Audiophiles hifi appreciation thread old and new

Denon, Marantz, Yamaha and Cambridge Audio all have amps around that price point and should be fine. Depends on the features you need - some have phono stages, sub-out, built in dacs, Bluetooth etc

Also a bunch of Chinese amps on Amazon, again, depends on the features you need.

So for reference, this is my current setup (yes I know, speakers on the same surface as the TT bad, yes). I never listen to it loud enough to really cause any issue.
A phono stage would be nice, but I have one built in to the TT if required. Otherwise, just basic EQ controls would be good. Otherwise just something cheap, simple that ideally looks nice, not just a big black shiny mess of LCD screens and flashy lights.

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and disco ball!

Disco ball is a very important part of a true audiophile's setup, surely?

If you can stretch, I'd get this, personally: https://www.richersounds.com/cambridge-audio-axa35-lunar-grey.html

Then again, you could buy this: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/234934058261?hash=item36b3293d15:g:fYEAAOSwffFi4rX8

Digital inputs, DAB tuner, more wattage, same price. Direct from CA. Their eBay store has some real bargains. Also has AXA25s for only 199GBP:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/334753774212?hash=item4df0e13a84:g:BU0AAOSwZWdiIN26&amdata=enc%3AAQAHAAAA0GUfLvEFu2%2FqIAmv7I%2BNfVGDkTuboye52xCZfgoVFxJFiA559VsxDJ1n4ue04RkfWfihRy9TfBEBPB52u9gEg6rHTbaeVfjsfRu0CiAxIXoe69G8LV3Qt%2BRlszoY1eJmS60CTryBeCm4sQrRD1Sk1s8%2BOY0rsVOwQB34XQQ545ChEBJ0Uei7s1FE6mmaLOs19Kc3kCGgj2c63RoJrniN0eSqYcruxfkJNe%2FcJrTdy%2BzHbmBN8vwiPSx9jfrjvSRIUsKAjpTLlIis7JMSgw8bpE4%3D%7Ctkp%3ABFBMgs2Fgt5h

I do like that second one, and can't argue with that price really. I like having the actual controls for the bass, treble etc in a physical form.
However... it's just such a big boring box of grey.
I think that's why I like the Rega - sure it's not very exciting, but it's also small. There's a couple of refurbed ones on eBay atm for sub-£300...

The IO? Having had an IO in person, and having also had a CXA61 in the same finish as that AXA25, I personally think the CA finish is much nicer, but that's just me. Will give it to you that the IO is very small, though. I just didn't really think the IO was that good, but I have very power hungry speakers. Not sure if it was its power supply or wattage, but it just couldn't wake my speakers up. And I see that yours are 86db at a 6 ohm load (they're Denton's right?) so you not sure how well it'd work for you.

The Rega io doesn't have any tone controls at all. Unless I had a lot of money and could tailor a system to my room/listening preferences, I'd always opt for tone controls.

Edit - Personally though, I'd pay to get your Technics receiver re-caped. I'd don't think I'd ever get rid of my AKAI. It was my Dad's from new in the 70s, sounds great, and has bunch of stuff that just isn't available on some modern amps - mono and loudness buttons, tone controls, 2x phono inputs, 2x speaker outs. Plus silver and 'wood' wins.

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Do love that amp wood sided look with aluminium - esp just side panels with a black fascia - Japanese vibes.
Quite a line up in this collection: https://youtu.be/lEDNHDFOP_A

I’m adding rockwool and a microperforated stretch ceiling to our living room to reduce reverb and general reflections. The ceiling is fucked and needs replaced anyway so it’s two birds with one stone.

Anyone know anything about room treatment? My concern is that I’ll absorb lots of high and mid frequency and little bass, resulting in a boring boomy room. Bass traps in the corners too?

@dbr Darko Audio has done a load of recent videos on room treatments that are worth a look.

Could you play about with stuff stretched over wooden frames, and bass traps to figure it out before you do anything permanent? It's all quite subjective.

If your room is 'normal' size and construction you won't be able to fit large enough bass traps to be effective. You're right to have the concerns you have, it's a common outcome.

Best mitigation is speakers away from walls. Something dense behind the listening position, non reflective behind the speakers and convolution dsp.

There are some great books on acoustics, when you look at the acoustically perfect room you are ultimately trying to create, it's not a domestic room.

As an example, after years of measuring and moving things around the room I have has very little reflections, this is noticeable if you clap your hands in it. It also has controlled bass at the listening position but the rear corners have an extra 6db (that's double) at 50hz.

Bass flows like water across the walls and builds up in corners. It also reflects and doubles at certain frequencies depending on room size. All of this is predictable and software like REW can calculate frequency response from dimensions, including speaker position to help you.

Another basic improvement I believe in is tilting speakers about 5 degrees to the listening position. I personally find it helps with reflections.

Thanks for the insight. I think I’m mainly battling flutter echo, which the ceiling should help with. Just popped some bass traps into the 3D model of our living room and my wife went mental, so perhaps I’ll have to shelf that idea. Helmholtz resonator?

Really don’t want to use DSP as the Tannoys sound so good with no fiddling, switching from DSPed smaller speakers to these guys was a revelation. It’s really easy to do DSP wrong I think. I’d rather have a more fun than “accurate” sound.

Might have to move the sofa off the back wall somehow. I’ll invent some kind of excuse…

Annoyingly I never got around to measuring the room before we moved everything out to do work, though I think there will be an opportunity to do that before installing rockwool. The stretch ceiling is a one-time thing, once it’s up that’s it, so it’s a case of working out how much rockwool to install above…

Helmholtz resonator?

Usually needs to be too big for a domestic room.

Having the sofa on the back wall helps as it operates like a bass trap. Problem is you need to be sitting a few feet in front of it! Definitely experiment with the speakers further into the room. Don't have the bass drivers equidistant from the floor and walls either.

I hear you regarding the DSP. Although I just added convolution dsp using a new method to Roon on my mains and it's improved things. The mains are Dynaudio Air 20 so very flat to begin with.

Suppose I can keep the sofa at the back and move a listening chair into the middle of the room when I’m getting all turtle neck and jazz

If your listening room has to be dual purpose (like most living rooms!) you might be better off with a pair of high end headphones for the jazz sessions.

Having put together a pretty much ideal music room, I don't actually get to spend that much time in it! It's great when I do but sometimes I wonder why I spent years working on it.

I’ve already invested in some speakers for life! We watch movies on the projector here too so I’m aiming for good as possible rather than perfection.

You've probably got a couple of room modes in and around 50hz depending on room size. You can use peq to dial those down but you're unlikely to tame it physically, especially with movie bass.

I found it took a long time to achieve good as possible and then every now and again something comes along to improve it a little bit.

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Cat proofing the Tannoy Eatons.

A carpenter is making a pair of walnut grilles for me that will house a brass mesh. It's pretty open so shouldn't affect sound too much, and I'm using speaker tape to hold the mesh firmly and to mitigate as much resonance.

Basically though, this has strong retro radio vibes to it and strong face pareidolia going on.

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• V2. David Kitchen. Walnut Speaker Covers.Charlie Caffyn.21.03.23.pdf

Kind of like my Nova 8B set?

I googled and determined no, not like those. But who knows, maybe you have pics and they are like it?

Mine will be walnut on the front, with a circle of brass wire covering the speakers rather than cloth. It's a hard grille, which I'm attempting to add some softness and wit to through the material choices.