A nice "Air Tight" with Tamura Transformer!
hello!

 

Many moons ago I worked in high end Hi Fi and have many stories about how clients ‘improved’ the sound quality of their systems. Some things made definite improvements while others were just a touch strange...

Swapping around interconnect cables can make a difference - even the direction that the cable runs can be important. I even had a client who had all his cables raised off the floor by running them over cups spaced apart about 20cm - he swore it made the system sound better.

Vibration dampening is important - Rega insisted that their turntables be wall-mounted to avoid the tonearm of the record player from being adversely affected by vibration through floorboards, etc. For this reason you should use either spikes or other damping (you can buy a specific type of BluTak substance for this) on speaker stands to isolate low frequencies from your system.

A friend of mine actually removed the floorboards from his ‘listening room’, then fabricated a solid column from the bedrock underneath to set positions in the room. Holes were drilled through the floor and the spikes from the speaker stands went straight into the columns, eliminating totally any resonance from the floorboards. Ensuring that the power supply is on a different circuit than your fridge, air con, etc. is also beneficial.

My system now is practically the same as from back then; I only swapped out my DNM pre-amplifier as it kept blowing fuses and three inputs wasn’t enough (though it did go up to 13!).



Roksan Xerxes turntable, Tabrizzi tonearm. Currently using an Ortofon cartridge - looking to upgrade for Xmas
Rotel pre-amplifier.
Sumo Andromeda power amplifier
ATC SCM-10 loudspeakers
Yamaha cassette deck
Luxman CD player
Stax Lambda Pro electrostatic headphones

 

I always liked playing with audio gear. But two things changed how I felt about it.
Reading a small HiEnd journal “Das Ohr” where they disdained the “Best” and encouraged to find combos that were right.
And most importantly having a listening session at Auditorium 23 in Frankfurt. Platine Verdier and Shindo tube amp stuff I believe, but that session educated me on how good a system can sound and how it can make you feel. And you clearly heard differences when they swapped cables.
A trielt great dealer can really help putting a nice non expensive system together.

 

Tony, I grew up on the North Shore and my brother worked at Audio Consultants for years during the mid-80s and 90s! What years were you hanging out there?

Grew up in a house full of audiophiles from my dad, brother to half-brother. The bug didn’t hit me as hard after I was on my own, since I was mostly listening to bootleg tapes of Grateful Dead concerts!

 

I would have been hanging around the shop probably beginning in around 1980, and for well over a decade after. I was closest to a salesman named Bruce, but don't remember other names (other than the owner Simon) off the top of my head.

 

My brothers name is Bes (I’m Anthony). I vaguely recall Bruce and Simon. My brother remains in the biz. He went on to work at Saturday Audio in Lincoln Park but for the last 20 years he’s been at Music Direct catalog house. I’m betting several US-based audiophiles here have ordered from them and or dealt with him.

 

Oh boy this thread gets my blood pumping. My first love was audio hifi back when my ears were good. Now not so much after decades of competitive shooting.

I started out with my EE degree in the audio industry. worked for several in the first few years then a recession took many of them down, so I ended up in govt service on missile guidance systems...that was a bit of culture change.

Anyway, feeling nostalgic for my first love.

One thing I learned after all these years, buy what sounds good to you and don't let anyone convince you something else sounds better. Let your ears do the judging. Period.

I recall a couple years ago in a high end shop listening to a $40k system...absolutely beautiful looking but not my sound style. Then he turned it off and I walked back out into the entry way and heard very nice music playing and asked what it was..he said oh its just the background system...a bose radio. So I bought a bose radio.

I also have a set of the Bose noise cancelling in ear headphones. Absolutely spectacular.

I honestly feel that headphones may have surpassed speaker systems in audio quality these days, if you don't mind giving up the 'feel' of it.

 

your a lucky man enjoy it
first class piece of kit
they don't build quality like that any more
had a set up like that many years ago...
sold the whole set up along with all the records which were in mint condition
it was the right thing to do at the time. ( according to my wife ).
but as i look back ( yes i regret it ).

 

Which Bose Headphones did you get?
Are they Bluetooth or wired?
Thanks

 

Very nice rig.

I honestly think Air Tight is the best kept secret in audio, their sound is on another level. I haven't heard the ATM-1, but I do like EL34s.

 

This is an epic amp, Don was a legend. The article linked below is an interesting read.

https://www.audiostream.com/content/road-tour-fi

 

As others have said, but what sounds good to you, don't be overly swayed by the so-called experts.

And at the end of the day it really comes down to the quality of the source material. Unfortunately much music has been mishandled and ruined by poor mixing, mastering and production, often so it sounds ok through cheap ear buds or crappy speakers. The old saying "garbage in, garbage out" really applies to the audio experience. Too many people fell for the digital dream of 'it's just 1's and 0's, you don't need quality equipment, it all sounds the same'.

 

Big fan of Music Direct, have bought tons of music and gear over the years from them. Quality outfit.

 

The thing that got my HiFi system kicked out of the family room was when I became convinced that the speaker wires were an integral part of the listening experience
So I purchased these fat clunky "wires" and my wife accused me of a fatal fung shui violation and now I am listing to this

 

I probably have.

 

Interesting speakers? Home built or brand?

 

My wife wants to sell the house and become a cliff dweller. This is anathema to me now that I can shake the house with my gear. She doesn’t get it.

 

Yes and a great article......have since become a bit of a 2a3 addict....such a full and lovely sound! Don will be missed.....

 

They're excellent value, IMO, especially if you're a fan of the Sennets HD5/6-series sound and you're okay with the shorter cable supplied by Drop. I prefer them balanced but they're excellent out of most good amps with the current to drive them. One of the safest recommendations on the market, I think.