Upgrade plans for 2011
Shamelessley nicked from elsewhere. What are you going to, or would you like to, upgrade this coming year?
The only itch I need to scratch is to build some very large corner horn cabinets for my Lowthers. I've finally got a suitable room with nothing in the way; doors, windows, radiators, fireplaces etc. More importantly after years I've got a room that's wholly mine. It's not that large at 11" by 14.5" but it's not shared with anything or anyone else. And I can play at fairly loud levels without disturbing anyone
The only itch I need to scratch is to build some very large corner horn cabinets for my Lowthers. I've finally got a suitable room with nothing in the way; doors, windows, radiators, fireplaces etc. More importantly after years I've got a room that's wholly mine. It's not that large at 11" by 14.5" but it's not shared with anything or anyone else. And I can play at fairly loud levels without disturbing anyone
Comments
Really not sure where I'm going to go in 2011 - my system's not
really giving me much satisfaction at the moment, and this makes me all
the more sad as we're now living in a decent sized house with no close
neighbours and am therefore really lucky to be able to listen at
whatever volume I like (Mrs Gromit permitting of course - although she's
also a muso so doesn't mind the wick being turned up).
Biggest mistakes I made in 2010...
Selling the PL71
Selling the Decca SG
Selling the NVA Phono1
Basically, I had a storming front end and thought that flogging it to
raise every last £ for the house purchase would be good idea. It was a
bad idea - very bad. Having heard one or 2 friends' rigs over the last 12 months I noticed a
certain balance, something missing from my own. Probably the best front
end I heard was Lefty's LP12/Lingo2/Nima/AT33 - quite 'LP12-ish' (be it
good and bad) but oh so satisfying and musically convincing. I loved it.
Where to go from here though? I really don't know. The P7 has been a
very interesting exercise - fun & frustrating really. It's a superb
turntable, no question, and being ex-Lefty it may as well be brand new
it's in such lovely nick. Thing is, what makes it so good at some stuff -
rock/jazz/electronic makes it (or seems to) poor at
classical/orchestral. I've been slightly spoilt by really good DD and
the sense of solidity, the grounding it gives music, but ultimately the
P7, great though it can be, it's just not 'me'.
The chances of scoring myself another decent PL71 are clearly very
small, although I will keep looking. Go for a Garrard? Always a
possibility although getting a really good one will cost £££. I could
always re-plinth/re-arm the little TD150 which would be fun, but I may
as well just get myself a decent LP12 and be done with it.
Amp-wise, I'm very happy with the Claymore. I'm not going to kid myself
in saying it's better than the XXI/XVIII mono's - of course it isn't -
but it's released funds to throw at a better turntable, whatever that me
be.
Digital-wise I'm chuffed to bits with the Dacmagic - like its more lofty
brother the 840C (which I owned a while ago) it just gets on with the
job of polishing up what it's fed and turning it into a very
satisfyingly musical whole. I'm a fan, so much so that I'm preferring
the digital side of my system to the analogue. No great plans - may look
at getting a decent CD transport although the Pioneer DVD player I'm
using for such duties is just fine for now.
So...the one thing I really want - need - to get right this year is the
turntable. Just need to sort out which direction I have to go to get
that done. Still, it'll be fun whatever.
Vinyl front end I'm happy with (it's the one Gromit is sadly lamenting, but with a Phono 2).
Also, my HD freeview box Christmas present is in situ and sounding good (for freeview and freeview radio) into my MuFi upsampler, and is waiting for the Gloucester digital switch over to HD in April (it's just a shame that that date is after the 6 nations).
I remain happy with amp (TSS) and speakers (Cubes), so no changes planned there.
Ben
The MAC shall get some attention if it's lucky - I'm thinking of an SSD & more RAM, and a proper PSU. This is all detail though, the basics of the rig are pretty good.
Glad you like the DacMagic Richard, I did - though I'm pretty sure it is based on the DAC from the 740 range. Being in a separate box with decent power supplies must make difference!
Having bought Jason's prototype TFS/Nexus I am happy with my digital front end at the minute and hopefully a few more tweaks Jason is making to the opamps and power supplies should remove my slight misgivings I have with the onboard Xonar soundcard/dac.
Interested in a LDR pre so am carefully reading Alan's posts on the Eva.
Only other planned overhaul is in the racking which at present is all Mana and I have had them for many moons. Having heard Music Works all acrylic Evo stands they are a serious if pricey alternative. But am I great believer in stands making sonic improvements on a par with hardware upgrades so let the googling begin !
I'd love to give something like the new Dyna DV20XL Mk2 a go - it's been causing a bit of a stir lately. What I'd really love to get though is an SPU Royal N (the std 1/2" mount one of course) as I love what this cartridge does - big, ballsy, just what the Rega needs. Bit heavy in the ££ dept though.
I've got a couple of other mats I can try - I really like the Ringmat on the TD150 but I'm wondering how it'll perform on the P7's ceramic platter. Also got an Achromat which I've never been quite convinced by, only trouble being is that it's the 5mm one and it's a royal PITA altering vta on the Rega arm.
Had a Spur for my kit fitted a few weeks ago.
Should of done it years ago.
While I have the lid off - a small SSD will likely worm it's way in there.
;-)
New speakers to replace my olden Mission 737s from 1984.
The other upgrade I'm considering is to change my power amp. This is currently an Arcam P7, but I'm thinking of switching to monoblocks of some description. Haven't got a clue what to look for when it comes to power amps, so any advice is greatly appreciated. All I know is that my ATC speakers need lots of good quality watts :-)
Am really pleased with the home cinema side of my setup and don't envisage changing this in 2011.
http://www.pinkfishmedia.net/forum/showthread.php?t=93845
A PASS Labs amp is one of the few things I am curious to hear. A classic case of champagne taste on a beer budget...
Dave,
You have mail about the new Radikal psu upgrade.
Rad.
That would be me. It's a TeddyEvo which Teddy is modifying to meet the Young's power requirements.
all the best ,
matt
I have hopes that a new room will solve a few issues, though its surprising what you get used to. As long as the system is good I can just listen through the problems.
It would also be quite nice to get an SSD in the MAC and finally fit that RAM, also the change to OSX LION may (or not) make a difference.
maybe worth asking about the platter mat over on the vinyl engine ,a few guys over there use the trio so you might get a response thats more informed than mine,
all the best ,
matt