2. amps-preamps
  3. 130394-6565

What have I missed in the last 12 years?

I was really in to audio in my early 20s.  Starting in 2005 though, things got in the way.  I kind of lost track of where things went in the industry; got bored of reading about $1,000+ cables etc.  Married, two kids, four moves and three jobs later and now things have settled down and I'm rediscovering the joy of my stereo.  Current system:

Audio Physic Tempo
McIntosh MC202 Amp
McIntosh C15 pre-amp
Marantz CD-6005 CD Player (bought last year when my ~2000 CDP's transport went wonky)
Project Debut TT
Sansui TU-717 Tuner (rarely used)

Most (95%) of my listening is CDs, a broad mix of jazz/rock/folk/piano/vocal.  I love the vinyl sound, but don't have the collection of records to really make it the focus of my listening.  I see now that a lot more vinyl is available than in 2005.  Current room is 18' x 15' but the house is "open" floorplan so the room is more or less open to the rest of the house.  That's good and bad; good because I effectively have a much bigger "room" but bad because it limits volumes when the little ones are sleeping.

So, audiophiles--Catch me up!  When I left the hobby streaming was a joke, and most people were of the mind that (at least for reasonable prices) all-in-one CDPs were the way to go.  Fewer cables, synced clock rates etc.  Now I see lots of lower cost DACs out there.

Things I like about my current system?  Imaging is good, tonal balance is good.  What it lacks?  Not the most involving at lower SPLs, lacks low end punch.  A bit of a haze and lack of transparency.  Could use more "bloom"?

I'm thinking of resetting the whole system and going with low power tubes and high efficiency single drivers.  Thinking that with my SPL limits, might give me what I'm looking for.  
rhum_runner
jfischman
3 posts
 
my solution to similar needs: $ 12,000-13,I000, state of the art (not counting computer for itunes)
1. rip all your cds into itunes using apple lossles format with error correction during the rip
(this should give you a bit perfect copy of the cd but the manageablility of i tunes to instantly access any cd at any time with 1 second effort
2. Chord dave DAC ($7000-8000 used)
this is state of the art dac and will take your bit perfect itunes filed cd info and output as close to perfect analog signal as is available at this time in history
3. focal utopia headphones--$4000 (pretty much best available sound through earphones)--I find it the equal of my 2 Cary single ended amps + two sub woofers computer tuned to room + a pair sonus faber guarneri speakers speakers--this lets you listen to blastingly loud music with unbelievable emotion in the middle of the night without disturbing your family

works for me

Jeff

 
toddverrone's avatar
toddverrone
840 posts
 
I was going to say class D, but I'm late to the game. So I second that! Love my class D amps with a tube pre... Power and efficiency all day!
arcticdeth's avatar
arcticdeth
1,572 posts
 
....a %3000 increase in price for the same 40 year old tech 
that's all. 
lancelock
1,093 posts
 
My recent discovery is that I can now purchase a David Berning designed amplifier at significantly lower prices from Linear Tube Audio. The clear transformerless sound is addictive. I second the idea of listening to Tekton design speakers.

i am listening to monsterous tower speakers (Double Impacts) that are 98db sensitive and I'm using a 1 watt LTA Micro ZOTL. Holy crap this sounds good and huge bang for the buck. My use of NOS tubes have brought to another level.
ethiessen1's avatar
ethiessen1
61 posts
 
rhum runner-You may find simply cleaning the ends of your interconnects and playing with speaker placement might give you a very inexpensive upgrade. The system you have already would be a step up for some. Happy listening!
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