On reflecting during the latest Melbourne lockdown, I thought it would be an interesting personal exercise to log my hi-fi journey. Once complete, it seemed like an artefact that could be shared, so after some re-writing and adding of photographs, I’m posting it over several ‘episodes’ in this thread. 

 

July 2020
🎵 Now playing: Duran Duran, Seven and the Ragged Tiger

 

 

My hi-fi setup was simple this time last year and mostly adequate. I'd had a more dedicated hi-fi setup a few years ago, but having kids and moving into a smaller home meant that I'd sold off my setup; some VAF DC-Xs connected into an Integra amp, with a couple of other sources.

Now, my setup was a lovely yellow Pro-Ject Debut Carbon plugged into a Phono Box USB V, and then into an old Sonos Connect. I have a reasonable collection of vinyl, and would play records via Sonos equipment through my Playbar or a pair of Sonos Play:1s. For streaming, I used a stereo pair of HomePods.

 
But, I've loved music for a long time, and after enough months in lockdown, I was ready to fight back against busy work, kids learning at home, and a lack of ability to travel. I decided to try and make some improvements to the sound solution, and see if spending some money would make me feel a little better, even if in the short term.

I wrote up a list of my wants:

 

• Ability to play vinyl and have excellent speakers to hear it. 
• Ability to hear the vinyl in other rooms.
• Ability to play music via AirPlay as a source.
• Keep it simple.
• Space considerations. I like in a small place by choice. I don't have a dedicated listening room. It's a shared living/dining space that everyone uses. Floor standing speakers would not suit. While preferring not to have a stack of full size components, aesthetics do play a part, and I do like the look of tube amps :-).
• Volume considerations. It's a small place, so I wanted excellent sound, especially at low to medium volumes. 
• Ability to have good sound for daily background listening, as well as dedicated listening.
• It's nice to 'Hey Siri' to start/stop playback, change volume, next track, etc. But Sonos doesn't do that. Conversely, HomePods don't have the ability to have turntable as an input. So there's a conflict there.
• Nice sound when watching movies on TV.
• Music style: Not classical, hip hop, jazz, country or r'n'b. Basically 80s-20s indie/alternative/pop/dance. If My Bloody Valentine's 'Loveless' sounds good, nothing else matters. ;-).

 

I reached out to an audio engineer friend who guided me to start by looking at speakers from Dynaudio, Genelec or Adam.

Another audiophile friend suggested looking at Wharfedale Dentons.

The Internet seemed to like KEF LS50Ws, so they we on my list as well. 

 

It was time to start my search. 

 

More to come...

Edited June 15, 20214 yr by mbd
Grammar fixes

@HeyNow Hi-Fi👍

August 2020
🎵 Now Playing: Men at Work, Business as Usual

 

 

By now, I'd spent a bit of time trying to explore options, and my plan was to buy a separate amp and speakers rather than an active speaker set. It would enable me to upgrade one or the other, without having to do both at the same time. I intended to put two bookshelf speakers near the turntable, and ensure that there was still a way to pipe the record player into the Sonos equipment I had. And to make sure the amp had at least one or two aux inputs, in case I decided to plug in a CD or DAP type source in future.

 

One option I considered for the amp was the (at the time) new Leak Stereo 130. It appeared to be a re-badged Quad Vena II, a relatively well-regarded integrated amp. I liked the retro look of the Leak.

 

For the speakers, I was leaning towards the Wharfedale Dentons, but also keeping an eye out for anything Genelec, Dynaudio or Adam as recommended to me.

I've been on SNA for years, even if mostly as a lurker, but I started scanning for information and advice. There wasn't any ability to go in and trial equipment thanks to lockdowns, so I did a lot of reading. There's an absolute treasure trove of advice here, and it was invaluable.

 

While hunting for what I was looking for, I did find a great deal on some used Focal Stellias and an Astell&Kern DAP here, which together sounded amazing! But that's not part of this story. 🙂

 

And then, some VAF Signature I-91 mkii speakers were listed. I didn't have an amp yet other than an old, underpowered Rotel from the 1970s, but I had owned VAF speakers in the past and really liked them. I couldn't resist being reunited with the brand, and bought them from the very kind @Sonorlink, who also lent me an amp while I worked out the next step. This kind of friendliness and generosity was a running theme, which I've loved.

 

Research for the right amp began in earnest. The speakers needed some oomph, and I spoke to the extraordinary Simon Wilde (@VAF/HiFiGuru) for advice. He recommended a couple of amps, including a very nice looking Densen one. It was a little more than I was planning to spend, but I was tempted, and it was looking like that was the way I was going to go. He also introduced me to Soundsmith cartridges and talked about how they might help with my turntable's sound, but I wasn't ready for that.

 

Yet...

 

Tune in next time for the next chapter in my journey...

I am so glad you are enjoying your journey.

I will be keeping a close eye on what is the pipeline next. 

😊 

September 2020
🎵 Now Playing: Depeche Mode, Violator

 

 

Browsing SNA again, I came across a Devialet Expert 200 integrated amp being sold by @kev88. It sure looked nice. But, it was even more than the Densen that had been suggested to me. And, it was more than double the initial budget I'd intended. It was time to do more research. 

 

I did a great deal of reading hi-fi forums, reviews, etc to try and get a sense of whether it was worthwhile. I loved the slab of cool silver look, and while I'd leaned away from all-in-one type solutions, I couldn't get past the positive reviews, the ability to have everything I would need (great phono pre-amp, DAC, streaming, and more than enough power to drive the speakers) in the one slimline box. And the idea of it being configurable via a data file generated through a website seemed so futuristic. My space being small, the form factor worked very well. And, when I saw that my VAF speakers were listed as ones that could take advantage of Devialet's speaker active matching (SAM), I was pretty much sold. When I told one of my aforementioned friends about it though he said, "Mate I think isolation is screwing with your head". He may have been right, but Kev88 was really patient and helped appease any uncertainties. So I took the plunge, and haven't regretted it since.

 

Knowing I would need some speaker cables, I ordered some All Rounder cables from @NB Speaker Cables. I'd done some reading, and read many different opinions about speaker cable. I lent towards not over-spending on cables, but buying good quality. And, I was glad to be able to support an Australian business for this - these would be more than adequate.

 

If warning signs hadn't started yet that this journey wasn't over, and that I was pouring the difficulties of 2020 into my re-ignited passion for sound, then the next step would make it clear. 

 

Two weeks after receiving the Expert 200, and loving what it had to offer, I decided to take Devialet up on their offer to upgrade it to a current model Expert Pro 220. I had read that it would provide improved sound, and better streaming options, including AirPlay, which was one of my desires at the outset. A big selling point for me was that it would also reset the warranty back to five more years. So, off it went on an international journey to France when none of us could. (I do wish that I could have done the same). 

 

And so, I waited for it to return.

 

More to come... 

Edited July 26, 20214 yr by mbd
fixed minor typo

October

🎵 Now Playing: Stereolab, Dots and Loops

 

 

Weeks went by, and finally the Devialet was back. I plugged it in, set it up, and also hopped onto the Roon train. What amazing software! I setup an old iPad to act as the 'Now Playing' display, but it was fairly short-lived.

 

I was finished with my journey. Except...

My turntable was a great one for its original intended purpose. I'd bought it years ago from @Encel-Stereo, before they closed down. Over the years, I'd slowly upgraded it, adding a SpeedBox S and an acrylic platter. It looked nice. It was a reliable piece of equipment. But, I started to feel like I'd outgrown it with my fancy new additions. And, I'd never replaced the OM10 stylus it came with. I wandered the halls of the SNA forums again, considered a Linn LP12, and then discovered the existence of the Technics 1200G.

 

I used to play music at clubs in Melbourne "back in the day", so the aesthetic immediately triggered some nostalgic feelings. But while it looks like the club decks, this was built with quality in mind. From my research, I couldn't find much negative said about it generally, and when I did, it was usually someone equating it to the previous 1200 models, or an audiophile working at a much higher level going into how many thousands of dollars they'd spend improving it to sound more like a $20,000 turntable. 

 

And, I saw that @DarrenT had had a pair of them listed. In my communications with him he was a gentleman, and offered to drop one of them off to me. He even helped me with a 'spare tyre' cartridge until I sorted out what I was going to use with it. Again, a sign of the kindness that exists here. He's been DJing around the traps for many years, and we had a great chat about the "old days", even though I am pretty sure he is still active. I hope you're enjoying the 12"s I passed on, if you're reading this, Darren :).

 

Next, a cartridge needed to be found. I'd been really happy with the advice Simon Wilde had been giving me, and the Soundsmith carts seemed to be well regarded. Initially Simon had suggested an Otello, but after some more discussion with him, and some chats with both Peter Green and Parker from Soundsmith, I decided on the 'Zephyr Mk III ES'. I briefly considered the Zephyr MIMC, but drew the line. (Even I have my limits, it seems).

 

To be continued, soon...

November

🎵 Now Playing: Alvvays, Alvvays

 

 

While awaiting the Soundsmith cartridge to arrive from South Australia, I deep dove into how to align a cartridge and setup the turntable, as I'd never done it before, and the options to get it done professionally were pretty limited with the lockdowns. I bought a protractor and built a tracking force gauge with my coffee machine bean scale and some lego, and found a lot of great advice online, which included that my scale might not be the best tool for the job 🙂. I think my favourite single source of information was this YouTube video, but it was by no means the only source I used. I ended up replacing my homemade tracking gauge with one from Discrepancy Records, just in case. As it turns out, I did a reasonable job with it, as we'll discover later.
 

Obviously, I now had a great set of speakers, an incredible integrated amp, and a great turntable setup. 
 

Was my journey complete?
 

Not yet.
 

A colleague was talking about his record cleaning setup. He'd bought a Degritter, and thought it was easily worth the money. I looked up the price and nearly fell out of my chair. He made some sound arguments for having one, but I wasn't going to spend that kind of money. But, just in case, I check SNA in case there was a second hand going. Nope! So I sent a message to Geoff at @HeyNow Hi-Fi telling him that if there was ever a b-stock super cheap one going to let me know. He kindly agreed to keep an eye out, but effectively told me not to hold my breath, in a very polite way :-). In the meantime, I bought a Pro-Ject Audio Spin-Clean Record Washer. It worked pretty well. 

 

 

Check out that filthy water! I spent a weekend manually cleaning about 40-50 records, and listening to the results. After the manual efforts with it, the drying off with a cloth, I could see the appeal of the Degritter, but the spin clean did a good enough job. 🙂

 

More to come soon... 

December, January

🎵 Now Playing: Saint Etienne, Words and Music

 

 

Almost nothing changed! I was enjoying the system. I did some reading about isolation, and then saw that @AndreaB was selling some IsoAcoustics Aperta 200s in great condition. They were  shipped to me, and I used them between my VAF speakers and my record cases. This purchase was probably more of a "this should improve the sound" than a particulary noticeable change to be honest. Or, maybe there was a change and my ears just didn't notice. 

 

I'd gone for a couple of months now, and other than this minor tweak, I hadn't made changes. And I was enjoying it. It was a joy to just sit and listen to albums after work, and reconnect with my record collection, plus explore some of the streams via Roon.

 

The journey was complete!
 

Narrator Voice: It was not complete.
 

February: Part One
🎵 Now Playing: Primal Scream, Don't Fight It, Feel It

 

 

I was really enjoying dedicating time in my evenings to sitting down and listening to music. Sometimes I'd do nothing, and just let the music happen. Other times I'd sit with an iPad and browse while listening. I'd setup Roon (which as I've mentioned before is amazing, and easily worth the price of admission), and had been using that with my ripped CD library, and used Qobuz for streaming. Often, I'd pause and notice little things that made me smile in the sounds I heard.

 

Things were good.

And then, I started contemplating the speakers.

I thought about how at the beginning of all this, I'd started with the VAF i91s, before any other decisions had been made. And, as I'd progressed, I was buying equipment that was capable of higher grade sound than I'd intended to own. Maybe my speakers were being out-classed by the rest of the setup? 

 

I definitely wasn't unhappy, but I was curious. Maybe I could find some end-game speakers, ones that I would keep for the long term without temptation to upgrade... And that curiosity led me to start researching again, just in case. And, for the first time in this journey, the covid situation was finally at a point where I felt confident enough to go into a hi-fi store to actually try something before I bought. 

 

My audio engineer friend had recommended Dynaudio speakers to me last year at the start of my journey. I read an article about Dynaudio Special Fortys, and was thinking they might be an answer. 
 

I visited the friendly staff at AudioTrends and looked around. They suggested B&W 705 Signatures as a potential. I was enamoured with the look of the Sonus Faber Olympicas. And, I was scanning the classifieds here to see if anything else interesting showed up. Then, I saw that Dynaudio announced their Heritage Specials, and the reviews were persuasive. The main problem was that it was really hard to find a pair that I could listen to. I decided to try and ask here on SNA for any opinions or suggestions, and had some great advice offered.

 

I also read about KEF Reference 1 speakers, and they seemed like a strong contender as well. @diamonds71 had had some for sale here previously, so I reached out to ask him, in case they were still available. They weren't, but we ended up chatting on here, then via texts and then on the phone too. (he regretted selling his, and I regretted that I wasn't the buyer after talking to him).

 

I sent an inquiry to Kevin @Class A Audio about trying the Dynaudios. He wasn't able to demo them, but suggested perhaps coming in to listen to some Magico A1 speakers. I'd read about Magico several times, and they were treated with reverence whenever they were mentioned, but I'd thought of them as out of budget. As I said in my end game speaker post:

 

Quote

Well, they say not to go and check out a puppy/kitten unless you plan to bring it home. I learned the same can apply with speaker demos. I went to check out some speakers yesterday and ended up with some Magico A1s which blew me away. I had to get out of the seat to make sure what I was hearing came from just those two speakers. 

They sound great in my home, but my next quest will be to tweak all the things to try and make them sound as incredible as they did in the sweet spot of the listening room at the hi-fi store 

 

To be continued...

 

Edited July 26, 20214 yr by mbd
fixed typos

February: Part Two
🎵 Now Playing: Slowdive, 5 EP

 

Previously, on my hi-fi journey:

 

Quote

They sound great in my home, but my next quest will be to tweak all the things to try and make them sound as incredible as they did in the sweet spot of the listening room at the hi-fi store 

Kevin was really good to talk to. He even offered to come over to my place to have a listen and check the placement of my speakers, when I talked to him about how they didn't sound quite as nice as they had in his demo room. He then listed out some options that he felt would help improve the sound, if I wanted to (no hard sells). He suggested speaker stands, new cables, a power conditioner, and if I really wanted to finish it off some acoustic panels. I took notes, and thought of it as a checklist for the future.

Everyone agreed on one thing though; Kevin, the folks in here, and audio-minded friends. They  all  told me the best thing I could do was to put the speakers on speaker stands instead of on top of my record cabinets. I tried to resist. I tried moving the two cabinets (luckily on castors) a little further apart and away from the wall. But I finally relented, and bought some stands, and some garnet grit to weigh them down. Kevin did a great price on them, and let me tell you that the difference was a major upgrade. Everyone was right. An additional bonus is that I am pretty good at fitting sand into very small holes with a funnel. An excellent life skill.

 

But, the journey was still not over...
 

March

🎵 Now Playing: Soft Kill, Dead Kids R.I.P. City

 

 

I ordered a Umik-1 microphone to play with Devialet's 'Sweet Room' EQ capability. I found a YouTube video explaining how to use Room EQ Wizard (REW) software, and spent a pleasant Saturday messing with it. In testing, I think that it sounded cleaner, but the bass disappeared a little more than I was happy with. It created a dilemma, because without the EQ, things didn't sound as clean across the range. But when I wanted the thump from the bass, it wasn't there. Additionally, the use of SAM settings created some conflict in my mind. I'd read that SAM was good. But I'd received advice from others not to use it. 

 

And honestly, what do I know about any of this? I'm no expert. But, I remembered, that ultimately they are my ears. And if I'm happy, and the music can make me smile, or brings on an emotional response, that's the right thing for me. I experimented a lot with different levels of SAM, turning EQ on and off, and settled on SAM at 30% and EQ on. This also meant that my EQ may not have been 100% right as I'd done the testing with SAM on, but I've not yet got around to re-doing the process. 

 

A colleague of mine and I started chatting about hi-fi around this time. I knew how much he loved his custom built speakers, made by Mike Lenehan. He started talking to me about speaker cables. I wondered how can speaker cables make a difference beyond ensuring that you have decent enough quality, clean wire? I'd read so many articles about speaker cables. "People who spend more than the cost of Blue Jeans Cable LC-1s are suckers". "It's snake oil". Roomfuls of audiophiles who did testing couldn't tell the difference, and so on.

 

He told me to check out Mike's Foilflex cables. I was skeptical. I asked how convinced he was that I'd hear a difference, and he just said "You gotta hear these cables". 

 

So, I emailed Mike @Lenehan Audio and told him I'd been referred to him. Shortly after, a very polite Mike Lenehan rang me and spent a some time chatting to me about his cables. He pretty much gave me an offer I couldn't refuse; he'd send the cables down to me, and if I didn't like them, I had 30 days to return them. He confidently added that he'd never had someone send them back so far. Just as this occurred, I saw some of Mike's previous generation RibbonTek speaker cables come up on SNA. I bought them from @Vinnie2000 hoping that between the NBSpeakerCables that I already had, the RibbonTek and the FoilFlex, I could make an informed decision that was financially sensible. Some perspective: the RibbonTeks were about 3x the price of the NBs. The FoilFlex were about 15x the price of the NBs. As I chatted with Vinnie, he also suggested looking into power conditioning and upgrading cables as good next steps after speaker cables.

 

The RibbonTek cables arrived very quickly and I connected them, and... I think they sounded better? I wasn't 100% sure. The FoilFlex cables arrived soon after. My intention when they arrived was to go through a relaxed process of testing. In my mind, my plan had been to listen to a couple of songs properly a few times, and then try the new cables. But, they arrived after I'd had a terrible day at work, juggling multiple high priority issues after a bad night's sleep the night before. It was a long day. I was so tired, and until later that evening, I'd decided I would wait until another day to try them with a fresher outlook. But, I had a late change of heart, and just figured I'd connect the FoilFlex, confirm that I would likely not hear much of a difference, and then hopefully in a better mood, go through the more formal checking as planned to test more thoroughly.

 

The thing is, against my better judgement, and being tired, and a bit grumpy, I was sure I could hear a difference. Immediately. Noticeably. As I told my friend, "If this is placebo, it's worth it". I honestly couldn't believe how much better it sounded. The post-EQ bass that I had lost was back. And back with far more definition than it had been before. I'm not a massive Fleetwood Mac fan, but I played 'Everywhere' and with my eyes closed, couldn't place the sound to the speakers. I played music that are often favourite test songs on audiophile playlists, and even music I didn't like sounded great. Days later and I was still being floored how well they were sounding. Needless to say, I didn't send them back.

April

🎵 Now Playing: Kelly Lee Owens, Inner Song

 

 

I was still using some very old RCA interconnects with my turntable, and thought they might need an upgrade. I went through a few near-hits with some second hand cables, but eventually bought a set from the incredibly patient @colinm1. He had a Synergistic Research Tricon Tesla 1m Phono RCA cable and made me a generous deal. My turntable was doing great, and the system was really nice. I was enjoying going through a lot of my vinyl. 

 

And then the siren call of the Degritter re-emerged. They seemed to be popular, as they often didn't seem to be in stock. I messaged Geoff at @HeyNow Hi-Fi again to see if there were any deals to be had. He offered a discount off his website's price, and I put in an order. A day or two later, he ran a site-wide Easter sale with even better discounts. Geoff was very accommodating when I got in touch, and immediately agreed to let me re-order at the even lower price. (Thanks Geoff!). 

 

A couple of weeks later, he delivered the cleaner himself, and while I made him a coffee he was kind enough to run through my system. With no pressure, he said some nice things (phew!), and when I asked about any obvious lackings, his main suggestion was to consider power conditioning regeneration. He also mentioned a contact who could help check my cartridge alignment, which had still been preying on my mind since I'd set it up myself. After he left, I started unpacking my new Degritter. And as I was putting it together, I noticed a significant something. A missing part. Surely not? But indeed it was true. Like a lot of coffee machines, the Degritter contains water in a removable tank, and the tank wasn't there. Dismayed, I sent Geoff a message after triple-checking everything in the box. It was 6pm on Friday evening, and I didn't really expect much to happen that weekend. I was wrong. Geoff was right on it, got in touch with the distributor, and then told me they'd drop a new water tank off the next day. On a Saturday. Which they did. By Saturday evening I was cleaning records in a beautiful toaster-looking device that did all the hard work for me. Washing, drying, it did the lot. 
 

I was very impressed with the shopping experience. Obviously, when spending a significant amount of money on something, you expect that it will be a flawless experience. But I know that's not always the case. For me, what separates the best businesses from the rest is what they do when things don't go to plan. Geoff over-delivered as far as I'm concerned, and I was delighted to be using my record toaster cleaner that weekend. The Degritter is great, and buying second hand vinyl has been a joy. Obviously it can't remove a scratch, but it turns dusty gunky records into shiny beautiful things. I bought a copy of Cowboy Junkies' Trinity Sessions on Vinyl at the recent Moorabbin Record Fair, and got it for half price because of how dirty it was. Not a problem for the Degritter. If I buy another few hundred records like that, the Degritter will have paid for itself! 🙂

 

May update is coming 'soon'...
 

May

🎵 Now Playing: My Bloody Valentine, Loveless
 

(FYI, not a hoarder, bought extras for overseas friends who couldn't get a copy)

 

Having kids in a small home like mine, every time they got near my nice speakers, I'd hold my breath, get tense, and think "please don't trip into them, please don't bump into them, please don't break my beautiful speakers". And that's not fair on them. One might argue that for the price, it wouldn't be unkind of Magico to include grilles. But then, maybe not everyone wants them, and adding them to the total cost for everyone possibly isn't sensible. So, I bought a pair of grilles from Kevin at Class A who took good care of me. The grilles are nearly art in themselves. They are magnetic, and the touch points are nicely padded, so as not to scratch the speaker face. Placing them is pretty satisfying, they just bump into the right place, and are super easy to remove when it's time for dedicated listening. After the weight of the speakers, when I collected the grilles I thought perhaps the box was empty, as they're so light!

 

I was also visited by SNA contributor @Mark Gusew, the person who Geoff at HeyNow recommended to check my cartridge alignment and turntable setup. He was very kind and told me what a good job I did setting up my turntable ... prior to spending a lot of time fixing all the things I didn't do quite well enough :-). He advised that some isolation may help for the equipment I have. Luckily I already had a bag of hockey pucks, and had used some under the Devialet, but I added four more for the Technics turntable. I offered to clean a couple of his records for him while he was here, and I'm pretty sure he wants a Degritter now, too. I hope Geoff does a good deal for him if so .

 

When Mark visited, he also brought over a couple of things for me to test on loan from Geoff. One was a PS-Audio Stellar P3 power regenerator with an @EGM Audio power cable. Another was a Les Davis turntable mat; something I'd read about in the past, but not yet explored.

 

Later that day, I unpacked and turned on the PS-Audio for the first time, and ... nothing! Nothing happened. No lights were glowing. I re-checked the manual, but I didn't appear to miss anything. I checked the fuse with a multimeter, and it appeared to have blown. I scrounged through some electronic bits and pieces I have to see if I could find another fuse, and found two that matched. I tested one with my multimeter and it was OK. Put it in the PS Audio, and turned it on, and ... nothing! Retesting the fuse, it was no longer working. I felt like I might be one of Geoff's unluckiest customers :-). I had one fuse left, so I gave it a go, and this time, lights! I was in business again. Perhaps my power wasn't very good and this was a sign? I connected up the Technics 1200G and Devialet Expert Pro 220 and listened. It sounded good. Did it sound different? I wasn't entirely sure. I decided to give it a week or so with Geoff's blessing, and thought I'd use it until I was used to it, and then remove it to see what I thought.

 

And then I had a cold for a week, so wasn't able to do the testing I wanted to until June, an update which I'll send through ... Soon.

Edited June 25, 20214 yr by mbd

Good reading. Great story. 

Very nice system evolution. Good LP collection too ! Enjoy !

June

🎵 Now Playing: Toto, Toto IV

 

 

I'd had a busy couple of weeks that stopped me from properly enjoying my system. Finally, it was time to actually spend some time with the PS Audio Stellar P3 that Geoff at HeyNow had lent me.

 

I plugged a power cable into the wall directly, and another into the P3. I played the first minute of Primal Scream's 'Sad and Blue' with one cable. Then the other. I could hear the difference. But could I? That old self-doubt was back again. I tried the first minute of Pet Shop Boys' 'Being Boring' between the two options. Again I was sure I could tell the difference. I decided to do some blind testing. With the help of my son, I had one of the two power cables plugged into the Devialet 220 without knowing the power source. I listened. My son swapped cables. I listened. And over several tests with these two songs, the one I thought sounded better was the power brought in via the P3. A 100% result was a good enough indicator for me, and so the Stellar P3 is the newest addition to my hi-fi setup.

 

Scanning the classifieds here, I found some Les David 3D-2 isolation discs that @dwbasement was selling, so figured I'd snap those up and replace the hockey pucks. Why not, right? They're much more elegant than pucks.

 

And at this point, that is the story of my past year in hi-fi. We are at the end of the line. The journey is over!

 

Unless it isn't... 🙂

 

Maybe I'll keep an eye out for two power cables that will fit into the tiny space that the Technics 1200G and the Devialet 220 provide for power plugs, as the large round connector ones don't fit. Once I would have laughed at the thought, but after the amount of difference I've heard in unexpected ways, I'm open to trying. 

 

Maybe at some point I will consider finding another Devialet 220 to use as a companion amp to upgrade my current one to a dual mono D440 setup...

 

And, perhaps some isolation for the speakers and/or speaker stands some day. Or, maybe a CD player worthy of the rest of the setup.

 

But, for now, I feel happy with what I have. I've learned so much in the past year from so many people, and I've slowly been building my confidence to trust what I like, and enjoy the path I take.

 

The most wonderful thing has the amount of kindness I've experienced along the way. The community has been great. I've referenced many in this thread, and everyone I've interacted with, including many not mentioned, has universally been nice, patient and kind. I've had some great conversations and made some new friends. Outside of SNA, folks on the devialetchat.com, the hi-fi retailers, and to my delight, many people who are the ones that make the equipment - have all been friendly. Across the board, I've not had an experience that wasn't like this. I never expected that, and I really appreciate it.
 

Thank you!

 

And so, perhaps this will be the end of the line. If it is, I hope my journey wasn't too self-indulgent, and that you enjoyed it. And if I add or change some more, I'll do my best to update it with additions in the future.

 

 🍻  For now, cheers to you for reading 🙂

 

Great journey @mbd thanks for taking us along for the ride.

Looks like a great space to listen to some tunes, I love the artwork too. 👍

Excellent report of your journey.  I’ve asked my wife to read it so she realises it’s not just me who is embarked on such a tour. 
 

You and your family deserve to obtain great enjoyment from your system. 

June (The Epilogue)

🎵 Now Playing: New Order, Republic

 

Yesterday, I was asked by someone about how I felt I went against my original list of wants and needs for a system (mentioned in the first post).

 

I feel like I succeeded with nearly all of them up till now, particularly:

 

✅ Ability to play vinyl and have excellent speakers to hear it. 

✅ Ability to play music via AirPlay as a source.

✅ Keep it simple.

✅ Space considerations.

✅ Volume considerations. It's a small place, so I wanted excellent sound, especially at low to medium volumes. 

✅ Ability to have good sound for daily background listening, as well as dedicated listening.

✅ Music style: Not classical, hip hop, jazz, country or r'n'b. Basically 80s-20s indie/alternative/pop/dance. If My Bloody Valentine's 'Loveless' sounds good, nothing else matters. ;-).

 

 

For the rest, I thought I'd give a summary of where I got to as the year since I started nearly ticks over.

 

Ability to hear vinyl in other rooms.

❌  I don't feel that I've solved this. For now, I will need to be satisfied with streaming my ripped CDs, Qobuz's selection, and Internet radio via Roon. Alternatively, I can turn the volume up really loudly. 🔊

 

It's nice to 'Hey Siri' to start/stop playback, change volume, next track, etc.

✅ I solved this just today, mainly so I could tick this box. Ultimately, it would be nice if Devialet updated the Expert Pro to work with AirPlay 2 instead of AirPlay 1, but I am not holding my breath. I initially explored whether or not I might be able to use homebridge software to add either the Devialet Expert Pro, or Roon into something that was manageable. It looked like there may have been a couple of options, but the projects hadn't been updated in a while, and I wasn't confident they would do what I want. Then, I realised that Belkin had recently announced a new Soundform Connect adapter that provides an Analog or Digital input via AirPlay 2 into legacy hardware. But, it's on pre-order, and with an RRP of USD$99, not cheap. Finally, I realised I already had a solution ready to go. An old Airport Express, which with a firmware upgrade was able to identify as an AirPlay 2 speaker and feed into the amp. And so, I went about setting that up, and I can now ask Siri to play a song/band/genre of choice in "the audio space". 

 

Nice sound when watching movies on TV.

❌ I guess I can't have it all. If I really feel the need, I'll upgrade my Sonos Playbar to an ARC one day, but to be honest, I'm not unhappy with what I have right now.

 

 

Final score; Eight ticks and two crosses. Therefore, proving that the 80/20 rule exists. 🙂 

 

 

Really fantastic read,  and great to see an excellent set up for a small space and lower volumes.  

Your Audio Engineer is sending you the pro audio route. It is definitely worth meandering down that avenue… I have classic home audiophilia ( Cambridge Marantz Dynaudio Kef) but I recently settled on Tannoy Gold 8s for my office (driven by Audioquest, Chord mojo and Audirvāna) . Stunning imaging and revealing midrange! With 300w amps built in! I got two for $750 new!!! So those your friend mentioned are great too … don’t forget to check out Neumann speakers also … these guys know a thing or two on audio , I guarantee your favourite track has a Neumann microphone hiding in there!  

Congrats mate! 

Looks nice, working on my listening environment now.

Currently -

B&W 603 S2

Yamaha - Aventage RXV3060

Project - Debut Carbon

 

New setup coming soon

Sensational read and well written. I’m not a vinyl person myself but I really dig the single display shelf on the wall next to the rubix cube inspired art!