A few items, in no particular order: - room: less sound absorption, more/better diffusion, perhaps a room layout change - system: maybe new speakers? (but $$...) - power: better power conditioner for the front end system (and some cables) - music: continue inputting LPs and CDs in Discogs so I know what the heck I have!
Will this be the year finally build diffusers? Raven Reflection? Power cords? Thinking of mounting crossovers on small BDR Shelf on a Townshend Pod. Still inside the cabinet. Upgrade phono stage springs to Pods. Would love to move it out but oh the wires! Finish the springs- or Townshend Podiums? Brass screws? Pretty Schumann generator enclosures? Rack for the Dayton amps? This time last year I had no idea everything would now be on springs. So who knows?
Some of the most fundamental changes to my system building in a decade are happening right now, at the end of 2020. I am updating essential characteristics of my systems, and making changes to the genres of equipment that I will use in system building. I have three reviews underway that have been transformational in terms of giving new direction to the type of equipment I will use in reviewing and personal listening.
Barring a truly radial change technologically, some genres (not brands, but genres) of equipment going forward I will no longer consider worthy of my time/effort in reviewing, which speaks to the profundity of the changes. Over the years I have attempted to be open to a wide variety of genres of equipment, but the current circumstances are leading inexorably to elimination of some classes of gear - they simply have been eclipsed to such a degree that their internet weaknesses now overshadows their potential strengths.
I did not foresee this six months ago; a lot has changed in a relatively short period of time. Things will become public as the reviews are published in 2021. It's been an exhausting end to 2020 (Before Christmas I contracted Covid-19 and double pneumonia. I was hospitalized for three days, but am on the mend.) for me as a system builder, but I feel as though many years of dogged determination and unpaid work are bringing systemic changes that will both allow me to work more efficiently and make higher grade systems.
Expanding my system now that I got it setup just right.
1) Getting a second AHB2 amp (ordered and arriving in January) 2) UltraCap LPS 1.2 for microRendu (ordered coming in February) 3) RAAL SR1a Headphone to pair with AHB2(s) (maybe in January) 4) AudioByte VOX | ZAP | HUB 5) Halo May KTE
My last change is so surprizing and unorthodox like all my other devices, it will be one of the last change i think...I speak of it in my thread....
When you begin to listen to music and were no more being obsessed by unsatisfaction this is the sign that your actual S.Q. is more than good...
I own now a modest system so good that i dont want any upgrade , it will be at extraordinary cost anyway to improve it really... Thanks to my embeddings controls...
Then my dream for most of my life, a very good sound system is becoming real this year.... 2 years of intense listening experiments and device controls installation make me think that it is not so much the electronic components upgrade that make S.Q. increase but for most of us, unable to afford very, very costly products, it is, more often than not, the controls embeddings that works miracles...And after all my work i dont give a dam for a 100,000 dollars system really... 😁
When instrumental timbre naturalness and 3-d imaging is there an upgrade is elusive at best or illusory at worst....
Better system than mine are plethora but are they rightfully embed? are they working at their optimal level? And even if they are better and at their optimal working being rightfully embedded, i will not be frustrate at all with mine now anyway unable to afford them... Law of diminushing returns works for all...
The truth is really when you are unable to cut the power of your system before sleeping it is because you are at the end of the road...Only unsatisfied people chase their tail unable to really reach the optimal working with their audio system... What i call a rightful triple embeddings...
I speak my message for the modest audiophile that will read this thread, i want to give him real hope instead of the pit money upgrading fallacy chasing by most ...
Dont upgrade anything , embed everything before....
After that you will be able to think about that future possible upgrade with a smile, listening your music with a really cool brain and you will know if an upgrade is valuable or not, for any component in your system....
Before that you will be in the sellers and reviewers hypnotizing market being conditioned at your risk....
Dont throw me the rock, i am only the messenger...
To answer the OP question : My wish is new inspiration for creating at peanut cost another device controls of my own if it is possible.... But in any case i am happy....
Happy new year and God may give you health with music..... 😊
1. Put in a dedicated power circuit 2. Since my system is in my basement, I plan to sound insulate around my furnace/AC room so that I do not hear the stupid HVAC every time it turns on. This has been bugging me for a while.
Cut OC703 to fit directly on the furnace panels, preferably glued on. Then completely enclose them in a closet of 1/2" MDF. Or 5/8" sheetrock. With another layer of OC703 glued on to the inside of that. I did something like that with something a lot noisier than a furnace. The biggest challenge is enclosure. Any air gap and sound goes right through. So covering ducts and sealing around them is key. But worth it! Good luck!
Well, I'm moving into a new space. After the roofer, painter, electrician and room acoustics, I'm going to be trying out some of the fancy Jupiter copper foil caps in my crossovers.
Ears to continue functioning properly, a new phono stage, get more original LP's, starting some room treatment, and above all be safe. Better New year to All. G
I’m glad to see people have plans on way of increasing their musical enjoyment in the coming year. I’ve not changed any gear in over 5 years as I’m at a place where I’m quite satisfied.
For the past few years I’ve known my phono cartridge is aging- I’m not even sure when I bought it but it’s at least 18 years old. 2021 seems to be the year of the cartridge for me as it’s now unmistakable that it’s asking to be retired
cd318, knowing that the virus is variable in its effects, yet, I believe that a lifetime of physical fitness put me in a good position in terms of respiratory conditioning to bounce back. Prior to the virus, I was working out 5 days a week, and on Thursdays would do a half hour of moderate step mill, followed by half hour of elliptical. Saturdays I would take a brisk 4 mi. walk. The day before entering the hospital, partly to see just how badly the lungs were functioning, I tried to do a few flights of steps from the basement to the first floor, which I normally run up two steps at a time, and after only two flights down and up I was gassed, breathing heavily with sharpness in the lungs, for minutes! I was astonished at how diminished the loss of cardio! My lungs felt as though someone had poured glue into them, reducing the aerobic facility dramatically.
But, recovery has been progressing well. The day after leaving the hospital, I drove a car over to my son's condo to store it in the garage, then walked three miles home. Yesterday, I shoveled heavy snow for about two hours, then from physical exertion had to revert to an hour of snow blower. I thank God for the good recovery, and pray that those who are struggling are able to pull through.
Though not a particularly good athlete, I have always enjoyed physical activity, and tend to push myself aggressively to advance. I also apply the same mindset to building audio systems; there has to be advancement on a continual basis - it's my style. With age I have had to moderate that somewhat, and I am trying to appreciate the proper cycle of work and rest.
I just redid my vinyl rig (replaced moded vpi tnt jr/SME 310/Asthetix Rhea with JR Transrotor Rodino/SME 5012 & Allnic H3000) (huge imporvement) so now looking for an Air Tight cartridge to replace my Clearaudio Strad 2
I want to purchase a Dynavector DV20XL cartridge and have Chris @VH Audio build me a phono cable and a pair of very short interconnects (6 inches long) to go between the pre out and power amp in on my McIntosh integrated instead of the cheap strapped RCA plugs that come standard. I am using a pair of Audioquest jumpers presently but they were only a $30.00 item and Chris said he can do much better. Lastly, I am still waiting for the JBL stands to go with my new JBL L100 Classic speakers.
I am happy to hear you are ok. My wife and I are waiting for our COVID test results. We had the test done Tuesday. We were exposed last Thursday-Friday to the virus. We both feel ok so far.
@douglas_schroeder I'm glad you're on the mend. 340,000 dead aren't so lucky. What a terrible year. Stay safe in 2021 everyone. The vaccine is coming to you soon if it hasn't already.
Thanks for the information. My brother in law is also fit and strong and he said it knocked him for 24 hours. He was saying he could feel it going up and down his body all night.
Yet his wife and kids hardly had a cold.
I just went for a quick run half an hour ago and was surprised to find just how out of breath I was.
2020 certainly has not been good for my fitness. So there’s the new years resolution taken care of.
As far as audio goes I’m going to try to optimise my speaker positioning/ isolation.
Really hoping too there will be some UK shows by the autumn.
Going to try a new power conditioner but that's about it.
As for COVID, trust me, it's horrible. I've had so many friend get sick and be hospitalized. The hospital I work for is slammed---the ICUs look like war zones. I got my first vaccine last Saturday. Please try to follow the guidelines and stay safe everyone.
@douglas_schroeder , Sorry to hear you contracted Covid but glad to hear you're on the mend. Please take it easy. I used to know what it's like to push oneself and it's hard to just sit back and take it easy, but that's what's called for now.
There's a pundit on the news who's 33, used to run marathons, and now she's winded all the time and is down from 2 breathing sessions a day to 2-3 times a week and it's been a few months already. Please pace yourself.
As for what 2021 holds for me, it's all new music as my system is dialed in just where I want it, for now. 👍😄👍
I was just talking to a buddy that is a doctor- we get prioritizing people who work with COVID patients all day long. But age is also a factor- and no, a 70 year old should not wait the same time as a 16 year old. What should be done is create a sliding scale- 90 + gets the vaccine first; next tier, 80-90, and so on. The problem in the US is that with 50 states and no national policy, there are 50 different schemes on distributing the vaccine.
@ozzy @glupson The reason it is going to take so long for we 65 and older citizens to get it is because all the politicians are getting it first. I remember the Polio vaccinations, the entire town went to the High School and everyone waited patiently in line (imagine that) and got their shots. Wife and I are in quarrintine until Jan 6th if we dont get sick between now and then.
Possible candidates for lunatic governors who would do that are Florida, South Dakota, and any state with a Republican governor or one dominated by GOP legislators.
At the current rate of vaccinations, it will take about 10 years to immunize American citizens.
"Possible candidates for lunatic governors who would do that are Florida,
South Dakota, and any state with a Republican governor or one dominated
by GOP legislators.
At the current rate of vaccinations, it will take about 10 years to immunize American citizens.
All the best, Nonoise"
Thanks for the needless political rant on New Years Eve. Happy New Year!
@middlemass, so it took a few posts about the lack of serious attention and malfeasance resulting in over 250,000 needless deaths and people here who could have avoided getting it as a result it was my post pointing out the obvious and you consider it a "needless political rant".
You need to get your priorities in order. Happy New Year, indeed.
Improve the battery power on my phono/pre. I'm using alkaline batteries now, but really should have NiCads. Trouble is that optimal charging requires an individual current source for each cell, so that's a project.
"...the lack of serious attention and malfeasance resulting in over 250,000 needless deaths and people here who could have avoided getting it as a result..."
We are talking about Spain, Italy, Russia, and United Kingdom here?
"Needless" seems to be an imprecise word. Which deaths are commonly considered "needed"? How about "unfortunate" instead?
If your state is Michigan, you might have misunderstood the immunization plan.
"But, our dim witted Governor has decided that anyone under age 74 waits for the vaccine as 16 year old’s do. All others are ahead in the line."
16-year-olds you seem to be referencing are not just any of the 16-year-olds. They are somewhat different category...
"Phase 1C includes other essential workers, persons 65 to 74 years of age, and individuals 16 to 64 years of age with underlying medical conditions."
It also seems not to be random decision by a dim-witted Governor...
"MDHHS is following the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommendations for prioritization of distribution and administration of COVID-19 vaccines for adults."
" CDC and ACIP have defined populations for different vaccination phases "
I hope it clarifies confusion and puts your mind at ease. You are in a relatively high priority group and "all others" are, in fact, behind you in Group (Phase) 2.
"At the current rate of vaccinations, it will take about 10 years to immunize American citizens."
Current rate is limited, in part, by vaccine availability. It is expected to increase substantially in coming months rendering the above comment/calculation pointless.
However, even at current, clearly increasing, rate of 255 000 doses delivered daily it would take much less than 10 years to immunize all American citizens. It would take 3.5 years for a dose and, assuming no increase in anything, 7 years for two doses per person.
Acoustical treatment in both my living room and media room. Maybe add a sub to the living room system to fill out the bottom end of my LS50s.
As for Covid - my New Year's wish is to get vaccinated, and for those who still don't think Covid is any worse than the flu, or deny that there's a pandemic at all to get a clue.
On New Years eve I stayed home and demoed the RAAL SR1a and HSA-1b headphone amp. Unfortunately, I will have to now buy both of these pieces. It is 3AM and I am playing album after album. Going to start the New Year pretty tired.
I tried the SR1a with my 2 channel amp via the amp interface but the RAAL HSA-1b was just much better with a direct connection.
This will be a very popular headphone system, even with 2 channel folks.
As bad a year as 2020 was, I was able to obtain two of the three items on my list:
1. Audio Research SP-6B pre-amp 2. Audio Research EC-21 crossover (made for my Tympani 1-C speakers).
Now, with the Hafler 500 on the bottom, I need an Audio Research amp for the top. Looking at several--D-76A, D-90, M300 MkII monoblocks, etc. Need something I can have confidence in and that AR can still repair. Calls to them have given me the information I need, so all of these amps are OK in that respect. NOW, get some $$ together and purchase the amp(s) and I am done as I am very old and not going to change out stuff any more!
I am tempted to upgrade my amplifier. The problem is the current amp that I am obsessed with rarely shows up on the used markets, and it tends to sell very quickly when it does. It is no fun being patient when the itch to upgrade strikes.
CDC guidlines have been posted for quite a while but following them is another matter. South Dakota is very late to the game in following directives and everything, including masks, are voluntary. It's one thing to post a link to a chart that South Dakota posts and quite another to see news reports on adherence.
The same goes for Florida. DeSantis has defied all calls for mask wearing and social distancing and recently declared that of the needed, two dose regimen, only one will be given to each person, defeating it's efficacy, reducing it from 95% to less than 50%. Calling for more attention to those over 65 is just P.R. on his part. His voter base is in that age group.
I can't believe someone would post such easily provable false things as a way to whitewash matters.
Operation WarpSpeed claimed we'd have 20 million vaccinated by now, and it's only around 2 million. All of the states shipments of vaccine were shorted at an average of 40%. This is malfeasance, pure and simple. And don't forget those who follow such malfeasance like the pharmacist in a Wisconsin hospital who intentionally left out 57 vials of vaccine so as to spoil and become ineffective. He was fired and is being investigated for destroying over 500 doses. I wonder what his motives were?
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