I was quite happy, once.  I had factory modified Adcom GFA 565's driving TJL 3W speakers, using a shedload of different pre-amps and cd players.

Then, I saw an eBay advert - possibly the worst written advert I've ever seen - for what I recognised as Snell Reference A5 towers - and went for it.  This is pre disability, so I could afford it.   So £560 got me the towers, the external crossovers, the kimber connecting cables to go between them, and the active subwoofer crossover (without a psu as it happens) - all of this unused.   I would have bid for the subwoofers, but over 3 foot tall with 18" cones, I just didn't have the bloody room!

So... I then started looking around for the kit to match.  A guy advertised a couple of pairs of subwoofers on eBay - turned out, he'd ordered while drunk - a quick chat with him scored me a pair of unused BK passive front-firing speakers - the BK SSXL400's.

Now at this point I thought I was going to have to get some active crossovers to split the frequencies between main and towers - turns out, the Snell Reference set I'd got was part of the THX compatible setup, and the towers... well they're bloody massive - well over 5' I reckon - they only go down to 80hz...  So I figured on using a 2 channel pre, going to a minidsp, going to two 2-channel amps.  I was going to use my 565's to drive the towers, but then I saw a eBay ad for a pair of Adcom GFA 585LE's.   

I got lucky here.  The guy who wrote the adverts didn't say that he was a professional electronics engineer specialising in audio equipment, or that he'd rebuilt these amps, and made sure they were spot on.  I don't know what the internet is like right now, but back then the only info on the 585 LE's was "they blow up!  capacitor leaks!"  He also forgot to mention that they're ex one of the member's of Depeche Mode's personal recording studio...  The upshot:?  2 tidy amps for £200 each, plus petrol money to deliver.

Next up, another eBay purchase.  I was browsing the ads, and threw in "simaudio" as a search, because I'd been reading about them.  And there it was, a Simaudio Moon Attraction 7.1.  Well actually, it was a 5.1.   But it was only - again £200 - and the reason I went for it-  despite the lack of remote control, is that it has internal digital 4th order crossovers, and will roll off the bass at either set frequences or a custom frequency to other channels.  And since this processor is THX compatible, one of those frequencies is... 80Hz   Result.   So I'm hopefully going to be able to give the MINI-DSP the flick without ever getting it out of its' box.

Although I had a reasonable spinner in the form of the Arcam Alpha 7se (which is one of those bits of kit which punches WAY over its' weight), a Primare V25 got listed - no remote control, £125.  It gained just under 50 watchers in an hour - so Sod that, I thought - I'm having it.   One of the best spinner choices I have ever made, it's a beautiful bit of kit - built like a battleship, solid as a rock, and sounds sublime - I'm looking forward to playing it through the DAC in the pre-amp.  I should add, up until the Arcam, which I bought as part of a complete system, I was using a Denon 2910 dvd player.  It's worth playing with one as a CD spinner, they're rock-solid.  Each different DAC setting takes about 40 hours to burn in until they come sweet, there are 3 options to play with there.

Other stuff?   A few bits.  I've had a Marantz DCC forever - bought it over 10 years ago for the princely price of £40 in a second-hand rat shop, from a guy who didn't know what he was selling.   I used it as a DAC to pep up a few CD players over the years, and it did well.  It also plays normal cassettes, which is nice.   I've also got a Creek tuner that I bought recently, one of the old black wooden box ones.

Oh, and my entry to the hipster vinyl club - a Regar Planar 2 from the 80's.  Somewhere I've got a little bear audio phono stage, seeing as I want to fit a new MM cartridge this'll do.  I'll sell the Glanz MC one that's on it at the moment.

I couldn't afford a power filter/rectifier that will handle both the power amps, so I've had to get a couple of units - a Pure AV for one power amp plus some of the inputs, and a Wychwood electronics unit for the other power amp plus remaining inputs.  

A second hand Logitech Harmony 600 will do me until the next black friday sale.  I hope to be able to buy a couple of harmony ultimates, I'll sell one a few months down the line.

A lucky buy of some (mixed colours) Stands Unique stands has let me at least get the stuff on reasonably spaced out shelves spread across 2 racks.  I am cursing selling 2 racks of this stuff in the past, which I'd got with second hand systems where I bought because I wanted 1 or 2 of the components and sold the rest on.

I'm happy to say that there is some new stuff on the way - Cables.  I found a cable guy - a student, also holding down a job, who's making cables as a side enterprise.  I specced Mogami 2 core shielded cable (I forget the exact version no), Rean Neutrik connectors, and an overbraid pattern called "rusty", using cardas eutectic silver solder.  He came back with such a reasonable price that I ordered the cables to connect frankensystem as I've come to think of it, apart from the chord digital cables that I got hold of second hand.    As I'm not willing to cut the solid silver big-bore cables I have =apparently back in the 80's these were £200 per foot of cable, with 2 cables needed for each speaker - I'm going to set the system up with some cable from the odds and sods and sods box, measure what I need for the 4 speakers I'm using, and get cable guy to make me up some Mogami speaker cables using Z plugs.  I got the solid silver stuff for £170 the lot.   Back before disability, I was a bit... beefy - guy was selling a pair of Heddlund Horns... but he was in a 3rd floor flat with a broken lift.  I had a guy behind me to make sure I got around corners I couldn't see, and took them down one at a time.  I think the price on the cables was a favour

 

The final piece of the puzzle is yet to come,  I'm going to get cable guy to make me some power cables for my kit to my specification.   I've got custom length RCA's coming, I'll have custom length speaker cables, custom length power cords will hopefully let me have a spaghetti free system.  I'm especially looking forward to the power cables, since I quite fancy a Deadpool inspired colour scheme for the overbraids.  What's life without a little idiosyncrasy?

So.. that's where I am right now.  Waiting for cables.  As soon as they arrive, I'll be plugging in, configuring the pre-amp (and part of that is to override the HDCD playback mode, which would normally override the bass rolloff - I have to stick a long thing screwdriver through one of the top vents and flick a dip switch... that's according to the manual!) and hopefully rock and rolling from there.   Pics will come, and will probably feature some Ikea stools pretending to be subwoofer stands - since they're handling some audio above 50z I want them to be in the same general area as the low-frequency drivers on the main towers.

There will be pics.  This system has been 4 years in the making, try and stop me!

Interesting journey and writeup...but there should have been a warning at the start that there were no photos ?  (yet)

My cables are late... but I should have them tomorrow or Friday.

Well, the M.E. flared up BIG TIME - combine this with my ex/ex flatmate stealing a bunch of stuff on her exit, and having to move, and life's really peachy right now.  But - I promise - there WILL be pics after the move!

There's been a few changes to the system.  A further upgrade to the main speaker amplification - I got an Anthem 225 amp, and it's rather nice -  The Adcoms were good, but nostalgia's only going to take me so far - and the Anthem leaves them for dead.  I've got a set of Acoustic Zen Hologram II cables to go onto the Snells as well.  The subs are now driven by an Artcoustic PA-300.  I picked it up for £100 - and it's a stone cold bargain.  Balanced/unbalanced inputs, and a great sound in the under 80hz regions where I'm using it.  There's a reason people used to drive £10k subs with these.

The Pre-amp has become an Arcam SR250 - which is one of those products that deserved better reception in the marketplace than it got.  It's basically a 2-channel AV amp with a superb DAC, a strong emphasis on sound quality and with ARC support integrates the Teev into my sysem beautifully.  I can't recommend this unit enough - it's just beautiful.  The configuration screens are nice and easy to use - and it has onboard support for separate sub-outs, and configurable crossover points - The  Simaudio has been passed on.

The CD Spinner is now a Helios 1 - which is an absolutely superb CD transport.  I wouldn't recommend it as a CD player, because although it finds more detail than any other player I've heard so far, there's something about the internal dac seems determined to make everything... laid back.  It could turn full-on thrash punk into lift music.  As a transport, it's absolutely superb - that detail gets passed to the pre-amp, I don't know what the DACs are in this box, but they work really well.

I've moved on the DCC, I'm still working on getting bits together for my Rega planar 2 - which is going to basically be a new turntable, apart from the arm.  I'll do a full writeup (WITH pics from the get-go!) when I build it, which will be in the new place.  With the rise in cost of living and energy bills, it makes sense for me to move back in with my parents.  If we can figure sharing the space out and rubbing along, we'll be fine.   Hope to be settled and give things the attention they deserve within a month.

The Wychwood Electronics filter has been replaced by a second Pure-av - that's about it.    The system is so close to being "Right" now that I'm itching to get things finished.

 

This gets my vote for the most burlesque system thread ever.....

 

Good story though!

It would be easier for me to move my parents in with me than move my Hifi into my parents.

(Based on my own Frankensystem component count. I promise no pictures). 

Edited August 29, 20223 yr by Godot