Is it me, or?

[fetteler]

Originally Posted by knobtwiddler

A shaving mirror on a stick...

Sounds interesting but can you possibly elaborate? I think I see what you mean but I'm not quite sure.

Steve.

[Gabe001]

After building all sorts of audio kit, and playing countless lossless digital files (Qobuz) and records (modified GL75 with AT microlinear cartridge) , on both valve and solid state amps and preamps, my thoughts, at present, are as follows:

1. As long as the kit is half decent, the greatest determinants on musical enjoyment by far are the quality of the source, and the performance of the speakers within the room

2. I cannot, personally, hear any difference between 0.05% thd from a good valve amp and 0.005% (or lower) from a solid state amp and I'm not convinced other people can either despite many claims to the contrary, and I feel that beyond a certain point the law of diminishing returns comes into effect. I don't listen to music particularly loud in the house - a handful of watts are more than enough for me

If I had a choice in my system I'd upgrade the speakers to floorstanders to get better bass but swmbo won't allow this (yet). I used to switch amps around a bit at the start, but I don't do so anymore

[GrimJosef]

Originally Posted by fetteler

Sounds interesting but can you possibly elaborate? I think I see what you mean but I'm not quite sure.

Steve.

Not wanting to put words into knobtwiddler's mouth, but if you sit in the listening position with the mirror on a stand so it (the mirror) is against the wall then you have to move the stand until you can see the speaker in the mirror. The position of the mirror will then be at the centre of the region where the sound waves from the speaker will reflect off the wall to the listening position. If you want to reduce the amount of reflected sound reaching you then you should put a sound-absorbing panel at that point on the wall (or even just a diffusing one, to break up the direct reflection).

Cheers,

GJ

[knobtwiddler]

Indeed. The reflection of the tweeter is the centre point for the absorber panel (which may take may forms - or you could opt for a diffuser). If you look into forms of diffusers and absorbers, you'll find that they can be household features in many cases (e.g. a sofa is a bass trap).

A mirror on a stick will cost you a fraction of the cost of an audiophile mains fuse, but it will bring you exponentially greater benefits

[Outrun_uk]

I'm done with fiddling and upgrading components of my main hi-fi now.
Settled on a pair of B&W speakers and higher end Technics components (CD and separate pre/power amp).

Enjoy the music! Or the silence as per Depeche Mode ?

JM2PW

Kev

[thermion]

Must be just me then.. i have around 10 valve amps & assorted pre-amps & rotate them frequently. At the moment i have the audiomaster 11a el34 in one channel & a home brew kt88 ul in t’other.
In the back room i have a little goodmans maxamp set-up driving a pair of crummy Solavox bookshelf speakers. Great just for general listening, & news reports. Lovely little transistor amp, so well designed. I love it.

[Beobloke]

Originally Posted by Paul_RK

It's the other way with me, I always seem to have better, or worse, things to do than changing the audio system, so for the almost seven years we've been here my Teac AS-100 has been driving a pair of original Leak Sandwiches, a charity shop purchase probably in the late '80s. I also have Hacker LS1300s that my memory says sound both warmer and more accurate, so I often think of giving them the job for a while, but thinking of it is as far as I get.

And have you still got Pioneer SPEC amplifiers in the loft?! That makes me very sad!

As a card-carrying audiophile geek who buys a lot of stuff to restore and play with, some are surprised that my main system hasn’t changed for over 7 years, although it is quite high specification.

That said, I do currently have 38 turntables…

[Paul_RK]

Originally Posted by Beobloke

And have you still got Pioneer SPEC amplifiers in the loft?! That makes me very sad!

Not in the attic, they're in a spare room, but they are indeed still waiting for something to happen

[qualityten]

It's not just you ....

I'm not so much interested in the quest for perfect sound reproduction as in learning how different, mostly vintage, equipment works. Seeing the different design decisions and trying to understand variations in circuits. My vintage amplifier and turntable collection is a bit like a library. Restoring, servicing and using them offers me regular relaxation and frustration. Recreational concentration, I guess. With music.

[Richardgr]

Originally Posted by qualityten

It's not just you ....

I'm not so much interested in the quest for perfect sound reproduction as in learning how different, mostly vintage, equipment works. ... Recreational concentration, I guess. With music.

I think this sums up my passion for my vintage gear. From old PA amplifiers to design classics like Quads IIs, M&A TVA10, and so on.

The interest overflows into construction projects, that need to have a piece of the action every so often.

Old technology also has the ability to surprise us ... this video, with all of the mechanical processes, prompted me to invest in a wire recorder