Bought my first xlr cables - arrived today - new to me but picked up second hand for $100 - audioquest red river - just plugged in - can I tell any difference - I have no idea and don’t intend to do any comparisons at this stage - just enjoying plugging them in - quality quality quality - they look sexy and feel gorgeous ❤️

I have a mixture of brand name, cheap and other peoples DIY cables. While i can't guarantee that a particular one sounds better than the others, the prettier they are, the more my wife accepts me buying them so thats good enough for me!

Edited June 16, 20223 yr by ethro

Biggest 'breakthrough' without a doubt was the purchase of the first valve amps I'd ever seen or heard, the mighty Consonance Cyber 800 monoblocks.

Joyous times ensued.

 

 

 

Popping my tube cherry right now

 

audio research ref6se preamp.

2 hours ago, deanB said:

Biggest 'breakthrough' without a doubt was the purchase of the first valve amps I'd ever seen or heard, the mighty Consonance Cyber 800 monoblocks.

Joyous times ensued.

 

 

 

 

And seriously underrated amps they are! One of the best value buys going around I reckon.

Listening to the parents' records at a very young age!

6 minutes ago, Marc said:

 

And seriously underrated amps they are! One of the best value buys going around I reckon.

I've not heard the MkII version with KT150 but there was some magic in that EH 6CA7 model.

dad was a bit of a wanna be muso back in the day 

he got me helping out at gigs, drumming, watching a few worthwhile shows even, getting into rock bands n records

My first was a couple of years back: assembling a passive LDR preamp kit, a Stereo Coffee. (Mind you, I had previously replaced some old capacitors in a Naim Hi-Cap power supply.) My next build will be a Class A headphone amp from Pass Labs.

 

Another first was a year or so ago when I purchased my first valve integrated amp, a fine McChanson KT150 SET/UL from Eric.

Edited June 17, 20223 yr by lenticularis