Audiophiles hifi appreciation thread old and new

Thanks again @Stevethecoffee 👍

And also thank you @Airhead & @ChasnotRobert - very valuable feedback for me, I appreciate it!

Are you proficient enough to do a home build? Then you get to cherry pick some pretty nice transformers and valves. £300 will build you an amp that will blow most things out the water. £600-700 will build you something that even 6-figure amplifiers will struggle to match.

Are you proficient enough to do a home build?

..short answer: no 🙂

I'm curious what the good options are in the space - will probably never do it but would like to have a look anyway!

I've done a fair amount of putting together synth modules, imagine this might be a bit more complicated/treacherous?

Pinch of salt with the 6-figure comment btw - I'd been drinking :D

For a small amp it's difficult to beat a single-ended class A build based on an EF86 and EL84, so either a Mullard 3-3 or BBC AM8/2A. I've not found anyone making a PCB for either of those, so you have to build them point-to point. An ECC83 / EL84 combo will be as good and there are plenty of PCBs for that circuit if you want a simpler build. You can then modify your component values to suit the amp you want to build. There are a plethora of new, NOS British and NOS Soviet valves to choose from.

For a bigger amp, consider the Tubelab SSE which can use a single EL34, KT66, KT88 or wouldn't be too difficult to reconfigure to a 300B. The circuit board is incredibly high quality, well spaced out and has gold plated tracks.

Fundamentally though, a push-pull setup is inherently less noisy than SE, develops more power and (technically) cancels out its own distortion without having to run a lot of negative feedback. It doesn't need anywhere near as much care with HT smoothing, DC heaters or heater wire routing.

For transformers, Hammond and Edcor are well respected. If you're in the UK, there's also Primary Windings. I've used theirs on my AM8/2A build and they're excellent transformers.

Obviously remember you'll be working with dangerously high voltages

While we’re talking about home builds, my preamp is a slightly simplified Mullard circuit, which is the quintessential pentode preamp. Here’s an extremely simple triode preamp stage:

https://diyaudioprojects.com/Tubes/Universal-Tube-Preamplifier/

That’s got a gain of about -50 using an ECC83 / 12AX7, so if you were to add the RIAA filter in a negative feedback loop like the Mullard has, plus a second triode stage to flip the phase, you’d have a pretty cool dual triode phono preamp.

I feel a bit like pentodes inherently introduce less hiss than triodes because of the suppression grid, but I’d really like to try a triode one to find out for myself.

Turntable anyone? 😃

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Hi all! I'm thinking of streamlining my stereo system, and getting one of these:

https://www.richersounds.com/marantz-melody-x-mcr612-black.html

To replace the pioneer A-109 amp and Sony cdp-xb930 I have.

I can plug my record player into the marantz unit, and it will mean I can set some speakers in an adjectent room as well.
Would this be an upgrade in sound quality or a downgrade do you think?

I really like Marantz as a brand, it's probably a good unit.

Only thing I would say to the detriment of modern do it all boxes containing class D amps, they are complex electronics and a failure of a small part can lead to the whole thing being too expensive to repair.

First time with an audio query so please take it handy!

I want some speakers for home to use for listening to music and bit of tele.

I want them to have blue tooth / wireless (for casting) and portable if possible for use in the garden.

I'm not keen on the soundbars type of speakers and like the idea of sound quality being more prised over the branding and tech etc.

I'm looking at spending £100'ish, I did some search and found the below set and wondered if this would be a good choice:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Edifier-R1280DB-Bluetooth-Bookshelf-Speakers/dp/B0719C132V?source=ps-sl-shoppingads-lpcontext&ref_=fplfs&psc=1&smid=A2V8YV6FAC397E

Or are there other factors I should be considering?

wondered if this would be a good choice:

Edifier seem to be well regarded for the kind of product you want at the kind of price you want to pay. I wouldn't waste a lot of time looking elsewhere.

been given a marantz pm7000 amp and wanted to get some speakers to hook up. ive been looking at older one but unsre if im just going style over substance
i love the look kef 104 (ab) but have no idea if they are any good

another speaker i wanted to pair with the amp was Mission 732i.

does any one have any other suggestions - got a budget of 200 so 2nd hand will be my market

kef 104

I heard a set of those used to demo an amp I was buying, they were pretty impressive.

I'd look to secondhand options also to stretch your budget.
You might be able to bag some Klipsch R-41PM's:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/315127031769?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=WrJg8lQgS-K&sssrc=2047675&ssuid=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

Hi @Rich_G I brought some 60's KEF Concerto speakers here which are similar to the 104's (active bass speaker rather than passive radiator) but they sound great - really natural, great for acoustic music (a well recorded piano sounds amazing). Also good bass response so nice for stuff with lots of bass too :-) - they are huge btw..

You are into the world of old crossover capacitors and crumbly foam cone surrounds if buying any decent 40-50 year old speaker for £200

EDIT: you can get new x-overs though
https://www.falconacoustics.co.uk/ls35a-kit-falcon-minimonitor-q7-systems/replacement-capacitor-sets/kef-104ab-replacement-capacitor-set.html

I've got some powered by a Sansui AU-717, love them. Honking big things, so make sure you've got the space!

They really shine for the 70s era rock stuff but are more than capable in other departments.

Thanks all i really do love the look of the kefs and good t know i can get replacment x-overs.

Thanks @gbj_tester , good to know I’m on the right path.

And thanks @Butchers_dog I’ll browse the bay.

Very satisfying bit of tinkering giving this a clean, sorting some crackly pots with contact cleaner and replacing one of the bulbs so my blue glow is nice and even again. Must’ve had this for 20 years, I love it.

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I've been thinking about getting a soundbar for the TV... for the last 10 years.

What should I look for? I'm basically just trying to make audio clearer, not louder.

Is there any point getting one with a wireless sub when you're in a flat?

Really depends on the flat / how thick the walls are, and on how much your neighbours appreciate peace and quiet I'd say 🙂

If you've been fine with TV speaker for a decade, any soundbar will be a massive improvement. Subs are for adding drama and impact for movies, they don't really make the sound any clearer.

Fair point. Just wondered about a general vibe from people in flats with them. No point getting one if you have to make them so low as to be pointless.

Yeah, just wondering if there's any point getting a separate one. I think not, given how little I've cared about TV sound thus far.