Audiophiles hifi appreciation thread old and new

Datacentres work best when you don't have people walking around in them, so it's cheaper to maintain service on a SAN with redundancy than a high-maintenance low-redundancy solution.

I went though my record/CD collection the last time I moved with a serious intention of clearing out stuff that I had acquired but didn't really want or need. I have over a 1000 CD's/LP's/singles etc....

I managed to get rid of 14 items.

Datacentres work best when you don't have people walking around in them, so it's cheaper to maintain service on a SAN with redundancy than a high-maintenance low-redundancy solution.

I never thought of my record collection as a data centre - does owning two copies of 'Dark Side of the Moon' count as redundancy?

I suspect my attitude to computers is tainted by working in a department where airborne particulates (laser fume and CNC mill) killed hard drives no matter what filters were in place.
It's been less of a problem since retirement...

Yes, having two copies is an easy form of redundancy especially when your data is not subject to change.

LPs suffer from performance degradation before failure; having a ready-to-go "disaster recovery" copy reduces your downtime to how long it takes you to spin up the DR and restore the current state of the needle.

^ A little extreme, I'm sure you'll find a way to get them back though.

Not strictly an audiophile question, but any recommendations for decent not too expensive carts for 1210's that will be good for cross duties of the odd bit of mixing as well as some sit down and listen-ability also?

was thinking Ortofon Concorde ?

@BRM I was hoping for something a bit more "audiophily." Sorry im a snob :)

@Chris Yeah I cycle through Viccy park everyday to and from work. If you can let me no the make and model that'll be great.

One of these... not sure if it's high end enough for you but looking for £20...

Well, it's time to upgrade my abysmal stereo and enter into the world of (budget) hi-fi separates.

I've been doing my research and I think I'm going with a Marantz PM6004 and matching CD6004 with a pair of Dali Zensor 1 speakers.

However, the intricacies of interconnects and speaker cables are still eluding me so if anyone could help me out with what to look for, that would be very helpful!

(Also, if there's a better set up for similar cost then I'd be happy to hear about it!)

Twin-core mains cable works very well a speaker cable. Otherwise, anything that's suitable for carrying at least 1 amp should do fine.

Interconnects should have decent quality terminations. Gold plating reduces the likelihood of corrosion. Maplin and Poundland should probably keep you covered.

I'd spend the money you save here on getting better components, especially loudspeakers (I'm aware that others here were discussing the merits of better amps being more important in budget systems, but I disagree).

Thanks for the help.

I took the plunge and booked a few hours in the listening room at my local Richer Sounds and have sorted out a very impressive sounding system for my budget. On with the listening!

^ the best way to do it
my first system was purchased that way
take something like OK Computer by Radiohead ( don't worry you can burn it afterwards ) to listen to
the quality of the recording on that CD is brilliant
you can then pick up the nuances in the music / fingers sliding down the frets / the little background accidental music to help you work out what is the best set up

or take your fave music and listen to what sounds the best
take a dance track with deep bass to test the bass etc
it really is possible to hear the differences with the set ups even with a budget set up.

http://www.whathifi.com/review/marantz-pm6004
5 * rated .. i recently bought the CD6004 and it is a well built solid and great sounding CD links nicely to my old nad and tannoy speakers

http://www.whathifi.com/review/zensor-1

^ the best way to do it
my first system was purchased that way
take something like OK Computer by Radiohead ( don't worry you can burn it afterwards ) to listen to
the quality of the recording on that CD is brilliant
you can then pick up the nuances in the music / fingers sliding down the frets / the little background accidental music to help you work out what is the best set up

or take your fave music and listen to what sounds the best
take a dance track with deep bass to test the bass etc
it really is possible to hear the differences with the set ups even with a budget set up.

Definitely.

I had a great time - I could quite happily have bought a few beers, ordered a pizza and spent the whole day in there. (And I think they'd have let me.)

The difference in the sound of the different systems/permutations of components is quite staggering - none of them bad sounding but some definitely pleased me more than others. There was quite a difference in cables though which I was surprised about.
In total, I tired 16 different combinations of equipment (and then the one I chose with the budget cables/interconnectors and then with slightly more expensive ones) with these songs:

Mastodon - The Wolf Is Loose (for something heavy)
Air - Kelly Watch The Stars (for the lovely warm synths)
Ciccone Youth - Into The Groovy (for a bit of lo-fi scuzz)
Willy Mason - What Is This? (for some nice warm guitar and vocals)
Talking Heads - Born Under Punches and This Must Be The Place (because Talking Heads and for the amazing production)
Black Eyed Peas - BEP Empire (from when they used to be good for deep bass )
LCD Soundsystem - Dance Yourself Clean (a terrible recording ripped from radio and then burned to CD to see how it coped with something that already sounded really bad)

They pretty much covered all the bases and I'm really pleased I took the time to actually listen to the equipment - If I'd bought it over the internet, I'd probably be pleased but now I know that I've got a better sounding system than I would have otherwise.

In the end, I've gone for the Marantz CD6004& PM6004 and a pair of Monitor Audio BX2 speakers. (Interconnects are Cambridge and speaker cables are QED.)

I'm just researching turntables now.... Oh God.

My SoundMagic E10s just bit the dust.
While I was really happy with the sound quality, the build quality was where it failed - In less then a year of heavy use.

Can anyone recommend some in ear headphones that deliver on audio quality, are built to last and under £50....?

Slightly OT: anyone interested in the olive cased Naim NAP250, modded with Avondale NCC200 boards? Mine is for sale, see.

I would love to have that, I miss mine soo much :(
Shame I cant justify the expense this time of the year.

Couple of questions... anyone know how to refurb/clean up an old Amp sound wise? I have one that works fine but is a little crackly at times, could be the speakers? Everything but the cables are from the 70's and pretty dusty.

Also, anyone with some nice speakers for sale? I'm no expert, after something that looks nice and sounds at least good, not crazy money...

Well, any electrolytic capacitors that old will most certainly just be dust by now which could be one cause of the crackling. Another likely factor is corrosion on a lot of the contacts and potentiometers.

If you think it's worth it, re-cap it and clean all the things! Or it might be worth looking at second hand amps, like NAD or something. Cheaper than fixing the old one for sure.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NAD-3020i-Stereo-Amplifier-/140909505268?pt=UK_AudioTVElectronics_HomeAudioHiFi_Amplifiers&hash=item20cedc6af4

As for speakers, tannoys from that era can be had for a steal in the usual place and sound on the right side of acceptable.
Otherwise, secondhand B&W 601s or something should be fine.

The pots on my Pioneer A22 (early 80s) need cleaning from time to time - winding them back and forwards either side of preferred positions a few times makes a difference when I can't be bothered to do it properly (remove from facia, copious contact cleaner) which happens every year or so.

Talking budget systems, I've just bought one of these for the spare room to replace the horrendous bought-in-hmv-for-about-£30-10-years-ago hi-fi.

Just waiting for it to arrive from HK. I'll let you know how I get on. Nerds in America seem to love them.

^ They are very good - but really do need sensitive (>90db/W/m) speakers

That tiny cheap thing is an amp?

How would I go about cleaning bits? I'm like a guy who can't fix a puncture in the Hifi worlds...

Cheers for the speaker tips, will look out some rosewood Tannoys...

Yeah, I guessed it'd need a good match. I'm going to stick with what's here for now till ebay turns up a bargain.

Unless anyone's got any little bookshelf jobbies they're willing to part with.

You can be pretty sure that most bookshelf jobbies that are hanging around won't be up to the task. See danb's comment.

Those Class-D amps are ok, but in my experience, nothing spectacular. Great for the cash, and very small though!