Do to life, and it's many turns in the road, i have had my gear and music in a closet packed in boxes for nearly 2 years.
It was a risk that we took to move the career along and to purchase our first house.
We are in the house, still in boxes. But the top two floors are almost complete. The first floor is a war zone, but the "man cave" is up, and last night I unpacked my boxes and had music.
Long way to go, but with a new home and a new room this is going to be a great time. Now thinking about adding vinyl to the mix, time to enjoy the music again.
This is a very cool table, will look forward to spinning those big black cd's.
Chapman Audio Systems T-8
A great find, sent in to have the most recent upgrades. Chapman the man is even better than the gear.
Odyssey Audio Stratos Mono Plus ( Custom)
I had a guy thow me a bone so to speak and made me a deal that I could not otherwise afford. These are brand new in the box and should handle the Apogees with authority. These have 240k capacitance and more power than you can imagine. This is upgraded caps and power supply. It will match the Stratos Plus.
Audio Mirror T-61
Tubed Line stage preap.
Scott Nixon Non OS DacKit
This was a great pick up for $110 from Phil Hagerman at Nomad Audio.
PS Audio PS-6.1
Basic pre with phono
Adcom GFA-535 mkII
The only way I can afford a Nelson Pass designed amp. Keep it for a second system.
Rega Fono
phono stage
Project Audio Phono Box
phono pre
Rega RB-300
Origin Encounter MK II, is an upgraded version of the classic rega arm. Upgraded wires and vta.
I finally got the Chapman speakers back from the overhaul. I am set for speakers for a long, long, long time.
The townshend table is nice looking, but still have not been able to find a tonearm. Rega based arms are not as readily available as i thought.
The speakers will take about 150 hours to be settled in from what I have been told, but they are amazing already. Have not worked on the room placement just wanted to get thing going to allow for them to settle in.
Will be looking to upgrade the preamp and cdp at some point as well as the dac and phono stage. Those upgrades can wait for now.
any neo folks want to give the rock or chapmans a listen hit me up.
BTW, found out today that Odyssey uses Chapman speakers at one point in their workshop before they were stolen. And Chapman uses the Odyssey amps in theirs. They are a great combination and both manufactures like the synergy.
System edited: I am not much of a audiophile, i just enjoy music. This is going to be it for a while, unless I stumble on to something. Time to invest my money and time of music.
System edited: I have been away from HiFi for about 2 years as I have now rehabbed two houses. Spent a day shopping and fell in love with the spinning black disc, on a search for a analog front end on a budget. Need a preamp, phono stage, table, and a cdp in the future. Have my amp and speakers for the foreseeable future.
System edited: My wife and I have spent a long time in the rehab of our home. I now have a 700 square foot man cave that is reserved for movies on one end and hi fi on the other.
System edited: After two moves and a Crack house rehab, I now have a dedicated "man room". I have liquidated some gear, but still have a basic two channel rig to get back into the game. Finally have put roots down, and will start by figuring out the room. The attic has been completely made over to be a 600 sq foot spot to kick back and relax. Pretty steep learning curve for the new room, but will take my time and enjoy the journey from here on out. But the big thing is I will have music back in the house today or in the am.
System edited: The Roksan was a surprise, I was not expecting such a big change. I loved my old Pioneer/Nixon Dac combo and never realized how thin it was. I always thought I needed a subwoofer to fill the room with full rich sounds. The Roksan brings my experience to another level. Goodbye Nixon and Pioneer hello Caspian. I have found the "source" of my system.
System edited: There have been a bunch of changes in the last few weeks. I have spent very little time online due to a busy life that has me running. It has been nice to come home and focus on the music to get my mind off the world arround me. In the past few months I have added the Apogee Stands with spikes to make a nice change in the overall experience with these nice little speakers. I have also added an Audio Mirror tubed preamp that has made the listening experience a lot more ejoyable, I am able to listen of hours when time permits without the fatigue. i will be trying a Roksan CDP to see what that has to offer. I would also like to add another set of speakers to add in and out of the mix to play with. Hoping to have a some people over to help me get the room set up fine tuned, have an order for some eigth nerve room treatments. Overall, I am enjoying my time with the music more now, but I am not sure If it is because the rig is doing a better job or if the stress of the day makes me look forward to unwinding with my music. Either way, this is proving to be a great way to relax. Thanks to everyone that helped me get this together over the past year. I should have more time after the Holidays to dig back into the hobby, for now it is all about the music.
System edited: I have added my first tubes in the form of the Audio mirror tubed preamp. Have been too busy of late to listen much, but plan on getting some extended listening this week.
Funny you should mention the chair. My new chair is a big comfy La Z Boy recliner. It is great, I fell asleep in the room listening to "A Love Supreme" on sunday afternoon.
Chad, I will try it. Now I have no digital cable, a small oversight when I got the Dac.
can't wait to get some guys over to help with the set up and stuff. goint to try some room treatments as i found a load of Auralux accoustic insulatiosn for next to nothing. Will try some of the DIY stuff in the comin weeks. May try to make a home made "eighth nerve" treatment.
We shall see.
Oh I got the apogees up on the stands and have been messing with the placement, tough to do when all alone.
Any ideas of what I should do to be able to feed the apogees properly. I am set on amps, but will need to address the preamp situation as well as the source. I am thinking of an Audio Mirror tubed preamp and a custom DAC that has been catching alot of love on another site.
System edited: Pics added today and now have the golden triangle setup in place to the best of my limited ability. Breaking in new mono amps and looking forward to getting feedback and ideas from by ears and beers buddies. Small room required nearfield set up, when my eyes are closed it is great, but have to get used to being so close. Thanks for all the help. Bass is hard to find in this set up, but the high and mid range is sweat. DAC and sub are next moves when $$$ allows.
I had a guy throw me a bone on the monos, no way I could swing them. This was a once in a lifetime chance to make a move up for only $250 out of pocket. I am blessed and have great friends. Things have moved so fast I am intimidated by the new gear, too nice for me I think. But I am very happy to have seen things progress so quickly. Thanks to Chad I have been able to hear a couple of nice rigs to get me dreaming. Learning to make one step at a time and enjoy the trip and the music. andy
System edited: Today I opened a new pair of Stratos Plus Monos. These are just one step below the amp of my dreams and should be that last amp I buy for a while. Things have been changing, new speakers, amp, cdp and new room. The apogees should be here tonight or thursday and then I will be gone for a few weeks while they break in. The cdp is a budget all in one and the Denon is gone. I am looking for a player or dac to soften my all digital all SS system.
System edited: I have sold my Chapman T-7 and that guy got a steal, but no worries I was able to take the money and turn it into a set of mint, almost new in the box Apogee C minors. I have some audio buddies that are going to help me get things set up when we move in a couple of weeks. I think the ICs and Cd player will be changed and I may be adding some tubes or a dac to smooth things a bit.
I have had a chance to stop and listen for a while. The set up is missing something. I have not put hardly anything into wires and cables because I don't have it. I am very pleased with my amp and hope to get it broken in fully at some point. I am happy with my CDP, but have considered a DAC like a Nixon, DAC Ah, or a ART DiO in hopes that it may soften the top end.
I am not sure if my speakers are a weak or strong point. My room is not ideal and the highs get to me at times. Any suggestions would be great.
Would a Tube Pre change things? Or does my passive pre work.
System edited: I now have things together and burning in. I will be settling down for some listening. I know this is not anything to make anyone green with envy, but I am happy with what I have achieved in a few short months. Best of all Miles Davis can now stop by anytime for a visit. Thanks for all the help guys, 2 channel is the way to go IMO.
I was alarmed, I was a little frustrated with myself for not doing this sooner. I think to myself, what have I been missing.
It is a strange feeling listening to an album and hear insruments come to life that once sounded like digital effects. The music I love is unfamiliar all of a sudden. To heat the changes catches me off guard.
When I bought my Khartago a couple of months back I did not have a repeat mode on my cd player so I just kept playing cds as possible.
I kept the gear on at all times, but when I began to read this thread I thought well maybe I am missing something. So long story short I have been playing a loop of TSO, Fairfield four, the Beatles, Keb Mo and U2 for the last 48 hours at various levels and holy moly. Even with my cheap BB ICs and Onkyo CD changer I am begining to see this thing open up. Wow, Santa Klaus has come again with my new Khartago, when did he sneek in and change my amp?
Chapman T7 speakers to be added this weekend, should be a solid step forward over the DCM TF.
I am alarmed at all the detail and feeling that I have never heard before in music that I have loved for a long time. It seems as if it is the first time to ever hear this.
If my truck is finished today I will be going to get them this weekend. My wife wanted to get out of town so I suggested heading toward Louisville. The speakers are paid for and waiting for me now.
System edited: I an going to be picking up some Chapman T-7 speakers that are a few hours away. Hope to add these soon and will keep looking for a nice set of keeper speakers and a quality cd and DAC.
System edited: I will be listening to music tonight. It has been a long time in the making. Thank you all my Audiogon friends and ACers that have help me navigate this new hobby of mine. If I can find the right speakers at the right price I can be done for a while. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks for all the help. Andy
