Audiophiles hifi appreciation thread old and new

Niiiiiiice!

I'm decorating and re-jigging my home studio at the moment. Yamaha amp is in the shop for service and repair. Previously had my Celestions on some custom made (80x30cm) floating shelves behind the desk but I fucked up the height, putting them too high for decent seated monitoring.

The shelves weren't solid enough for my liking anyway plus the fittings weren't man-enough and started to droop so the speakers ended up back on the desk which wasn't ideal either. Have hit upon the solution of some really chunky heavy-duty brackets and re-fitting them at a good seated ear-level. I've bought foam studio monitor pads to go under them, they sit in landscape so 2 pads under each. I've also bought a roll of double-sided foam tape which i'm going to fit between the shelf and brackets and the brackets and the wall.

That should do it!

Anybody on here play with big systems/PA gear?

Yep, you?

Used to. I still have a 2.4kW QSC amp and some Celestion PA speakers for small parties. Are you after something specific?

I need advice. I have a Cambridge Audio Minx Xi streamer/amp/dac. It’s a great little piece of kit and all I really have space for at the moment. Better still I got it brand new for £200 instead of the original £600 RRP direct from CA due to a fuck up at their end.

I also have a Rega Planar 1 > Project Phono Box connected to the Minx. My speakers are Mission LX2s, which I am generally very happy with. However as is always the case, I want something ‘better.’ Is there any point in buying another pair of standmounters in the ~£500 range without upgrading the Minx first? Thinking Dynaudio Emit M20s, ex display Neat Iota’s, Quad S1, Kef Q350 etc etc.

my approach has generally been to upgrade the amp first. most people don't agree, but if you read stuff that the musical fidelity guy wrote about his amps, you can get an idea of what's required to reproduce dynamic range.

good speakers help as well, but imo good speakers with a weak amp is not a good combination, whereas basic speakers on the end of a good amp is fine.

is there a pre amp out on the Minx?

I'm looking for a shallow turntable - I have a shelving system that is only 30cm deep that it would be great to put my Hi-Fi on. Amp and speakers fit but current turntable is too deep. I don't mind a slight bit of overhang but it would be great if the footprint fit onto the shelf. I am not looking to spend much (~£100) but I don't need any fancy features. Anyone have any recommendations?

It doesn’t, no @ChasnotRobert. Yes, I thought that may be the answer!

I believe most places will let you take your amp with you to demo with their speakers so I’ll probably do that and see what the crack is.

Yup. Big ones you had to fly with many Lodestars.

As 12" is slightly over 30cm you're unlikely to find a deck that is smaller than the disk.

I might have disagreed with you until recently, I changed the amp on a pair of LB1's and they transformed. It's surprising how much the amp controls bass response. All the same upgrading is a process and if you're not going to do it all at once is there really a best way to get to the next level.

lol-fi

1 Attachment

Bass improvement was definitely the case when we added an Adcom GFA-535 to our NAD receiver.

This is as shallow as you'll get...

https://www.richersounds.com/project-elemental-red.html

http://www.project-audio.com/main.php?prod=vte&cat=default&lang=en

Is shallower. :)

That's the sort of thing I was thinking, thanks! Just need to find something cheaper. I was thinking of something like this, but not a piece of crap:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/ION-DIO-POWERPLAY-Powerplay-Turntable/dp/B0036P5SRG

Not after anything, just wondered if there was anyone on here doing that and what they had.
@Airhead yep, got two folded 18s, 4 215s and a few different tops. All US made Cerwin Vega stuff.

I've collected a little rig over a few years for PA's, no subs as I'm mostly amplifying vocals over the rest of the band. I like EV so I have a couple of ev300's for foldback, 2 zxa5's FOA and some custom 15" cabs with horns and 2 mc2 t1000's as amps. I use an A&H desk, it's not a great desk but it's practical. I've been organising a gig in our local park for the last 5 or 6 summers, that rig is loud enough for a small outdoors gig.

I've been thinking about subs but I'm already carting around enough to break my back and some of the gigs are not exactly easy access. Plus the size to match the ZXa5's is huge and storage starts to become an issue. I'd like to do a bit more on the party side but time is tight.

@ChasnotRobert - I spoke with Richer Sounds and Apples and Oranges and they both said that the speakers should be upgraded before the Minx, purely because the Minx is a capable little device and the speakers, whilst not entry level, are not even mid end by any means. They said I can easily get more out of the amp before upgrading.

Don't suppose you're interested in a set of Spendors? I've a set (model S3e) that against my better judgment I'm thinking of changing.

I would absolutely love a pair, however one criteria (from the other half, not me) is that they're black.... Hence looking at Emit's, Iota's, S1's and the like.

I am pretty sure everyone would suggest you upgrade the speakers first (except ChasnotRobert, obvs)

change of speakers is always good - i've tried many, many pairs over the last few decades.

I would recommend you freeze your cables and get a Shun Mook resonance disc or two. Other upgrades are pointless.