDodger said:
A word on streaming music. I slowly moved from CDs to Sonos (320kbp mp3s mostly) and after many years kept noticing I wasn't getting music goose bumps any more. Put it down to familiarity. Few months ago dug out my CDs and played them head to head. The magic was back, and everyone I blind test hears it straight away. Something is most definitely lost with mp3s in the compression. There is a dynamic loss somewhere.
Dig out your old CDs !
I noticed this quite vividly in my car recently (which has a very good Harmon Kardon system). I have been plugging in my iPhone and listening to music off that. I recently switched over to CD which I hadn't listened to for at least a year.... staggering difference.Dig out your old CDs !
To the OP - first decent hifi system was back in the 80's. It was a Ferrograph amp with Mission 700's - I can't recall the turntable. But it sounded great... Eventually finished with an LP12, Musical Fidelity pre amp, Mission mono blocks and Ruark speakers.
Always liked my HiFi
Been lucky with it too
Found a Naim Nait in a second hand shop for £40, and then a customer gave me a pair of Epos speakers with stands, added a Marantz CD and it all sounds great.
Had a clear out in my office and made room for the speaker stands and that added another jump in quality too.
A word on streaming.
I decided that it was about time I started using streaming.So I bought a DAC to add to my system.
In order of quality, and yes there is a big difference
Low= Spotify
Medium=CD
Highest= Tidal masters.
Spotify just sounds flat compared to Tidal,Tidal just brings an extra dimension and depth and while you may not hear it on a sonos you will on HiFi.
As others have said the spotify interface is far superior to Tidal but Tidals bit-rate just stomps spotify all day long.
If spotify went master quality I would go back. There have been rumours but nothing has happened yet.
Tidals search algorithm is a bit pants,try searching for The The and nothing shows up, but it is there.
Enjoy your HiFi
Been lucky with it too
Found a Naim Nait in a second hand shop for £40, and then a customer gave me a pair of Epos speakers with stands, added a Marantz CD and it all sounds great.
Had a clear out in my office and made room for the speaker stands and that added another jump in quality too.
A word on streaming.
I decided that it was about time I started using streaming.So I bought a DAC to add to my system.
In order of quality, and yes there is a big difference
Low= Spotify
Medium=CD
Highest= Tidal masters.
Spotify just sounds flat compared to Tidal,Tidal just brings an extra dimension and depth and while you may not hear it on a sonos you will on HiFi.
As others have said the spotify interface is far superior to Tidal but Tidals bit-rate just stomps spotify all day long.
If spotify went master quality I would go back. There have been rumours but nothing has happened yet.
Tidals search algorithm is a bit pants,try searching for The The and nothing shows up, but it is there.
Enjoy your HiFi
NDA said:
Don't you need the special 'hifi' subscription for Tidal?
I tried the free trial and could notice no difference (on a decent hifi) to Spotify.
As I mentioned above, you need to subscribe to the HiFi level, which is £20 a month, or £30 a month for a family subscription. You should also check the app is also set to HiFi/Master quality level in the settings. It has been a while but I think the app defaults to normal to try and save you some data. The default subscription is not HiFi and the same as Spotify.I tried the free trial and could notice no difference (on a decent hifi) to Spotify.
I'm undecided by Master, I can only get it via the Windows app so I haven't tried it on my main system, only on my Office setup that is just ok, Ruark Audio MR1s. If I use my Dragonfly Red I can decode the MQA on the Dragonfly. I struggle to tell the difference, but then I am system limited.
Edited by tankplanker on Thursday 15th March 12:00
Ok mine is AV rather than pure HiFi
At the ripe old age of 19 i got my first credit card and went straight out and maxed it out on a Yamaha DSP-AX1.
I had crappy floor speakers that weren't deserving of it but I slowly upgraded over the years. It is an immense piece of kit.
And 17 years later it's still the centre of my AV setup.
Now with mission mx6 fronts, mx3 rears, mxc3 centre and a bk electronics 12 inch sub. All bought over a fair amount of time, the mx3s being the fronts originally and bookshelves at the back.
The amp is of course compromised in that it has no HDMI but I find ways around it.
And I find it works fantastically as a stereo amp too.
I don't think I'll replace it unless something really amazing comes along. ( I haven't been THAT impressed with ATMOS systems I've heard.)
At the ripe old age of 19 i got my first credit card and went straight out and maxed it out on a Yamaha DSP-AX1.
I had crappy floor speakers that weren't deserving of it but I slowly upgraded over the years. It is an immense piece of kit.
And 17 years later it's still the centre of my AV setup.
Now with mission mx6 fronts, mx3 rears, mxc3 centre and a bk electronics 12 inch sub. All bought over a fair amount of time, the mx3s being the fronts originally and bookshelves at the back.
The amp is of course compromised in that it has no HDMI but I find ways around it.
And I find it works fantastically as a stereo amp too.
I don't think I'll replace it unless something really amazing comes along. ( I haven't been THAT impressed with ATMOS systems I've heard.)
RogerDodger said:
Dig out your old CDs !
Better yet rip them to FLAC and download the trial of Roon. You won't look back.https://www.roonlabs.com
tankplanker said:
Nvidia Shield for Tidal outputting via HDMI to Marantz SR7011 then to Monitor Audio Silvers with matching sub. I'd like something better but I know it is a rabbit hole I'd not come out of again.
Someone on here told me the Nvidia Shield messes with audio.As above, try Roon. Integrates your NAS collection with Tidal seamlessly.
Edited by B17NNS on Thursday 15th March 12:53
roverspeed said:
I don't think I'll replace it unless something really amazing comes along. ( I haven't been THAT impressed with ATMOS systems I've heard.)
Some what controversially I think all budget to mid range AV setups that use 5 or more speakers are a waste of time. I think that people would get a better sounding system spending the same money on a pair of speakers (or three at most, which is what I did) as they would on 5 or more speakers. At that price point you can make some big gains in sound quality. Separation for things like overhead objects is gimmicky in a lot of films, if it is present at all.My first hifi was a Yamaha and Eltax monitor floor stands. At the time I wanted a “bright lights” type hifi from Sony or similar but my Dad convinced me to go for a separates system which sounded so much better than my friend ‘system. At a later date I added a mini disc recorded and a Pioneer CD recorder which cost a fortune at the time.
The system is still going strong (about 18 years later) but I now have a Kef / Rotel stereo system and a Whardale / Sony 7.1 surround sound too.
The system is still going strong (about 18 years later) but I now have a Kef / Rotel stereo system and a Whardale / Sony 7.1 surround sound too.
For me it was turntables, when I moved from a Garrard SP25 MkIV to a Rotel RP1500 (belt drive) and then to a STD305S (Linn LP12 contempary) with Haddock GH228 and A&R cartridge all 40 years or so back. Then moving to a Pink Triangle/Linn Ittok/MC20 feeding into an Audiolab 8000a, in the early 80's. Since then it's been downhill although I've still got the last set up.
I've only had 3 pairs of speakers though.
I upgraded from a Rega Planar 3 and Sugden A48 amp to a Linn LP12 and Naim 32.5/110/SNAPS in the mid 1980s.
With the addition of a Naim CD player and a speaker swap to Monitor Audio Silver 8s around 2000 and a DAB tuner more recently that's the same system I've got now.
They're just shelf ornaments now though - my hearing is so fked I really can't hear music properly anymore.. 
With the addition of a Naim CD player and a speaker swap to Monitor Audio Silver 8s around 2000 and a DAB tuner more recently that's the same system I've got now.
They're just shelf ornaments now though - my hearing is so f
ked I really can't hear music properly anymore.. Edited by Jaguar steve on Thursday 15th March 22:37
Always had budget hi fi until I retired 4 years ago when I suddenly had more time to listen and a cash lump sum to spend. After much research and listening sessions I bought a Roksan Caspian M2, Sonus Faber Venere S 'speakers, Cambridge CXC Cd transport and a Chord Dac.
I'm blown away by the sound quality of this system, I can feel the bass, not just hear it and the soundstage is incredible, I won't be changing it any time soon.
I've accumulated over 1000 CDs over the years, and regularly trawl the charity shops where you can pick up some real bargains.
I also stream Spotify using a Chromecast Audio ( great value bit of kit ) to discover new music, and if I like it, will buy it on CD.
I'm blown away by the sound quality of this system, I can feel the bass, not just hear it and the soundstage is incredible, I won't be changing it any time soon.
I've accumulated over 1000 CDs over the years, and regularly trawl the charity shops where you can pick up some real bargains.
I also stream Spotify using a Chromecast Audio ( great value bit of kit ) to discover new music, and if I like it, will buy it on CD.
20+ years ago to go with a Linn Axis turntable I already owned, I bought a Linn Karik CD player, Linn Kudos FM/AM tuner, Linn Kairn pre-amp, Linn LK100 power amp and a pair of Linn Kaber speakers. All bought used or ex-demo but still expensive for back then - it sounded superb. And only got better when I added another two LK100 amps to tri-amp the Kabers. Later I had the Kabers converted from passive to active and added some active cards. It sounded even better. The Karik sadly died and could not be repaired so swapped to an Arcam CD player and added a Sonos Zone Player 90 to try out streaming. when I retired a couple of years ago I upgraded to a contemporary Linn system. Linn Akurate DSM, Linn Akurate Exaktbox, a pair of Linn Akurate 4200 4 channel amps but I kept the Kabers. Then just before Christmas last year the Kabers were swapped for a pair of Kudos Super 20A speakers. The sound quality is absolutely stunning, soundstage is wide, incredibly stable and 3-dimensional. Linn have just announced the much anticipated Katalyst DAC upgrade for the Akurate DSM and Akurate Exaktbox so futher upgrades available for my system when I ready for them 
ae111sr said:
20+ years ago to go with a Linn Axis turntable I already owned, I bought a Linn Karik CD player, Linn Kudos FM/AM tuner, Linn Kairn pre-amp, Linn LK100 power amp and a pair of Linn Kaber speakers. All bought used or ex-demo but still expensive for back then - it sounded superb. And only got better when I added another two LK100 amps to tri-amp the Kabers. Later I had the Kabers converted from passive to active and added some active cards. It sounded even better. The Karik sadly died and could not be repaired so swapped to an Arcam CD player and added a Sonos Zone Player 90 to try out streaming. when I retired a couple of years ago I upgraded to a contemporary Linn system. Linn Akurate DSM, Linn Akurate Exaktbox, a pair of Linn Akurate 4200 4 channel amps but I kept the Kabers. Then just before Christmas last year the Kabers were swapped for a pair of Kudos Super 20A speakers. The sound quality is absolutely stunning, soundstage is wide, incredibly stable and 3-dimensional. Linn have just announced the much anticipated Katalyst DAC upgrade for the Akurate DSM and Akurate Exaktbox so futher upgrades available for my system when I ready for them
Interesting to hear about the ADSM upgrade - I will have to enquiry when funds allow. I have a similar Linn system, ADSM, A4200 and passive Akubarik.Gassing Station | Home Cinema & Hi-Fi | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff