What do you think? Any thoughts &/or recommendations are warmly appreciated. I'm primarily into jazz (not smooth jazz), rock, trip-hop, lounge; whatever sounds good. My space's acoustics suck teabags due to bad dimensions, mediocre construction, structural asymmetry + a lack of carpeting & acoustic panels and likely space planning. Before I figured out this simple fact I burned through a lot of $$$$ thinking I had bad &/or poorly chosen gear.
Inexpensive Blu-Ray player to tide me over until more hifi mfrs. start offering them or I could just get a nice dac for this unit. My unit is sitting on Nordost Pulsar points and is being straddled by a satellite tuner.
Music Hall MMF 2.1 LE
It sounds okay, is Ferrari red & plays discs; it'll get me through until I $$$$ to burn on a moving coil setup.
Music Hall Tracker
Moving magnet.
(Rolls) Bellari VP 129
Phono stage, warm & relaxed sound with the essential features.
Nordost 2 Flat
Disappears sonically & visually. It's hard to go wrong with Nordost.
Duevel Planets
Horn-loaded omni's.
S5 Electronics DIY kit integrated
Unbelievably high sound quality for it's purchase price! I've never built anything electronic before & I finished it in under a day. Or get 2 for use as monoblocks and bridge them. I use mine to mate with my ASL preamp sometimes or with the Decco as the preamp but can be run directly from any source.
Antique Sound Labs LH-01
Mellow.
Rotel RB-1080
Decent entry level power amp 200 watts x 2 @ 8 Ohms
Macintosh Apple AirPort Express module
I use it for streaming background music wirelessly.
Thanks Bruce. I have read a little about the Zerodust cleaner and it sounds like a wise investment. I do have a record clamp, but it simple "wedges" on the spindle and has a silly little level bubble in the middle of it, I can't recal the manufacture but it serves the purpose for now.
Hey buddy, I have a question for you. Do you still have the original Music Hall/Goldring cart on your TT? I was thinking of a cheap upgrade like the Grado Gold, etc? Your thoughts?
Bruce, The Vandersteen's go surprisingly low, so it would be a shame to cut them off at 60hz. I now have the velodyne crossed over at 40 and the V's full range. Very sweet! My next upgrade may be a new cartridge.
No apology necessary, as I have gained loads of knowledge from your advise! I am doing tons of research and taking my time (as I rused into this hobby recently out of pure joy of music) to make any further changes. Better stands will be first, then I am going to seriously look at my interconnects and speaker cables.
You are a wealth of knowledge and am learning tons! Thanks!!
Thanks guys! I am going to do some shopping around. Thanks again for pointing me in the right direction. What are your thoughts on weights on top of your equipment for further isolation control? Is it worth the hassle and expense?
Wow! I have to say, I do appreciate the advise and will take it into consideration. The good news is that I have yet to purchase the Mapleshade stands due to the cost, and thank you for opening my mind to further changes. I will try a taller stand to further my ears and hopefully increase my enjoyment. Any suggestions on the height of the stands? Makes or models that are best? I really appreciate the advise guys as I am a newbie here.
Bruce, after checking out your system, I am really considering a pair of Duevel Planets as they would be ideal keeping our little boy from damage due to their driver placement. Any issues that I need to be aware of?
Thanks for the Blue Tack idea Bruce. I would love to get my speakers off the shelf and have been looking at Mapleshade's solid maple stands. I have experimented with simply setting them on concrete blocks and you are right, the sound is totally transformed. I do however, have to figure out how to actually teach my one year old how to not try to climb everything in sight. he is a wild one!! Takes after his father! Thanks again Bruce!
