DiggyGun

A SMSL SA300 Digital Amp for my desktop / office system. For such a small amp, it is rather good. DG…

Likewise, I have less than more. Presently use a pair of Focal Elear through a Naim Headline headphone amp to my Naim system. The source is a Linn Klimax DS3 / Katalyst streamer. Very pleased with it, but not used that often. Did try a pair of Focal Celeste at a recent Hi-Fi show, which were different, but also very nice and look very good as well. DG…

IKEA also provide wall fixing brackets with their Kallax units to prevent in tipping over. DG…

In the UK, Kallax is very popular for storage of records, as well as a system support. DG…

Never seen these before. How are they used and, apart from the looks, how do they differ from normal valves ? DG…

Their Assembly Instructions show that the unit can be used either way. DG…

If you went for a smaller Kallax unit, say a 3x2 or 2x2 you could put your speakers on stands at either end, or on a 1x1 unit with records in it to give it some weight. Also, you can fix feet to a Kallax unit to get the optimum height, plus you can even fix spikes to them. There are many options with using Kallax. DG…

What are the connections on the top of the four valves on the left hand side? DG…

How do the speakers connect to it? DG…

Now that, is very nice. What inputs / outputs do you have, are they at the back? DG…

Appreciate that, which is why in an earlier post, I posted about IKEA Kalkax, that is one of the most cost effective solutions going. As in most cases, there is always some thread drift and I was confirming that glass is a suitable medium. Target Audio also use glass shelves and they are very much at the cheaper end of racks. DG…

A lot of top end producers use 12mm toughened glass shelf’s to great effect. Namely; Naim, SimRack, for example. DG…

Nice photo, but that is of a different rack, a SimRack, I believe. This is the Naim Fraim. DG…

Yes. Get to a temperature of 135oC, so no need for a heater. DG…

This is from my second, office system. An Icon Audio Stereo 25 MkII Integrated Amplifier. DG…

If you have the IKEA stores, their Kallax shelving is very versatile for this type of job.

I changed in June this year from a Linn LP12 (Akurate +) and a Naim CD5 XS to purely digital and got a Linn Klimax DS3 / Katalyst streamer. I also sold my vinyl and CD collection, around a 1000 of each. With the money raised from this and other related vinyl bits and pieces, I took the opportunity to install a Chord EE8 Network Switch and some Chord Clearway streaming cables. I also got some pre-used Naim PowerLines from a well known auction site. So some significant changes to the system. And how does it sound, will be the next question. We are using Qobuz as the streaming platform as, apparently, they have the most Jazz and the most at Hi-Res. So far we have found the sound quality to be very good. Very clear and detailed, bass is controlled, but deep. High notes come through very cleanly and crisp. Considering we had quite a high end spec LP12, the sound is very similar to that and much better than the CD5 XS. One other benefit we found is for background listening, we listen to Jazz24, which comes out of Seattle. If we like a particular track, it is very easy to download it from Qobuz to listen to. We were doing that previously, but buying the album and in the UK they are around £20-30 GBP. However, we often found, that we didn’t always like the full album, plus as others have mentioned, the quality of the record could always be a bit hit or miss. As a consequence, we have found that we are now listening to a greater and diverse number of Jazz artistes. Was it worth the change? To us, yes. I can recommend this route, once you get your head around having no record deck or vinyl, having had my LP12 since 1986. But, I know that it will not everyone’s cup if tea. DG…

I’m in the UK and use the Qobuz Studio Plan which is £12.99 GBP per month. (Which is presently, $23.45 AUD per month). We use it in a number of ways; Via the Linn App as we have a Linn Klimax DS3 / Katalyst streamer into the main system (Ethernet) On the iPhones and iPads to a Bluetooth speaker whilst travelling(Wi-Fi) From my PC running Linux to my office Hi-Fi system (Ethernet) Chose Qobuz because we like Jazz and they reputedly have the largest number of Jazz tracks and the most at Hi-Res. I have found the platform to be very stable, whichever way we use it with no drop outs at all. One other thing we like, is their weekly updates, which we get on a Saturday morning. In particular, their “Panorama” articles which are very good and informative, plus suggested listening playlists within our genre of Jazz. So far we have been very pleased with our streaming experience. DG…

Greetings from the UK and pleased to be here. Been into Hi-Fi since the late 70s and still enjoying the music. DG…