Audiophiles hifi appreciation thread old and new

@soserious Google that sony player, theres people that claim it's uneven needle pressure does damage to the grooves and can destroy the record - probably best to get the Rega/Project

Everything from grindcore to Miles Davis and opera, etc. Room is 14x7 feet. Low ceiling. They'd be up high on bookshelf but I'd be close enough to them. I'm OK with buying secondhand as have PayPal funds to use. Also, thanks for reply

uneven needle pressure does damage to the grooves and can destroy the record

Ouch. Perfect sound forever here...

@soserious With fifty records already, I'd ignore my first recommendation and try out a Rega somewhere. Oh, and in case you didn't know, Rega and Pro-Ject both make tiny phono preamps, perfect for their 'starter' decks.

I've become obsessed with those audiolab amps. Currently bidding on a couple of older models with phono stage. Also found a place which does upgrades to them for a fair whack, might be worth it for an amp for life. Here's to a full European hifi set up! #keepitlocal #dubiousnorfolktradition

Nice... I mix on Focal CMS65s, a pair of which costs less than one of those!

After with some discussion with the guys in richer sounds I decided to hold out for a while until I can get the rega as they had one in store and it was really nice. For now I'll stick to Spotify through my AV system lol.
Not that it's linked but here is a Small collection of original Bowie records decorating my room. Excuse the mess.

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Good stuff. I'm sure it'll be worth the wait...

Also gives you more time to track down Lodger (kinda interesting gatefold sleeve on the original release) and Scary Monsters, if you haven't already!

Q acoustics 2020i get good ratings for bookshelf. I don't really rate speakers in that position but they can be great it you're not into immersive listening. It's a slippery slope anyway. Right now my main monitors are dynaudio air 20's, very revealing but not kind to most mixes. I've enjoyed music more on 'lesser' speakers. Bookshelf speakers won't give great bass either, so the electronica might seem a bit weak.

Wharfedale diamond 220's are a similar choice.

Glad to hear it - way to go!

I bought an earlier version of these: they continue to provide good service: http://www.richersounds.com/product/standmount-speakers/monitor-audio/mr2/moni-audio-mr2-wal

That's one I haven't already got, having googled it it looks interesting with a blue vinyl, I've got the new black star clear vinyl also, that was hard to get hold off. Have yet to bring myself to listen to it yet.

it too may be too big! christ on a bike! was colleciting this weekend too...

i think @mashton has some of the q acoustics jobbies

Tannoy LGM with new covers made by Terry @ Lockwood. Didn't re-veneer as they're not really bad, stain on right speaker is the worst thing. Sound great, who cares?
NAD 533 Goldring MM - pretty basic but has served me well
Quad 33/303
Sony ST-242L fm tuner

Lovely.

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Hello audiophiles, could you help me with a super low rent speaker query?

My system is (pretty standard budget offerings) Project Debut Carbon > Rega A2D Mini > Cambridge Audio Topaz AM5 > Wharfedale Diamond 9 speakers – this system sounds fine for my needs but when I moved house I lost the shelf space for the speakers so they went on the floor for a bit (terrible I know), I couldn’t really afford speaker stands so I went & bought some big old speakers from Oxfam for £5 & rested the Wharfedales on top which bought them up to sat-down ear level as a cheap fix.

Looking at the big old £5 speakers they’re Bang & Olufson “Beovox S35”s – I’ve obviously heard of the make but have no clue about the model, google suggests they’re maybe from the late 80’s - I took the front off & the foam around the speakers has completely rotted and one of the cones has a rip in. Do you think, if fixed, these speakers would actually be better than the Wharfedales or are they just budget 80’s rubbish? The thought came up because the boxes & the actual speaker are just so much bigger in the B&O’s my limited knowledge as a bassist immediately jumped to “more bass response”. Would it be cost effective to re-foam them or is just buying/installing new speakers easier? I have pictures if needed.

Short option – is fixing B&O “Beovox S35” speakers a cost effective upgrade on Wharfedale Diamond 9 speakers?

Thanks!

Fixing them will cost way more than they're worth, and it would be unlikely to find the right bits anyway.
Short option - no.

that's right.

those little wharfedales are good speakers. i had some of them (the og 9s)

Hate to be a bore folks but any more Amp suggestions, measuring stuff up I only really have 30 and a bit CM space depth wise, the Yamaha was wayyyyyyyy too deep and the Audiolab a tiny bit too deep (3cm ish, I assume with a power lead it would push it too far out).
Anything of that ilk that is known as a "slightly physically smaller amp"?
Cheers.

Shoebox cyrus one etc? Nad 3020 is shallow plan too.

I've re-foamed B&O speakers before, but only the metal bookcase ones which have 4" (from memory) drivers. Re-foaming is pretty easy if you have a steady hand, maybe not the best thing to start your say career on but doable. The ripped cone on the other hand would probably be the killer. Try playing something through them at low levels to see how they sound. The foam centres the cone and stops it exiting the speaker at high transients so you can still play them at low levels for long enough to hear them. I didn't notice much acoustic difference in the ones I re-coned, before and after the job was done.

Cheers buddy. So close.... The Cyrus One is actually really deep from what I can Google (although small in total size). Nad could have been prefect but those buttons look flimsy/plasticky.
I am aware I am a bore.

It's a different proposition but NAD do a 3020d which is a very small footprint. I've just put one in a system where space is limited. It's a much more modern amp than the ones you're looking at but it delivers quite well. Was designed as a modern take on the 3020 that Olly398 mentioned.

Thanks for the replies - I might try to give them a listen (though they have some weird connection at the back, not the normal terminals) & see how easy re-foaming is but I may not bother if the Wharfedales are actually ok.

I might stop boring everyone, or being such a picky prick.
That NAD looks good, I was also looking at the Pro Ject Box series - not sure if anyone knows of them/has heard things about them? Would have to get Amp and Phono Amp thing but they are dead small and simple. I need 2 inputs which rules out a few other good options...

I had the project amp with 2 channel pre amp in the same system the NAD went in to for 8 years, the power supply for the project amp failed and I decided to try a different option. The project amps are ok, if your budget can stretch to the full system, possibly mono amp or 1 amp bi-amping each speaker. The project amp also had some issues with dodgy connections on the inputs and the class d technology is not the best in the market. For form factor it's difficult to beat as they are tiny. I liked the sound but it was a bit bass light compared to the NAD.

I would probably stick with the NAD now or go for the hypex class d amps if I wanted a purist setup. The NAD has auto power off, digital input and bluetooth which fits with a lot of modern demands.

For critical listening I've been using powered monitors for 10 years and the latest desk system of PMC two two.5 are great, they have hypex amps with dsp..