Audiophiles hifi appreciation thread old and new

Just a quick one.
I'm thinking of looking into a bit of a do it all amp, various digital inputs TV/phone/stream as well as anologue input for the TT. I've had a quick look at a friend's Quad Vena, used the version 1 looks decent value. I'm liking the small form, is there anything else I should be looking at?

Don’t overlook the Audiolab 6000a. I bought one recently and love it all round. Replaced something much more fancy but wouldn’t go back.

These are MS150.2 - the .2 having normal banana sockets

I use a NAD D 3020 for this. I think the v2 even has a phono stage built in.

ps audio sprout

Fuckinell Richie...

I can't really comment. I told my wife the new guitar amp only cost £400.

I have been after a pair since I heard them at the guru’s house!

Man maths covers the other stuff.

You should try these Tannoys

Can't remember if I've introduced this and asked in the thread before, but I don't think I have. I'm trying to get my dad's old hifi setup back up and running (it all works ATM but hasn't been used for 15 years properly). I have 0 knowledge, would it need a service? I was going to get new cables and try and research which replacement needle to get at the very least.

Also, hoping to move out soon and build my own setup. Where's good to read up on vinyl/hifi?

Any help is greatly appreciated cheers :)

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Cables, why? They don't wear out

hur hur, here we go...

I recently bought a cable tester for my PA cables. Some of them had worn out. But generally cables are fine if they don't get moved about a lot.

That's a decent starter system if it works. I'm guessing the drive belts on the tape deck might be a bit deteriorated.

@Airhead cheers. It's not mine to take when I move out unfortunately!

Connectors can corrode, insulators can perish, wires can become brittle and snap... Depends how old, the quality and what sort of life/environment.

Probably wouldn’t bother straight away unless they’re crackly/intermittent though.

MONSTERCABLES OR NOTHING!

Monster Cables FTW!

Hum Nice.
Also liking the sprout, and the first version of the NAD is coming down in price.
Has anybody tried any of the Far east offerings, do SMSL or anybody do anything similar?

Anyone fancy an old (but perfectly good condition) Sony stereo and speaker set? Selling for about £30.

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I’ve owned both a NAD 3020v and an SMSL AD18 and I felt that the SMSL was subjectively better from a usability point of view but also sound quality. Obviously it’s set up dependent but they had more headroom with my speakers and it showed. I had to run the NAD at 90% volume and the SMSL at like 50%. Value for money was a no brainer too. $130 vs $400...

The SMSL has a huge power supply hence its small size versus the NAD, but the amplifier housing itself is metal, whereas the NAD is plastic which disappointed me. I’d say either go for something as small and as cheap as the SMSL, or go full size (which I ended up doing in the end). I got an Onkyo A-9150 and it’s great. Multiple digital and analog inputs. Only thing it’s missing is a USB input, but that isn’t the end of the world.

This is of course my opinion, completely subjective and your mileage may vary.

I'm a big fan of SMSL

I have 3. It's probably not audiophile quality and BRM will probably want to nuke me for voting on it, but smsl rock.

not me, dude - whatever floats yer boat...

Need a new amp as my vintage HK is too temperamental, sadly - looking at the Cambridge audio cxa81 or audiolab 6000a.

Any other recommendations or views which I should go for? Obviously will try and set up a demo before I pull the trigger anyway...

how huge is the budget?

The CA is pushing it! £1k tops?

For that much you could completely rebuild the HK multiple times!

Yes but I'm utterly fed up with taking it across London to the amp repair guy and then it breaking again! There's only so many times I can get it fixed before I decide I need a better daily usage amp