SM Audiophiles?

[DLax69]

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.

View attachment 111559

View attachment 111560

Now, just buy another car...it will distract Mrs Z from the box...

 

[zagatoes30]

Now, just buy another car...it will distract Mrs Z from the box...

A bit harder to sneak that under the radar

 

[Ebenezer]

Do power supplies really make that much of a difference? And in order to see the difference, does it mean that every component must have a magic power supply?

I see they do one for a squeezebox touch for $475!!

Eb

 

[zagatoes30]

Do power supplies really make that much of a difference? And in order to see the difference, does it mean that every component must have a magic power supply?

I see they do one for a squeezebox touch for $475!!

Eb

I was surprised but they do make a difference although not convinced that a separate feed for the preamp display is going to make that much of an improvement

 

[CatmanV2]

Do power supplies really make that much of a difference? And in order to see the difference, does it mean that every component must have a magic power supply?

I see they do one for a squeezebox touch for $475!!

Eb

I'm aligned with @zagatoes30 . My streamer has an external (upgraded) PSU and it did seem to make a significant difference (wasn't double blind tested or anything else)
And no, not all the components need one. My amps, for example, can't take an external PSU. Mined ewe they *are* mostly PSU.

Part of the idea behind some external supplies is that you can decouple the analogue, signal processing components from the display and control sections and reduce noise.....

With dedicated power amps that's less of an issue as they (mine) have nothing in them other than analogue amplifiers (1)


(1) Not *quite* true. There are power switches, a little LED, some overload protection and so on, but mostly it's analogue in, ANALOGUE out.

C

 

[zagatoes30]

As Chris says the power amp doesn't need a separate supply.

The Teddy external power supply powers my Preamp, 2 separate circuits one for the display and the other for the control. The next upgrade on my preamp can take 3 power circuits apparently which this Teddy can supply but as that upgrade is circa £3k it may be a while.

 

[DLax69]

A bit harder to sneak that under the radar

$7K Spyder auction...just saying...

 

[Ewan]

It's very rare I have anything vaguely relevant to contribute to this particular thread, but today, perhaps I do.

From way back in the nineties I always fancied a pair of Michell Alecto mono-block amps, to go with my Michell turntable. Of course, I'd also need (preferably) a Michell Argo (or failing that a Michell Orca) pre-amp to go with it. That would give me the full J A Michell analogue set-up I always wanted. This is something that ran through my mind from time to time, but I'd done precious little about.

Yesterday, largely by chance, a meandering internet crawl led me to a hi-fi dealer selling a Michell Argo. But better still, a few years ago it had been sent back to the original designer (Tom Evans), and he had updated the spec to that of his well respected "Vibe" pre-amp. Even better again, he had updated the accompanying PSU to his "Pulse" spec.

The dealer then asked what power amps I'd be using and mentioned he had just taken in a pair of Alecto's that were yet to hit his website.

So, in one quick scoop I had the lot, and at a price I was happy with. (Currently a new Vibe is around the £5k mark, and I bought all this for noticeably less than that.)

This weekend will therefore partly consist of me setting it all up and retrieving some records from the loft. My "new" system will be, Linn arm, Michell deck, Michell/Evans pre-amp and PSU, Michell/Evans power amps, Linn speakers.

Obviously this is all chosen on looks. I've not heard any of it. But that's generally the way with me and hi-fi.

 

[CatmanV2]

I bet it looks lovely Can we have photos?

C

 

[DLax69]

It's very rare I have anything vaguely relevant to contribute to this particular thread, but today, perhaps I do.

From way back in the nineties I always fancied a pair of Michell Alecto mono-block amps, to go with my Michell turntable. Of course, I'd also need (preferably) a Michell Argo (or failing that a Michell Orca) pre-amp to go with it. That would give me the full J A Michell analogue set-up I always wanted. This is something that ran through my mind from time to time, but I'd done precious little about.

Yesterday, largely by chance, a meandering internet crawl led me to a hi-fi dealer selling a Michell Argo. But better still, a few years ago it had been sent back to the original designer (Tom Evans), and he had updated the spec to that of his well respected "Vibe" pre-amp. Better still, he had updated the accompanying PSU to his "Pulse" spec.

The dealer then asked what power amps I'd be using and mentioned he had just taken in a pair of Alecto's that were yet to hit his website.

So, in one quick scoop I had the lot, and at a price I was happy with. (Currently a new Vibe is around the £5k mark, and I bought all this for noticeably less than that.)

This weekend will therefore partly consist of me setting it all up and retrieving some records from the loft. My "new" system will be, Linn arm, Michell deck, Michell/Evans pre-amp and PSU, Michell/Evans power amps, Linn speakers.

Obviously this is all chosen on looks. I've not heard any of it. But that's generally the way with me and hi-fi.

Always better to be lucky than good...congrats!!

 

[Ewan]

I bet it looks lovely Can we have photos?

C

As soon as it arrives and I have it set up, yes of course. It's currently with DHL, on it's way down from Scotland. (For me to go and see and hear it, and collect it, would have been a 950 mile round trip, so I decided against that and opted for DHL)

 

[Wack61]

As soon as it arrives and I have it set up, yes of course. It's currently with DHL, on it's way down from Scotland. (For me to go and see and hear it, and collect it, would have been a 950 mile round trip, so I decided against that and opted for DHL)

Flight up and one way rental back, though I think my £40 flight to Aberdeen with flybe won't be doable now they've gone under, don't think there was a first class option though , it was a bit like being on a national express coach with propellors

 

[Ewan]

A friend of mine is flying out to our place in Mallorca on Monday, from the U.K.
£12 one way! Ridiculous!
Just heard that DHL are picking up my hifi today, with delivery due for Monday. Exciting.

 

[Wack61]

A friend of mine is flying out to our place in Mallorca on Monday, from the U.K.
£12 one way! Ridiculous!
Just heard that DHL are picking up my hifi today, with delivery due for Monday. Exciting.

Some of the fares really make you wonder how they turn a profit, my son flew to Malta a couple of weeks ago to see an archaeology site, £60 return, Inc 2 nights in an airb&b and food he spent less than £300.

If you haven't got one already you should look at streamer and a Tidal Master subscription
Budget options are made by audioengine, either Bluetooth or WiFi

Obviously I haven't spent thousands on a big name streamer but I do have both of the audio engine streamers and to my ears they sound fine

I've discovered so much new music through streaming, to be able to sit flicking through artists on your phone just to give them a go is very satisfyingly

 

[Ewan]

I definitely do need a streamer. I have Sonos around the house in general, with Spotify.
But I want something better quality (both in terms of the hardware and the music service provider) to add to my proper hi-fi. Without spending a fortune though!
Suggestions most welcome, as it’s something I know next to nothing about.

 

[CatmanV2]

I love my little Volumio units. They've gone up a bit due to the shortage of chips and Raspberry Pis.

You can buy ready made, but they are not exactly cheap. DIY will come in sub £300 all in (more than happy to make one for you if you don't feel up to the tech. Just pay for the hardware)

Other than that there's a million options, none of which I use but I'm sure @Wack61 will share his experience

C

 

[zagatoes30]

I have a lovely little streamer Auraliac Mini, they don't sell it anymore but you can pick them up on the normal resell sites. You need the App on an IOS device but once setup you have access to the normal streaming services Spotify, Tidal etc plus network access to any of your digitally stored music on your network.

As Chris says, Ewan once setup we need photos

 

[Wack61]

I'd like to try one of the more expensive streamers just to see if there is any difference, I went for the audioengine Bluetooth to try it out, dead simple to set up, sounds good to me
Then I went for the WiFi one which is a bit of a faff to set up and to my ears sounds no different even though it streams straight from the router so it's not bandwidth limited like the Bluetooth one is

Many of the forums recommended the bluesound node

NODE - Bluesound

The Bluesound NODE unlocks the world of hi-res music streaming and multi-room audio to create a modern addition to existing hi-fi systems or your favorite set of powered speakers.

www.bluesound.com

 

[CatmanV2]

I'd like to try one of the more expensive streamers just to see if there is any difference, I went for the audioengine Bluetooth to try it out, dead simple to set up, sounds good to me
Then I went for the WiFi one which is a bit of a faff to set up and to my ears sounds no different even though it streams straight from the router so it's not bandwidth limited like the Bluetooth one is

Many of the forums recommended the bluesound node

NODE - Bluesound

The Bluesound NODE unlocks the world of hi-res music streaming and multi-room audio to create a modern addition to existing hi-fi systems or your favorite set of powered speakers.

www.bluesound.com

Unless I misrecall, 5 years ago an iPhone sounded good to you

C

 

[doodlebug]

I've got an earlier version of Cambridge Audio's CXN V2 streamer. It has network access to your stored music on your network, High Quality Internet Radio, Qobuz, Tidal Connect, Spotify Connect, Roon ready, USB Audio, Coaxial & TOSLINK, Wireless, Airplay 2 and Chromecast all built-in.

It's not cheap but it sounds good for digital. But if I'm not listening in the car, I tend to mainly listen to vinyl.