System edited: Upgraded my turntable. Overall sound has slightly improved. However, I prefer the Music Hall over the Thorens for a lot of reasons. Better arm, better tracking, build quality, etc.
System edited: Cheap additions keep things interesting and fun. New tuner and universal disc player to experiment with SACD and DVD-Audio. I'm still saving for a new turntable...Thorens HD 160 HD, VPI Classic or Rega 7. Any advice?? After the turntable, a DAC, and perhaps a Wadia idock (after the DAC), I don't want to spend another dime until I'm 40.
I use a Vibrapod sandwich under my cd player, and the turntable is mounted to the outside wall. A heard of elephants could run through the living room, and the record won't skip. I haven't isolated the solid sate non-spinning components, though. Good idea.
The wall shelf was a cheap shelf from the container store. It was a friend's idea (though I'd like to take credit), and it works great.
I'm not crazy about the iPod either, but it's a nice solution to have music play when we entertain. I never use it for regular listening.
The Wadia and Dacmagic are interesting ideas to which I've given a bit of thought. I love records so much that I doubt I'd use them much, though.
I mostly listen to vinyl, but I also have 1000+ cds. I'm in that weird age-group where cds seemed like the perfect replacements for tapes, but I was too young to grow up with vinyl.
A few upgrades to my turntable a year ago made vinyl the ONLY way to go anymore. I love the Rotel player (the dither control makes it smooth and not too harsh), but I still listen to vinyl 95% of the time.
I like the Monitor Audio speakers...I think they'll last me until I start spending real money on a stereo.
Nice LP collection! You might want to consider some isolation solution between your stacked components. Relatively cheap upgrade that yields noticeable improvements.
Nice! I am a Cambridge fan myself. How do you like your Monitor Audio's? I have a vintage pair from the mid 90's that I love but am curious of how their current line performs.
Hey there Tommy, I like the way you think: LP storage as high-mass equipment stands - very smart & convenient. Ipod beside the turntable - blasphemous! Great job!
There's really no competing with Apple for convenience but at the same time it's hard to ignore the superior sound of vinyl. CD is like a compromise between the two without the full benefits of either. I find that I go through format phases tt, cd, mp3, tt, cd, mp3, so on & so forth.
Have you thought about getting one of those Wadia iPod docks & pairing it with a Cambridge Dac Magic? That's what I'm planning for my next stereo purchase. That, or maybe getting an Apple TV and an external USB dac to interface with my tv monitor, I'm still undecided...probably they're both already obsolete.
