flak monkey
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| posted on 30/1/11 at 03:54 PM |
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Guess who has the hifi upgraditis bug again?
About every 18months I get the urge to upgrade my hifi....I dont know why, and its not as if I have the spare cash to do it most of the time. But I
see something I like and then I just cant help myself.
I dont go wasting my money on fancy interconnects or speaker cable, just sources and amps that do change the sound.
At the start of last month my system was:
Roksan Kandy K1 Liii amp
Roksan Kandy K2 CD
Acoustic Energy AE2 speakers and stands
Pro-ject Debut 2 Phono SB record deck with OM5e cart
Spotted a nice record deck to bring it up to the level of the rest of my gear and ended up buying a Mk1 Roksan Radius with upgraded RB250 arm and
Ortofon 2M black cart.
Then someone came along selling monobloc Roksan Caspian power amps, secondhand at a bargain price so I put a deposit on a pair to be held until the
end of Feb when I next get paid...
And the last bit was an Audio Note M2 Phono Signature Preamp which has recently had a service, I am sure if you know what one of those is then thats
all I need say
OK so all the 'new' stuff is actually secondhand. But there's no way I could afford any of it any other way. I havent even got it
all connected together yet, but it will be interesting to see what the difference is over my current system....
I know I really have better things to spend my money on....but there we go
Anyone else suffer the hifi bug?
Sera
http://www.motosera.com
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HowardB
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| posted on 30/1/11 at 04:02 PM |
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me, apparently there is no cure.
Howard
Fisher Fury was 2000 Zetec - now a 1600 (it Lives again  and goes zoom)
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flak monkey
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| posted on 30/1/11 at 04:07 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by HowardB
me, apparently there is no cure.
Every time I say 'that's it' I always end up buying something else! I shouldnt be allowed control of my own money 
Sera
http://www.motosera.com
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bi22le
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| posted on 30/1/11 at 04:21 PM |
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Is this what happens when you are satisfied with a car you have just built or when your so pi$$ed of with your car it dont deserve your time and money
anymore!!??
On a side note what do you use your stereo for? I used to be an autoelectrician and spent many hours fitting expensive and impressive AV in cars. I
understand why you would do this to cars but not really in houses. Unless you have a proper home cinema set up, are making music or live a long way
away from your neighbours!!.
Just curious,
Biz
Track days ARE the best thing since sliced bread, until I get a supercharger that is!
Please read my ring story:
http://www.locostbuilders.co.uk/forum/13/viewthread.php?tid=139152&page=1
Me doing a sub 56sec lap around Brands Indy. I need a geo set up! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EHksfvIGB3I
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daniel mason
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| posted on 30/1/11 at 04:27 PM |
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How do you find the acoustic energy speakers?
I unfortunately had to sell my Dali ikon 6 surround sound system when completing my last Mnr and I miss them. They were awesome! Nice set up mate.
Have you tried the Cyrus stuff? I think they are hard to beat without spending mega money
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flak monkey
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| posted on 30/1/11 at 04:31 PM |
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Its what happens when I have control of my own money. I am terrible with it, I really am! I should have spent the money on my bike really, so that
will suffer delays for only one reason!
There is little point in spending loads on a car stereo as a car is about the worst place (sonically) to listen to music. So I never understood
that.
I use it for listening to music, funny enough  We have a big enough house for it not to really be an issue. Normally listen at around 90dB, so not
too loud.
So many people don't 'get' hifi, but then a lot of people are happy with the quality of MP3, so I guess the point is missed on them
from the start. Equally there are some people where it become about the reproduction of the sound that it goes beyond the enjoyment of the music
itself. I am somewhere inbetween, I only listen to music that I like, if it happens to be well recorded and produced then thats just a bonus in my
book, at which point I normally turn the stereo up really loud and chill out a bit.
Sera
http://www.motosera.com
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flak monkey
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| posted on 30/1/11 at 04:36 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by daniel mason
How do you find the acoustic energy speakers?
I unfortunately had to sell my Dali ikon 6 surround sound system when completing my last Mnr and I miss them. They were awesome! Nice set up mate.
Have you tried the Cyrus stuff? I think they are hard to beat without spending mega money
The AE2's are the best speakers I have ever had, and their size belies their abilities, especially on the lead filled AE stands. They were a
secondhand bargain a couple of years back. They are like the AE1, but have 2 mid/bass drivers instead of the 1. I had never felt air movement off hifi
speakers until I got the AE2's. They are like these:
http://forum.stereophile.com/standloudspeakers/1195ae/index.html
I tried out a Cyrus CD6 last year, sounded awful to be honest. Too bright and harsh for my ears and system, very tiring to listen to for any length of
time. Maybe its was bad system partnering rather than anything wrong with it, just didnt suit the Roksan amp and AE2's. But then what someone
doesnt like, another person will!
[Edited on 30/1/11 by flak monkey]
Sera
http://www.motosera.com
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ashg
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| posted on 30/1/11 at 04:42 PM |
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i happen to be infected with the bug too. last summer i was driving past sevenoaks hifi had an hour or two to kill. ended up going home with a new
amp and speakers and 5k less in my bank account. they are used every day so i dont ever regret spending the money.
Anything With Tits or Wheels Will cost you MONEY!!
Haynes Roadster (Finished)
Exocet (Finished & Sold)
New Project (Started)
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jeffw
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| posted on 30/1/11 at 05:03 PM |
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I have a Valhalla Sondek, Ittock, K9, Naim pre & power amps, Ruark speakers, Rega CD, Linn cable etc etc.....
The difference between you and me is that I stopped spending 12 years ago, stopped looking at Hi-Fi mags, stopped going into shops. I just buy music
on LP or CD now
Enjoy your system and listen to the music
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r1_pete
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| posted on 30/1/11 at 05:17 PM |
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Glad I havent got anything to upgrade, haven't even got a radio in the house, and nothing apart from the cars to play CDs
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ashg
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| posted on 30/1/11 at 05:30 PM |
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i must admit jeff that i had to give up the hifi mag subscriptions as i couldn't stop changing kit all the time. i just spend the money on cars
now though. 
Anything With Tits or Wheels Will cost you MONEY!!
Haynes Roadster (Finished)
Exocet (Finished & Sold)
New Project (Started)
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flak monkey
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| posted on 30/1/11 at 05:40 PM |
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Tis true, I made the mistake of joining a couple of hifi forums. Maybe thats where its all gone wrong!
Seriously though, I really should spend my money on the bike and not hi-fi. But then again, hour for hour, I probably spend more time listening to
music than riding...
Sera
http://www.motosera.com
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interestedparty
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| posted on 30/1/11 at 05:40 PM |
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I used to be interested in hi fi, and experimented with various set-ups. I found that if there is one area that makes a really big difference
it's speakers, and the moral of the story, I found, was that there ain't NO substitute for cubes. Car engines you can turbo, or
supercharge, but a good big speaker box will always sound better than a good small speaker box.
It's all to do with compliance. A speaker cone moves more easily when there is a big volume of air behind it. A lot of the power used in hi fi
systems goes towards pumping the speaker cone in a small, restrictive box.
As some day it may happen that a victim must be found,
I've got a little list-- I've got a little list
Of society offenders who might well be underground,
And who never would be missed-- who never would be missed!
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probablyleon
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| posted on 30/1/11 at 06:12 PM |
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I used to spend a fair amount on hifi stuff (although not quite at the level we're talking about here) but I soon realised I was listening to
the equipment more than the music, and worrying if it was all working properly. I now run a small recording studio running a pair of PMCs powered by a
simple Crown power amp - sounds fantastic! The conclusion I've come to is high-end domestic 'boutique' hi fi equipment costs twice
as much as pro audio, and that spending money on acoustic treatment is probably where the 'truth' is. My wife won't let me put
baffles, bass traps and diffusers anywhere near our living room so I now have the crappiest stereo known to man. It's all the room deserves  (
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Mix
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| posted on 30/1/11 at 06:44 PM |
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Hi
I know these things are subjective - but in my opinion, don't go trialing B&W speakers in your current mindset
Regards Mick
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flak monkey
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| posted on 30/1/11 at 06:45 PM |
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Its true, one of the biggest improvements you can make is set your hifi up properly in the room. Thankfully we have a half decent sized, retangular
living room which is ideal. Though speaker siting could be futher from the back walls but it would make the room a little impractical. That said, it
sounds alright to me, so I am really quite keen to see what difference the new gear makes once I have it all
Sera
http://www.motosera.com
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