Hello from East Devon

AJSki2flyAJSki2fly
in Say hello
Hello All,

Just joined. Into Music and HiFi as much as I can afford. Recently upgraded from a Meridian 500 based system, with Project Xperience 2 Pack turntable. 

System now is

Michel Gyrodec black, with SME IV (black with detachable head shell and viscous damping, quite unusual), Michel CUSIS moving coil (based on Benz Micro Wood SP)
LDF MMC Phonostage, (upgraded version)
Meridian 508 CD Player
Tisbury Passive Pre-Amp
Pair of Renaissance RA01 300B valve mono blocks 
Dali Ikon 6 Speakers

Surround sound for TV/DVD is through Yamaha RX667 AV Receiver, feeding the front to Dali's via Renaissance amps, front speaker is active Meridian, rears, sides and sub-woofer is Mission. This also supports Apple TV for lazy music playing, although all my digital music is stored on a NAS-Server at least at CD quality.

I have recently got back into vinyl and enjoy hunting out 2nd hand vinyl, and getting bargains at charity and 2nd hand shops. Needs patience to find those worth buying. I also have quite a large collection of CD's.

Comments

  • AntiCrapAntiCrap
    Hello, and avoid the nut cases and SECA lovers but enjoy the music, best Col
  • DocfosterDocfoster
    Welcome AJ.
    Looks like a pretty top-notch system there!
    No wonder you're taking the necessary time to source the LPs to feed it.
    Good to have you on board. :-)
  • Suzy6toesSuzy6toes

    "Michel Gyrodec black, with SME IV (black with detachable head shell and viscous damping, quite unusual), Michel CUSIS moving coil (based on Benz Micro Wood SP)"


    Any chance of a photo of the above please AJ??

  • AJSki2flyAJSki2fly
    Here you go Suzy. The arm was a special ordered by Mik as below to show what can be done with an SME IV. Some info on the system and how I came to it below picture.

    image

    Initially I went to Unique Audio to get the Gyrodec, and Arm. The owner Mik Bhavnani was recommended to me by a personal friend, Mik's had his business for nearly 30 years and runs it from his home. He is quite well known and respected in the "HiFi" world. I intended to source the Gyrodec and Arm through him and purchase amp and phono stage elsewhere but after several conversations with him it became obvious he knew his stuff. He came up with several options that he thought would make for a very musical and listenable system. I have to say that Mik usually deals in the hi end of the audio spectrum with equipment from Jadis, SME, Rockport, Michel, ClearAudio and a few others, he tries to limit to tried and tested so that he knows the end result will be good.  His enthusiasm shone through and he was keen to help me get me a good system within my budget. Initially he recommended the Air Tight Acoustic Masterpiece AM201-H Amplifier (Japanese), he said a sweet sounding amp that punches well above its price of around £3.5K. Then I noticed he had the RA01's for sale advertised 2nd hand, unfortunately this pair had gone but he new an audiophile friend who had a pair and possibly would consider selling them. Mik said that the RA01's would be a musical improvement on the AM201-H but the negative would them being 2nd hand. Anyway after a few days Mik advised he could secure them for me at an acceptable price. Then is came to the phono stage, I found this area very confusing and really did not know where to start, my audiophile best friend had been through several phono stages till he got what he wanted. Initially I was prepared to spend up to £1K on this but Mik advised not to skimp and he advised that the LFD MMC would be the best long term option, really natural and did not colour the music or what the cartridge was producing. So I took his advice and I have to say it sounds really good. It is all still bedding in, with use and time I can here a gradual improvement in clarity and separation, although great from day 1. So in another 50-100 hours should have settled down. The Dali speakers I originally thought would be the weak link, but I am surprisingly pleased how they have held up in relation to the rest of the system, even bass being quite controlled and clear. I am limited for space so upgrading them posses its own issues, if I could find a good pair of Impulse H2's or possibly Audio Note E's then that would be it I think. 

    If anyone is thinking of upgrading or needs advise Mik is probably a good starting point.



  • Suzy6toesSuzy6toes
    Gosh! V sleek!
    Looks like you've found an audio guide you really trust in Mik. He's certainly taking you on a musical adventure. And your post sounds really chuffed. Great to read.
    What kind of tunes you playing through your set up?
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