What do you listen to your music on?

Posts
660
Likes
4,255
Fairly old Denon receivers, Pioneer Elite for video, Harmon Kardon for audio, HK speakers + Infinity sub (hidden) and JVC Super VHS !

 
Posts
308
Likes
463
Ditched the dedicated system and went down the Sonos route. Whilst not ‘audiophile’ by any stretch the sound is still great and I find that the added flexibility of being able to listen to almost any material in any room in the house means I get much more music time. Don’t really have the time these days to sot down in ‘front’ of a dedicated system and listen. So the ‘background’ listening approach suites me far better.
 
Posts
1,300
Likes
3,086
I have two systems but one is just the TV system the other is a HT system. I have an electrical background so a lot of the big system is DIY.
Today we can buy as good as I can build and what with pc based music downloads which I can't be bothered with the system is now in stasis.
For those interested the speakers are Acoustat Spectra 44's, various cd and dvd players used as transports.
Dac is from Audio GD ( amazing tech build and value)
Pre amp is Yamaha (the best receiver I have found for switching and surround sound parameters).
In ceiling speakers are Krix.
The old Pereaux 2150B ( completely rebuilt, modified and regulated) runs the large 12in focal subwoofer.
The main amps are Tilbrook 6000's a wonderful amp, DIY of course but a very complex regulated amp.
I become quite nostalgic writing this, remembering the 100's maybe thousands of hours building and tuning this system, which has brought much enjoyment over the years.
Edited:
 
Posts
230
Likes
281
I have two systems but one is just the TV system the other is a HT system. I have an electrical background so a lot of the big system is DIY.
Today we can buy as good as I can build and what with pc based music downloads which I can't be bothered with the system is now in stasis.
For those interested the speakers are Acoustat Spectra 44's, various cd and dvd players used as transports.
Dac is from Audio GD ( amazing tech build and value)
Pre amp is Yamaha (the best receiver I have found for switching and surround sound parameters).
In ceiling speakers are Krix.
The old Pereaux 2150B ( completely rebuilt, modified and regulated) runs the large 12in focal subwoofer.
The main amps are Tilbrook 5000's a wonderful amp, DIY of course but a very complex regulated amp.
I become quite nostalgic writing this, remembering the 100's maybe thousands of hours building and tuning this system, which has brought much enjoyment over the years.

like your power amps👍 love amps with a small environmental footprints😝
but what I don't get is you have all the nice in wall connections for speakers and network but you've got one big spaghetti of powercables and extension cords?😲😀
 
Posts
1,300
Likes
3,086
like your power amps👍 love amps with a small environmental footprints😝
but what I don't get is you have all the nice in wall connections for speakers and network but you've got one big spaghetti of powercables and extension cords?😲😀
Hi @Koen, thanks for your comments.
Yes it does look a mess but there it was a lot more complicated when it ran as two systems one "music only" using a home built Nelson Pass pre amp and the other for HT using the Yamaha as the switching pre amp processor. I was drinking in those days and switching from one system to the other was a seriously mind bending proposition after a few beers !
Having found a sound field on the Yamaha that was not "pure direct" ( no sub woofer output in this mode) or stereo/straight that suited the room I went for a one system suits all. The sound parameter I use is Neo 6 music. The beauty of the Yamaha receiver processors is the ability to tune the system to the room after doing all the basic distances and volumes settings by finding a sound field program that works in a given room.
As for the amps being enviro friendly, I doubt it as they produce 250W and 300W at high current delivery and quite high quiesant currents to the mosfets of 350mA (Perreaux) and 220mA (Tilbrook) and the Pass pre amp is 400mA.
This means everything runs hot and large heatsinks are needed to avoid the use of fans.
There is also a auto transformer powering the power boards to maintain a voltage of 230v , our voltage spikes in Western Australia are deadly for electrical equipment that is not designed for fluctuating voltage spikes.
The apparent nightmare of the connection wiring is organised chaos as no signal carrying conductors run parallel to any mains power cables avoiding induction interferences. Some of the signal cables are pure silver.
The whole system runs on its own dedicated heavy duty house mains cable using its own circuit breaker thus avoiding interference from house appliances.
I have included a pic of the heavily modified Perreaux , with regulated input and a current mirror on the driver stage and an upgraded power bank of 80,000 uF.
Because of the two toroidal transformers and the large capacitance a slow turn on circuit had to be installed to stop the ultra fast Hexfed diode bridge from litterally exploding on turn on with the current rush.
It was all great fun and still sounds excellent and has a comparable sound to systems costing tens of thousands of $'s.
 
Posts
1,300
Likes
3,086
Well so much for the system being in stasis.
From originally being a "stereo" guy I have now embraced full surround sound (6 speakers + 4 amps) after much trial and error I have incorporated a Yamaha Soavo center channel. This has improved diction on movies, I noticed that without a center channel diction was not good when watching movies. This is not the case with music so much and some cd's may need to center channel eased off to -2db.
For movies viewing the magnetic grill cover goes on as the white midrange drivers is distracting as it picks up light from the projector.
Thank you OF and its members for reigniting my quest for "grail" sound.
Even she" that must be obeyed" wants to listen !!
 
Posts
230
Likes
281
Hi @Koen, thanks for your comments.
Yes it does look a mess but there it was a lot more complicated when it ran as two systems one "music only" using a home built Nelson Pass pre amp and the other for HT using the Yamaha as the switching pre amp processor. I was drinking in those days and switching from one system to the other was a seriously mind bending proposition after a few beers !
Having found a sound field on the Yamaha that was not "pure direct" ( no sub woofer output in this mode) or stereo/straight that suited the room I went for a one system suits all. The sound parameter I use is Neo 6 music. The beauty of the Yamaha receiver processors is the ability to tune the system to the room after doing all the basic distances and volumes settings by finding a sound field program that works in a given room.
As for the amps being enviro friendly, I doubt it as they produce 250W and 300W at high current delivery and quite high quiesant currents to the mosfets of 350mA (Perreaux) and 220mA (Tilbrook) and the Pass pre amp is 400mA.
This means everything runs hot and large heatsinks are needed to avoid the use of fans.
There is also a auto transformer powering the power boards to maintain a voltage of 230v , our voltage spikes in Western Australia are deadly for electrical equipment that is not designed for fluctuating voltage spikes.
The apparent nightmare of the connection wiring is organised chaos as no signal carrying conductors run parallel to any mains power cables avoiding induction interferences. Some of the signal cables are pure silver.
The whole system runs on its own dedicated heavy duty house mains cable using its own circuit breaker thus avoiding interference from house appliances.
I have included a pic of the heavily modified Perreaux , with regulated input and a current mirror on the driver stage and an upgraded power bank of 80,000 uF.
Because of the two toroidal transformers and the large capacitance a slow turn on circuit had to be installed to stop the ultra fast Hexfed diode bridge from litterally exploding on turn on with the current rush.
It was all great fun and still sounds excellent and has a comparable sound to systems costing tens of thousands of $'s.

One of the things I like to learn when I have some free time is to learn how to read schematics, I’d like to built an (pre)amp sometime. That amp looks awesome, I’m always drooling at those coke can elco’s, used to have a Sony 808es which used similar.



Does your Yamaha pre use a microphone for measurements? I’m switching between Roon and hqplayer for room adjustments and convolution with help from REW, but that’s all manual setup so could be a bit difficult sometimes.

Those voltage spikes are something indeed, I’ve been blessed to be on a stable grid over here. W
What would benefit from silver in power lines? Better conductivity?

That eco friendly thing was something of a joke, though still like amps that blow out your fuses.
 
Posts
2,399
Likes
6,935
Klipsch La Scala Speakers.
giphy.gif
 
Posts
120
Likes
225
A very old, but beautifully constructed Mullard 5-10 with quad matched ECL86 tubes, driving a pair of 1970,s Hitachi HS-420 3 way speakers
 
Posts
300
Likes
1,187
A very old, but beautifully constructed Mullard 5-10 with quad matched ECL86 tubes, driving a pair of 1970,s Hitachi HS-420 3 way speakers
Always nice to see some vintage valve kit, quads of matched ECL86's must be hard to come by as they contain both triode & pentode sections!

Paul
 
Posts
22
Likes
30
Nothing grand but managed to get it past her who must be obeyed without "how much"!!!
Arcam AVR850 AV amp, sounds great with both music and HT. Marantz UD8008 transport, Rega Planar Record store day 10th Aniv edition and old but functioning Monitor audio silver speaker set.
All powered through dedicted mains supply with its own consumer box and an Isotek mains conditioner.
Looking at upgrading front speakers to PMC25.24s, anyone tried them. They sound astonishing at my local den of temptation (Audio T Southampton).
 
Posts
1,300
Likes
3,086
One of the things I like to learn when I have some free time is to learn how to read schematics, I’d like to built an (pre)amp sometime. That amp looks awesome, I’m always drooling at those coke can elco’s, used to have a Sony 808es which used similar.



Does your Yamaha pre use a microphone for measurements? I’m switching between Roon and hqplayer for room adjustments and convolution with help from REW, but that’s all manual setup so could be a bit difficult sometimes.

Those voltage spikes are something indeed, I’ve been blessed to be on a stable grid over here. W
What would benefit from silver in power lines? Better conductivity?

That eco friendly thing was something of a joke, though still like amps that blow out your fuses.
Hi @Koen, thank you for your interest.
To answer some of your questions, pure silver has great conductivity and seems to sound better when used in the signal path.
Note , no pcb's all hard wired.

I did use a microphone and the onboard algorithms to set speaker distances BUT found this to only be approximate and later used entering the speaker distances from the listening position to get volume levels. Finally these are adjusted individually with the level facility of the Yamaha receiver by critical listening using the discrete levels control for each speaker. All of this is obviously done in the Yamaha receiver set up section.

If you want to build a pre amp I recommend Nelson Pass designs and have included some pics of a Zen pre amp and ott power supply, this has mostly pure silver (99.99) wiring in the signal path ( the grey wires in the pre amp are all 99.99 pure silver) . It has attenuator controls on the input of the gain stage and the output stage, not necessary but makes the pre amp work with any power amp. I have forgotten most of this stuff but can tell you it sounded wonderful.
It also features the ultra fast hex-fed diode bridge, previously mentioned in the Perreaux power amp (protected by a slow turn on circuit). A firework display will ensue without this precaution !
If you google Nelson Pass you find more than enough info to decide if you want to proceed. Start simple don't bother with my ott embellishments.
Bear in mind I no longer use this gear as today hi end gear is just as good and considering time and materials the cost is actually cheaper and looks way better !
I have found Audio GD to be the best value and technology available today.
Best of luck my friend, great satisfaction can be gained from one's own endeavours especially if it works !
Edited:
 
Posts
497
Likes
2,339
So here is the audio thread. I'll add some photos in a bit. Marantz 2325, 2270, 2330b receivers. Pioneer SX 1250 and Macintosh 4100 receivers. Nakamichi Rx 505 tape deck (yes, some are still using them) Turntables: Sansui SR 636, 838, 929 and Kenwood KD 990 and 9010. Speakers are a few pairs of Klipsch Heresy and some old Dynacos and Advent Loudspeakers. Headphones: Klipsch Hp 3, Sennheiser HD 600, Sennheiser HD 800s. Cartridges: Ortofon 2m black, 2m bronze, Shure v15 iv, Nagaoka mp 110, Nagaoka mp 200, and a couple of others.
Edited:
 
Posts
77
Likes
198
This is my main system, we're all about the music in this house....Mostly the source is digital from a 2011 Macbook Pro using J-River media player. But we have legacy mediums as well which are still used often.
 
Posts
307
Likes
566
I yearn for the simplicity of the Eight Track...
 
Posts
5,492
Likes
9,395
I scored an old Revox R2R a couple weeks ago. It needs to be packed off for an overhaul though.
 
Posts
497
Likes
2,339
8 tracks were easy to use, but you were always at the mercy of the player/tape as to what you listened to. Very few had ff/rw functions. And with the mechanism that jumped from track to track, having heads aligned was pretty much impossible, so the sound quality was always awful. But my first two vehicles had 8 tracks and provided a soundtrack for many great memories.
 
Posts
7,523
Likes
13,896
Eight tracks were the only way to go for in-car audio from the late 60's until the Philips cassette supplanted it in the early 80's or so. They were finicky but if you had a good deck they worked well. What I never liked was the haphazard way a vinyl LP's track order was often scrambled to fit the four distinct play periods on a tape. This was especially annoying on albums that told a story and needed a particular order, like Tommy, some Jethro Tull or Moody Blues albums. My girlfriend and I would usually stop by the local 8 track store on a Friday night date to see if any new releases had come in, they were in the $5 range back then, a little more than the equivalent LP but if you wanted sound in your car it was the only way to go other than radio. Eight tracks were often the first introduction to many classic albums for us because we didn't have a turntable in our homes. Simpler times.
Edited: