All Australian Setup, What would you choose?

[Vortexjah]

If you could only buy Australian made audio gear, what would you choose? It can be gear that Australian companies outsource to other countries, like china, to make for them or the components are from other countries ( well lets face it, it would be hard to source all components from Australian made companies), but the gear must be at least designed by an Australian company.

You can use this template if you wish, but feel free to do it anyway you want.

Speakers:

Amp:

Dac:

Cdp:

Turntable:

Arms:

Cartridges:

Interconnects:

Speaker Cable:

Rack:

Assesories, Misc, tweaks etc:

Any I missed:

Edited September 1, 2012 by Vortexjah

[Jake]

This could be most interesting!

ME amps and Duntech speakers for a start, would have to think about the rest.

[pulinap]

I'll add Duc's phonostage......

[Sub Sonic]

Duntechs are at the top of the tree but unfortunately they changed ownership a while ago and design criteria seem to have changed. I have a set of Duntech PCL10s (designed by the original company) and love them.

Next to the Duntechs I would put my VAF i90s, other VAF Signature models would also be considered. I love the imaging of the i90s. When dialed in, I find myself not closing my eyes but opening them, the imaging is real enough that you don't need to have your eyes closed to "see" the performance etched in space.

Amp - the ME amps appeal to me too. If the Redgum amps were not boosted at the lower end they would be another option.

SS

Edited September 1, 2012 by Sub Sonic

[houdinifangs]

My mind is racing...often thought about an all Australian system.

I'd start with one of Earle's 300B creations.

Those Aslan's Azura horns in the FS would suit me but they won't be there for long...hmmm i'd be pretty interested in some kind of Azura horn based speaker

Is there an Australian cartridge manufacturer though?

[Vortexjah]

I agree those azuras look beautiful, I can't see them staying there too long.

Not sure about cartridges, or some of the categories, but I am happy to be enlightened.

If we can't find an answer for all the categories maybe we can extend to our close cousins the New Zealanders, but still strictly Aussie for now.

Edited September 1, 2012 by Vortexjah

[colinm1]

mas cd player was a hot item in its day!!

[ZEN MISTER]

We are spoilt for choice when it comes to speakers: vintage Duntechs, VAF, Osborn, Krix, SGR etc.

Cables and interconnects- EARSCIENCE from Melbourne are a great product.

ZM.

[Guest kab]

Cables and interconnects.... Sonic Art Audio.

[Nada]

System One

SGR active speakers/power amps

Decky's cables

Supratek Preamp

PDX DAC

System Two

Electrostatic Speakers from WA - ER Audio ESL-3

Lenehan Ribbon speaker cables

Earle integrated DHT amp

Lenehan Ribbon interconnets

PDX DAC

Edited September 1, 2012 by Nada

[A J]

For a while I had an Aussie system - PDX via ribbontek to Naksa via ribbontek to ML1 - it was good but now I've gone a bit more global

[ThirdDrawerDown]

Amber cartridges are Australian. Worthwhile too.

[caddisgeek]

Ducs tonearm would be there for me, and ME amps

[Tony M]

I'd start with Duntech Sovereigns and an ME 1500 and ad lib from there.

The reasons:-

• those two were in one of the best systems I've ever heard and work superbly together
  
• they are both classics and will retain their value indefinitely
  
• both were designed and built with hype-free design integrity and manufactured accordingly
  

Really, are there any other contenders?

Edit - yes of course there are, and hopefully some of the others will, in time, achieve the same classic status.

Also, I do know I'm jumping on the bandwagon a bit here as Jake and others have suggested essentially the same thing, but it's hard to overlook the place these two products have in the history of Aussie audio. It's a bandwagon I'm happy to jump on.

Edited September 1, 2012 by Tony M

[vinilink]

From what I have heard and owned.

What I heard Duntech through ME amps were stunning

I found Whatmough speakers with ME amps works extremely well...guess that is why they are mated together in my system.

[didier]

Garrott Bros cartridges.

Grave Science cables and interconnects

[Guest Peter the Greek]

For 2 channel - I'm a Vaf fan, go the i66 and spend the difference on a sub. Vaf is underrated globally IMO. Triad use a similar array in their Platinum range and the Vaf's sounds better to me.

For HT - Krix

Of course if the Aslan R3's were still available I'd just buy those.....sadly

Halco are out of business aren't they?

[joz]

Except for my Yammy TT and Logitech SB my system is all Aussie.

SGR and Elektra(DAC,Pre,power)

Edited September 1, 2012 by joz

[kdoot]

This becomes a bit harder if you restrict yourself to equipment which you can buy new today. And are computers considered part of this system? I don't think there's any way we could claim to have an Aussie-made PC, much less a Mac, for those of us who have moved to that form of audio playback. But anyway...

Starting from the noisy end, two makers spring immediately to my mind: Lenehan and SGR. Though here in the real world I've gone down the Lenehan path, in this hypothetical I'd be tempted by the SGRs due to not having to find a suitable amp for them. (New products only, remember.) If I stuck with my Lenehan ML2s then I'd be looking for a great solid state amp to drive them... and I haven't heard NAKSA or Redgum or Naquadria etc so I've no idea what would be my choice there.

Cables would almost certainly be Lenehan.

DAC? Well, who else makes a commercial DAC here in Australia? It'd have to be a PDX, though I'd be talking to Clay to see if I could get a variant without those valve thingies in there...

[uHenry]

Well seeing how this is a bit of imaginative fantasy, here goes:

Speakers: Duntechs from the tip, or maybe those uber cool Nak Dragon panels - from the tip

Amp: Halcro monoblocs - from the tip

Dac: Is Luke Skywalker's deceased wingman. He would never have gone to the darkside anyways pffft.

Cdp: Three syllable rhyme?

Turntable: Continuum Caliburn - from the tip

Arms: Continuum Cobra, found with the above

Cartridges: Garrott

Interconnects: Lenehan

Speaker Cable: Magnet wire from Austech, I'm sure they could be bribed to draw silver

Rack: That funky Continuum rose jointed unit, found with TT

Assesories, Misc, tweaks etc:

Any I missed: A mattress stuffed with hundies, found at the tip.

Edited September 1, 2012 by uHenry

[Mr_Gadget]

Well for me, I haven't heard many systems but having a pair of Equinox Aphelions powered by an ME 550-II I would stay wit those brands. If money was not an issue I would choose the Equinox Apogee partnered with an ME850. The Jupiters are simply too large for me and the Galaxy......(anyone seen/heard these?). Rick (Equinox Audio) also makes interconnects, so include those as an australian component in the system. Don't know any aussie brand that makes CD players (Redgum perhaps?) but i hardly ever use CD player anymore, the Squeezebox gets used every day. Perhaps i should investigate aussie DACS for the Squeezebox? I'll leave that discussion for another day/thread!

[betty boop]

suprised no one has mentioned the legend tikandi or big reds partnered with deqx.

http://www.legendspeakers.com.au/tikandi.html

[THOMO]

Nothin'.

All the credibility you gain from owning a BMW X5 could be compromised by owning an Australian made sound sytem.Simply not worth the risk.

[analog brother]

duntech sovs

constellation centaur power

metaxas audio pre

constellation perseus phono stage

caliburn continuum analog set up.

plinius cd player

american cables to tighten up the alliance...

[bhobba]

For a while I had an Aussie system - PDX via ribbontek to Naksa via ribbontek to ML1 - it was good but now I've gone a bit more global

Indeed a very good set-up. But as far as an amp goes I have moved to a different (horror of horrors Class D) amp and would choose the ML2 Reference. Still an excellent set-up.

My all Australian set-up would be a PDX Level 2, Lenehan Cables, ML2 Reference, Naquadria Lucian Amp by a whisker over the NAKSA.

Thanks

Bill

Edited September 2, 2012 by bhobba