Area behind the listening position. Headfi, and training

Edited June 13, 20205 yr by The Fresh Prince

On 14/06/2020 at 6:47 AM, The Fresh Prince said:

Well. It's been 5 years since I updated! Mostly the same equipment, and a few minor cosmetic improvements.

 

Great room, within a room ?

@The Fresh Prince love the colour palette of the room. Only topped by the equipment. Bet it sounds great 

I had a bit of a fiddle a few weeks ago, and wondered why things sounded a bit weird. Turns out I connected one of the subs incorrectly.

Remeasured, and repeated Eq. Everything sounds sweet, again.

Stellar phono stage sounds great.

Edited July 27, 20205 yr by The Fresh Prince

1 hour ago, The Fresh Prince said:

I had a bit of a fiddle a few weeks ago, and wondered why things sounded a bit weird. Turns out I connected one of the subs incorrectly.

Remeasured, and repeated Eq. Everything sounds sweet, again.

Stellar phono stage sounds great.

What phono did you upgrade from?

20 minutes ago, Cardiiiii said:

What phono did you upgrade from?

I got really busy with my other hobbies, so had a hiatus from listening to LPs. As a consequence I sold my Accuphase C37, and bought a Pro-Ject RS phono box , which I pretty much never used.

I’m now listening to a lot more music so decided to get the Stellar.

Prior to those I went through a few, but I remember my Herron was really good

Edited July 27, 20205 yr by The Fresh Prince

Had a little head-fi upgrade also, with the Cambridge steamer running into the DC37 dac.

Edited July 27, 20205 yr by The Fresh Prince

Thoughts on the Stellar? I’m looking at it as an upgrade in the not too distant future.

29 minutes ago, Cardiiiii said:

Thoughts on the Stellar? I’m looking at it as an upgrade in the not too distant future.

Really good. Absolutely silent. Great remote. Mute, change gain and load, from the chair. 

Edited July 27, 20205 yr by The Fresh Prince

New addition.

The magnificent Rega Isis

 

 

 

 

 

Edited August 19, 20205 yr by The Fresh Prince

On 27/07/2020 at 8:16 PM, The Fresh Prince said:

Had a little head-fi upgrade also, with the Cambridge steamer running into the DC37 dac.

Sorry if I missed it earlier in this thread but what’s the headphone rig? Are they stax ?

22 minutes ago, sir sanders zingmore said:

Sorry if I missed it earlier in this thread but what’s the headphone rig? Are they stax ?

Hey.

Yes, they are Stax 009, with Woo WES.

Edited August 17, 20205 yr by The Fresh Prince

14 minutes ago, The Fresh Prince said:

Hey.

Yes, they are Stax 009, with Woo WES.

very nice !

On 18/08/2020 at 9:11 AM, sir sanders zingmore said:

very nice !

They sound great. I know some people talk about them lacking at bit of bass, but I've never had that issue. They sound really balanced to me.

Having said that most other headphones sound too bassy, for me.

Personal taste, I guess.

Two pieces of great, British industrial design side by side

51 minutes ago, The Fresh Prince said:

They sound great. I know some people talk about them lacking at bit of bass, but I've never had that issue. They sound really balanced to me.

Having said that most other headphones sound too bassy, for me.

Personal taste, I guess.

I have just upgraded to the little brother (the 007mk2). How good are Stax

No lack of bass - in fact I realise what I was missing with my ancient SR404 ear speakers 

Just now, sir sanders zingmore said:

I have just upgraded to the little brother (the 007mk2). How good are Stax

No lack of bass - in fact I realise what I was missing with my ancient SR404 ear speakers 

Great choice. I wouldn’t denigrate it by calling it the “little brother”. It’s just as good- just a different flavour. If your ears like it it’s “the Big Daddy”!

These headphones are both quite astonishing in what they can do.

Vintage Sony X7ESD now in the main headfi system. It was just too good to have in the kitchen.

My first vintage player in a modern system. Makes me realise little has changed for the better in 30 years.

Woo WES now hot rodded with  Golden Lion KT77 and 1950s RCA red bases.

Edited August 31, 20205 yr by The Fresh Prince

2 minutes ago, The Fresh Prince said:

Vintage Sony X7ESD now in the main headfi system. It was just too good to have in the kitchen.

Woo WES now hot rodded with  Golden Lion KT77 and 1950s RCA red bases

 

How would you describe the difference between the vintage Sony and the Isis? Have you tried them in the same system?

1 minute ago, RankStranger said:

 

How would you describe the difference between the vintage Sony and the Isis? Have you tried them in the same system?

I’m going to give it a whirl. I’ll report back

2 hours ago, RankStranger said:

 

How would you describe the difference between the vintage Sony and the Isis? Have you tried them in the same system?

The Woo WES has 2 balanced inputs. Rega Isis connected to one, Sony X7ESD to the other. Listening carried out using Stax 009. 2 copies of the same CD- 1 in each player.

Next comparison. Rega Isis into Accuphase DC37 DAC vs. Sony

 

Result:

They all sound exactly the same to me.

I'm not very old, and my hearing is still pretty good!

 

Well, there you go!

15 minutes ago, The Fresh Prince said:

The Woo WES has 2 balanced inputs. Rega Isis connected to one, Sony X7ESD to the other. Listening carried out using Stax 009. 2 copies of the same CD- 1 in each player.

Next comparison. Rega Isis into Accuphase DC37 DAC vs. Sony

 

Result:

They all sound exactly the same to me.

I'm not very old, and my hearing is still pretty good!

 

Well, there you go!

Wow. I wouldn’t have predicted that. So much for 30 years of “progress”  

 

I often find that differences in digital sources come out more in long listening sessions, rather than a/b comparisons. More of a “I find myself listening to this one more” rather than “this is definitely better”

 

maybe that’s it. Or maybe two designers set out to make the best digital playback system they could ship and both arrived at the same place ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

Edited August 31, 20205 yr by RankStranger

10 minutes ago, RankStranger said:

Wow. I wouldn’t have predicted that. So much for 30 years of “progress”  

 

I often find that differences in digital sources come out more in long listening sessions, rather than a/b comparisons. More of a “I find myself listening to this one more” rather than “this is definitely better”

 

maybe that’s it. Or maybe two designers set out to make the best digital playback system they could ship and both arrived at the same place ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

Yes. I agree with both your statements.

There are some very subtle nuances to the presentation that make one system listenable, and enjoyable,  for long periods of time. 

Even more controversially, I thought the Denon 103 cart sounded better in my system than the Lyra Atlas.

I set up the Denon, and the Lyra distributor flew down to me any spent ages setting up the Lyra.

Maybe, I’m just not an audiophile?

Edited August 31, 20205 yr by The Fresh Prince

29 minutes ago, The Fresh Prince said:

Yes. I agree with both your statements.

There are some very subtle nuances to the presentation that make one system listenable, and enjoyable,  for long periods of time. 

Even more controversially, I thought the Denon 103 cart sounded better in my system than the Lyra Atlas.

I set up the Denon, and the Lyra distributor flew down to me any spent ages setting up the Lyra.

Maybe, I’m just not an audiophile?

I had a colleague in the hifi shop I worked in where, to sell a pair of Chinese-made $700 Klipsch bookshelf speakers he would play them up against a pair of English-made $3500 Rega towers. The klipsch were exciting, punchy and engaging and the regas, although better-credentialed and nominally more high-end, sounded dull and bloated. No one who heard that demo preferred the Rega even though they were 5 x the price. He only did this when he knew that the customer would prefer the Klipsch sound anyway, to make them more confident in their purchase.

 

I guess that’s a round-about way of saying that, to me, part of being an audiophile is about finding the stuff that brings you the most enjoyment, rather than just having the most expensive kit. If I’m not being too forward, It strikes me that you have the means to go either way and it speaks to your character that you can recognise the difference. 

Edited August 31, 20205 yr by RankStranger

8 hours ago, RankStranger said:

I had a colleague in the hifi shop I worked in where, to sell a pair of Chinese-made $700 Klipsch bookshelf speakers he would play them up against a pair of English-made $3500 Rega towers. The klipsch were exciting, punchy and engaging and the regas, although better-credentialed and nominally more high-end, sounded dull and bloated. No one who heard that demo preferred the Rega even though they were 5 x the price. He only did this when he knew that the customer would prefer the Klipsch sound anyway, to make them more confident in their purchase.

 

I guess that’s a round-about way of saying that, to me, part of being an audiophile is about finding the stuff that brings you the most enjoyment, rather than just having the most expensive kit. If I’m not being too forward, It strikes me that you have the means to go either way and it speaks to your character that you can recognise the difference. 

Thanks. You’re not being too forward at all.

Yes, I am fortunate, and grateful I am in a position to be able to “have a play”. I don’t buy into the belief that spending more gets you more (sonic pleasure, or happiness in general). I’ve been there with cars as well, and now love driving my manual Polo! Interestingly, I also became vegetarian and made a few other lifestyle choices at a similar time. Never been happier.

Like most I went through a period of “Audio Nervosa”, but that has now passed, thankfully.

Once I had the room sorted out, and Eq in place, everything sounded good!

Edited August 31, 20205 yr by The Fresh Prince