SM Audiophiles?
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Wack61
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In my experience it's well worth it if you buy anything used , people are moving to facebook marketplace for private sales because of all the grief on ebay , the fees, non payers, it's not arrived, it's broken (then they send their old one back) ebay just refunding them , marketplace is turn up,pay, take it, gone
CatmanV2
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DLax69
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Or really good!
CatmanV2
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Wack61
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The thing with hifi is people (men) are forever chasing perfection so there's always loads of it for sale, you just have to buy at the right money to sell it on at no loss.
It's not looking like the Unison I bought at auction is coming back working, they've had it since April, it's now at a point where they're trying to source a new board for it but Unison won't sell them one, the only other option is to send it to Unison in Italy for service but given it's about 20kg packed that's not going to be cost effective
They haven't completely given up but it's on the back burner
It's not looking like the Unison I bought at auction is coming back working, they've had it since April, it's now at a point where they're trying to source a new board for it but Unison won't sell them one, the only other option is to send it to Unison in Italy for service but given it's about 20kg packed that's not going to be cost effective
They haven't completely given up but it's on the back burner
DLax69
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Fair points, and sorry about the Unison. I'm not chasing perfection, per se...just like classic gear, and am trying to rebuild collections and equipment that were lost to ex-wives, etc. somewhat on the cheap...so as not to suck up my Mas money!
Wack61
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If you want something that'll sound great have a look for Spendor speakers, I bought some S6e Floorstanders, they're what started all this, up to then I'd only had middle of the road stuff, got them home, plugged them in and whoaaa they sound fantastic
I honestly didn't think I'd ever replace them they sounded that good, until I got these dynaudio, I still can't bear to part with them so they're in the orangery
They really suit Naim so for maybe £1000 or less you'll have a great sounding system, I've got an audio engine B-fi streamer to stream tidal Hifi from my phone
DLax69
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Thanks for the tip...will search those out!
We have the Sonos thing (as I think I've noted somewhere in here) for the streaming stuff...but I do love my vinyl and even the odd CD...and my turntable, receiver, and current speakers are all quality...but old, and not top-shelf.
Wack61
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Just adding decent speakers will improve things
I was really tempted to go for Dynaudio Xeo speakers as the reviews are very good and they're a 1 box solution perfect for streaming as the amp is built in , thankfully I didn't tell Mrs Wack as the response would've been, so all this can go, pointing at the hifi rack
I paid £400 for the Spendors, the guy wanted a lot more but he was in Blackpool which is the **** end of nowhere to get to so I made an offer and he went for it.
I've got vinyl, CD and even some cassettes which surprising sound much better than I remember but nothing beats the convenience of streaming, I've discovered some brilliant artists because of it, some with quite a big following such as 'first aid kit' and some that are brilliant songwriters and musicians but struggle to fill a pub, like Alex Cornish & Jesse Marchant who I've both seen play live in said pubs
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zagatoes30
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You can spend years chasing perfection and never get there, I now have a sound I like and plan to leave it as is for a while. Mostly I spend my time filling in the gaps in my music collection mainly on vinyl these days but the odd CD does get in occasionally.
I do fancy a new stand and Mrs Z loves the Naim Fraim unit but it is frightenly expensive but if it means the Hi-Fi can stay in the lounge it might be worth it
I do fancy a new stand and Mrs Z loves the Naim Fraim unit but it is frightenly expensive but if it means the Hi-Fi can stay in the lounge it might be worth it
midlifecrisis
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And that's where the Audio industry get you.
I realised this at a young age. There were a lot of young audiophiles at my first posting, all with a lot of disposable income. I had already bought an Aiwa amp and despite an internal fuse going in 2012, it's still going strong after 30 years. I often take it into work to clean it out, and then test its frequency response and distortion. Still good from 50-20k with 0.05% distortion which is beyond my hearing range so why bother shelling out again?
As for FB marketplace,I highly recommend it. I've bought and sold a lot of stuff on there, including a metal and glass stand for £50. Go for the Naim Frame if you want but it's similar atoms to mine...just looks slightly different.
Also try Freecycle.
Wack61
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Used is definitly the way to buy hifi
At the moment what I've got was about £5000 new, once I've sold all these cables I'll have about £700 in it, sounds the same as it did when it was £5000
Photography is the same, somewhere Nikon has
the equivalent of The Terminators arm in a glass case
A camera that will take the perfect photograph in near darkness in any situation, every 6 months they take a £500 increment towards it.
Bebs
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As a late 20 year something, my brother got me into ‘hifi’. He was reading the magazines, knew all about and took me to an exhibition near Heathrow, back in.. I think 1992. We were both foreigners, Danes, living in the UK (paying taxes.. not arriving on an inflatable!)
We listened in awe to a pair of Monitor Audio studio 1, paired with a Naim setup. A cheap £100 speaker! He persuaded me to buy said MA’s and I paired them with a Pioneer amp and a decent CD player (this was back in the early 90s and money was tight)
Later, I upgraded the MA 1’s to studio 20’s. I had the high grade, expensive speaker cables, dual of course (I believe you guys call them something else) 1 cable for treble & mid range & 1 cable for bass)
THEN, I met a girl.. (one of many of course.. )
This was someone special, but boxes, boxes and more square and huge boxes (read stacks equipment) obviously was never going to go down well in a tiny flat, trying to work things out.
Then, a Danish friend of mine, suggested I might want to try to combine sound with design.. pointing me in the direction of the Danish brand, from my home country, Bang & Olufsen.
Now, I am fully aware that B&O are not HiFi ‘considered’ and that many people believe (wholly unjust) that B&O is just Phillips video/Audio, disguised in a frock. Nothing could be further from the truth. Yes, it’s expensive. But there’s a reason for that.
There’s no plastic, no everyday material. Take a look at the sheer intricacies of their aluminium metal work that goes into every single product.
In any case, within the B&O community we have something referred to as WAF.
Wife Acceptance Factor.
THIS is the bridge between man and wife/GF.
B&O just appear to be able to bridge that gap so much better than anyone else.. and on top of that, their ‘medium’ sound products, are actually not that bad sounding.
I myself have the whole house filled and hooked up through the B&O app, but if I was to pick out one item, it would be my Beolab 5’s. They may not be the ultimate HiFi speaker by any stretch… but boy, do they play!
Their WAF however, no comment!!
We listened in awe to a pair of Monitor Audio studio 1, paired with a Naim setup. A cheap £100 speaker! He persuaded me to buy said MA’s and I paired them with a Pioneer amp and a decent CD player (this was back in the early 90s and money was tight)
Later, I upgraded the MA 1’s to studio 20’s. I had the high grade, expensive speaker cables, dual of course (I believe you guys call them something else) 1 cable for treble & mid range & 1 cable for bass)
THEN, I met a girl.. (one of many of course.. )
This was someone special, but boxes, boxes and more square and huge boxes (read stacks equipment) obviously was never going to go down well in a tiny flat, trying to work things out.
Then, a Danish friend of mine, suggested I might want to try to combine sound with design.. pointing me in the direction of the Danish brand, from my home country, Bang & Olufsen.
Now, I am fully aware that B&O are not HiFi ‘considered’ and that many people believe (wholly unjust) that B&O is just Phillips video/Audio, disguised in a frock. Nothing could be further from the truth. Yes, it’s expensive. But there’s a reason for that.
There’s no plastic, no everyday material. Take a look at the sheer intricacies of their aluminium metal work that goes into every single product.
In any case, within the B&O community we have something referred to as WAF.
Wife Acceptance Factor.
THIS is the bridge between man and wife/GF.
B&O just appear to be able to bridge that gap so much better than anyone else.. and on top of that, their ‘medium’ sound products, are actually not that bad sounding.
I myself have the whole house filled and hooked up through the B&O app, but if I was to pick out one item, it would be my Beolab 5’s. They may not be the ultimate HiFi speaker by any stretch… but boy, do they play!
Their WAF however, no comment!!
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Wack61
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When the lockdown was on a charity shop in Alderley Edge advertised a pair of those b&o speakers on Facebook, untested £250, I missed them by 5 minutes, gutted
Dynaudio are Danish
Bebs
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£250!!!
Wack61
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I know, I'm not sure which exact model they were but that's what they looked like, I bet the guy did a burnout up the street to get there ASAP
DLax69
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I have always thought highly of B&O...unfortunately, in my teens and twenties it was Sears and Radio Shack!As a late 20 year something, my brother got me into ‘hifi’. He was reading the magazines, knew all about and took me to an exhibition near Heathrow, back in.. I think 1992. We were both foreigners, Danes, living in the UK (paying taxes.. not arriving on an inflatable!)
We listened in awe to a pair of Monitor Audio studio 1, paired with a Naim setup. A cheap £100 speaker! He persuaded me to buy said MA’s and I paired them with a Pioneer amp and a decent CD player (this was back in the early 90s and money was tight)
Later, I upgraded the MA 1’s to studio 20’s. I had the high grade, expensive speaker cables, dual of course (I believe you guys call them something else) 1 cable for treble & mid range & 1 cable for bass)
THEN, I met a girl.. (one of many of course.. )
This was someone special, but boxes, boxes and more square and huge boxes (read stacks equipment) obviously was never going to go down well in a tiny flat, trying to work things out.
Then, a Danish friend of mine, suggested I might want to try to combine sound with design.. pointing me in the direction of the Danish brand, from my home country, Bang & Olufsen.
Now, I am fully aware that B&O are not HiFi ‘considered’ and that many people believe (wholly unjust) that B&O is just Phillips video/Audio, disguised in a frock. Nothing could be further from the truth. Yes, it’s expensive. But there’s a reason for that.
There’s no plastic, no everyday material. Take a look at the sheer intricacies of their aluminium metal work that goes into every single product.
In any case, within the B&O community we have something referred to as WAF.
Wife Acceptance Factor.
THIS is the bridge between man and wife/GF.
B&O just appear to be able to bridge that gap so much better than anyone else.. and on top of that, their ‘medium’ sound products, are actually not that bad sounding.
I myself have the whole house filled and hooked up through the B&O app, but if I was to pick out one item, it would be my Beolab 5’s. They may not be the ultimate HiFi speaker by any stretch… but boy, do they play!
Their WAF however, no comment!!
Current set up are Advents...old, solid, loud...
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zagatoes30
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Whilst the wife is away took the opportunity to source a new piece of kit, one of those components Mrs Z calls a grey box with a light on as it appears to do little else.
Teddy Pardo Dual Teddycap power supply, separate power for my preamp and display which opens up the route to thenext upgrade path. Currently my power amp delivers power to the preamp but the next power amp, a NAP250, does not have this facility. Actually with the Teddy being a dual it also supports the next preamp upgrade as well, NAC 282, which needs two power feeds which the Teddy Dual has.
Hopefully install when Mrs Z is not looking although she is bound to notice another light in the rack.
Teddy Pardo Dual Teddycap power supply, separate power for my preamp and display which opens up the route to thenext upgrade path. Currently my power amp delivers power to the preamp but the next power amp, a NAP250, does not have this facility. Actually with the Teddy being a dual it also supports the next preamp upgrade as well, NAC 282, which needs two power feeds which the Teddy Dual has.
Hopefully install when Mrs Z is not looking although she is bound to notice another light in the rack.
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