Hi-Fi - Setups

[Brpilot99]

This will take an optical output and decode it to analogue

Lindy SPDIF Digital To Analogue Stereo Audio Converter - Electronics at Play.com (UK)

 

... I dont know of a 3 way version though ... I looked a lot for a device to convert 5.1 optical to 5.1 analogue but coudnt find anything ... I ended up buying a SACD player that had optical and analogue outputs

[Guest salan]

down Stairs now we just have the Bose system. Very pleased with it, but I miss the sugdens amp and kef speakers etc.

[Gonk]

Mrs Gonk works for a local, familiy run electrical reatiler. They sell most things, Panasonic, Sony, NAD, Denon etc. They now sell Bose.

 

The owner and I spent the best part of an hour well, playing with the new Bose kit. I likedit so much I came home with these Companion 5 multimedia speaker system | Bose.

 

I have to say that they're awesome.

[Ste_Harve]

Well i've got Pioneer VSX-609RDS which is now 10 years old. It's a 5.1 AV Receiver that has my PS3, sky, laptop and anything else I care to plug into it. The speakers are Gale Moviestar 5 with 2 floorstanders, 1 centre and 2 surround bookshelf speakers. The sub is an Eltax, I think, 200w 15" downwardfiring, house shaking monster. Had enough bass before the sub but films and games are so much better. Often gets aired loudly as I live in a detached bungalow, with 50m to nearest neighbours. Most annoying thing is doors rattle when bass kicks!!

[tom_newton]

My mate uses the Squeezebox system - its quite neat if a tad expensive. My media PC is on all day anyway - so thats not a prob linked up to a uP&P NAS for sound & video

 

Squeezebox = way forward.

 

Pete, our sysadmin, is running squeezeserver on some NAS device, I run mine on an old dell desktop with a server grade disk in it. I have 2 sqeezes, an old mk1 on the hifi, and a new radio in the bedroom. The newest "touch" versions are a mite $$ but you can get old mk2s on ebay for little money, and theres no real advantage to the newer ones except album art.

[difinity]

2 Kenwood amps, 1 for midrange and trebble connected to some JBL control 1s and the other a pair of 12" subs with custom crossovers to do the bass.

 

Another kenwood in my computer room powering JBL control 1s again.

[sly888]

Linn Sondek LP12

Ittok Arm

Dynavector DV-10x4 MKII cartridge

Rotel RA1312 Amplifier

Celef PE1 Speakers

 

OLD SKOOL!!!

[cpjitservices]

Rotel amps are great, few years back I had an old Silver Rotel amp (was a massive thing seen breeze blocks smaller) and it was great, I think it powered at 20 Watts Per Channel, anyway went off to a party with a friend and we got there to hear nothing but a silence and naturally at a party you expect to hear a tune or 3. Anyway we went to see the guy playing the music and said whats up and his reply was "everytime I turn my amp on it blows". It was some kind of PA Amp, anyway so I ran home and grabbed the Rotel and went back to the party and said to the guy "Will this do"? and he said nah I dont think it'll power those speakers, But he put different cables on the speakers and hooked them up to the Rotel, and it sang its little heart out at full pelted volume for a good slid 6-7 hours and never missed a beat, and it sounded pretty good!

 

I've also had a similar experience with an old Nad 28Watt PC Amp ad that was even better than the Rotel, I've just sold a Rotel - RCD 965BX CD player for £60 it was 16 years old and never had a service and still works like it was brand new!

 

I think in many instances the old stuff is far better than the new stuff, I've been into Richer Sounds in town and can't really find anything in there with as much character as some of the old stuff in the second hand hi-fi shop up the road with all the 'older' kit in usually from the 90's.

[Guest Guest]

I think it powered at 20 Watts Per Channel, anyway went off to a party with a friend and we got there to hear nothing but a silence

 

Its hard to explain that to people; 20watts of proper audio equipment is always going to trump someones "top of the range" 400watt sony* crap. I always have a giggle when I sit someone directly infront of my near field monitors and they can't hear me saying "Yeah, my 100watts is just slightly louder than your 10000watt car audio, and my speakers arn't even designed to be loud"

 

Or the best one; "Yeah, but does your hifi have a sub?"

"No, it doesn't have a sub, it just has decent speakers in the first place, that way it doesn't need a separate sub. Its in my livingroom, not a nightclub ffs"

 

*Not that all sony stuff is crap, some of it is really good actually, just most of the stuff people buy, well, isnt - exhibit A

 

http://www.110220volts.com/Merchant2/graphics/00000001/MHC-RG220.jpg

Edited March 31, 2011 by Guest

[maniac]

I've also had a similar experience with an old Nad 28Watt PC Amp ad that was even better than the Rotel

 

One of the reasons I like NAD equipment, they're more realistic with their output ratings, but they always perform far in excess of what you'd expect for the quoted power. The NAD L40 I have is rated at 30w per channel, but it sounds much louder and clearer than more powerful amps I've had from other companies in the past, and drives big speakers with ease. I've had it rigged up to the B&W 603's I have which are rated at 150w and it drives them hard when you turn it up - it will fill a medium sized hall with ease at about 60% volume on the 603's and sounds crystal clear.

[cpjitservices]

LOL I know exactly what you mean, like you get 1000Watt Car amps and subs but to try and explain that a hi-fi at 100 watts can be better sounding and richer and louder is very hard indeed - like trying to unset jelly. Sony stuff is good or rather the majority - I have found there build quality of some of there Amps and CD Decks a bit flimsy and cheap and quite tinny, I like Sony CDP's as they have made some brilliant ones but I also like Mini-Disc and go to Sony every time for the players/recorders.

 

Sony have also made some very good tape decks in there time too, I think it's what you spend with Sony, but older stuff is usually always better

[Guest Guest]

LOL I know exactly what you mean, like you get 1000Watt Car amps and subs but to try and explain that a hi-fi at 100 watts can be better sounding and richer and louder is very hard indeed - like trying to unset jelly. Sony stuff is good or rather the majority - I have found there build quality of some of there Amps and CD Decks a bit flimsy and cheap and quite tinny, I like Sony CDP's as they have made some brilliant ones but I also like Mini-Disc and go to Sony every time for the players/recorders.

 

Sony have also made some very good tape decks in there time too, I think it's what you spend with Sony, but older stuff is usually always better

 

Aye dont get me wrong, I love some of Sonys stuff; the minidisc would have been absolutely brilliant if it had been cheaper or they had waited until people were willing to pay £150+ for a walkman (iPods etc). I guess my dig is at the cheap sony stuff and peoples assumption that because it has a sony badge on it it must be good. One of my mates has iirc a sony 100w per ch + 100w sub mini system, and it has got to be one of the worst sounding systems I have ever heard. The bass, well it may aswell be turned off its so quiet. So then he puts "groove" on and the bass goes from nothing to "I'm going to fart so loudly that you aren't going to be able to hear the rest of the music". I honestly can't describe how bad it sounds, infact I'd put the £20 logitec PC speaker I have at work up against it. (The picture I posted previously is very close to the model he has)

 

On the other hand another friend has a proper sony mini system which is really good for ~£400, which I wouldn't be disappointed if I bought it.

Edited March 31, 2011 by Guest

[cpjitservices]

Yeah I know exactly what you mean - a guy I knew had nothing but Sony amps - but it was always the lower market budget stuff and yeah I know what you mean about the bass - it was very subdued in the bass and it was very tinny in the trebles, it also couldnt be adjusted so it was that or nothing and he thought that his sound was better than my Technics SU-X502, which wasn't the best of amps BUT it was better than his Sony, and to make his sound worse he had his amp hooked up to a PYE CD Player which didnt have a great DAC in it and it was the noisiest player that I've come accross, all my system then was digital too which made it sound better but hey his Sony must of been better sounding and looking than mine lol, the first mini-disc i bought was the early model of the Sony Range and it wasn't cheap but in the end I ended up selling it and went to Pioneer as the rest of my system was Pioneer, and it was far better sounding and I found it to be more reliable with discs than the Sony.

 

I head for ebay every time I buy hi-fi now, get some good bargains on there on older stuff if you buy the right kit

Edited March 31, 2011 by cpjitservices

[sly888]

Made a mistake, my amp is actually a Rotel RA-1412 introduced in 1976 and conservatively rated at 110WPA, massive and weighs a ton!

[SpuffMonkey]

Squeezebox = way forward.

 

Pete, our sysadmin, is running squeezeserver on some NAS device, I run mine on an old dell desktop with a server grade disk in it. I have 2 sqeezes, an old mk1 on the hifi, and a new radio in the bedroom. The newest "touch" versions are a mite $$ but you can get old mk2s on ebay for little money, and theres no real advantage to the newer ones except album art.

 

Yeah - and if you rip to "flac" the sound quality is very good

[budgester]

Arcam Alpha 7 Amp

Michell transcriptor hydraulic reference turntable - As seen on a clockwork orange.

Replacing speakers at the moment.

 

Also worked in a HiFi shop for 2 years back when I was in my early twenties.

[pshuttle]

 

NAD C370 Amplifier

NAD 216 THX Power Amplifier

Epos M12.2 Speakers on Mission Stance stands

Rega Planet 2000 CD Player

Pure DRX-701ES DAB/FM Tuner

Rega Couple Interconnects

QED Silver Anniversary speaker cable

 

Bought most of these years ago but am very happy with the sound. I am hoping this will last me many years.

 

Pete

[Andrew_C]

To make mine sound better, I'm going to buy a few of these.

 

Silver SuperKord Signature-SD II : product details The Silver SuperKord Sig...

 

and, no I'm not, and it is after noon!

[Butuz]

Hey dudes didn't notice this Hifi thread till now. I like a bit of music in the evening to relax after a hectic day in school!!!

 

Source1: Apple Macbook Pro via USB into DAC

Source2: Cambridge Audio Azur 640c V2 as transport via Coaxial Digital into DAC

Source3; XBOX 360 Elite via Optical Digital into DAC

DAC: Beresford TC-7520 internally modified and with 15v LithiumPolymer Battery Supply.

Power Amp: XTZ Divine AP-100 running in 50w/chanel ClassA mode.

Speakers: Tannoy DC3000 from 1991

 

 

Sorry about the terrible pics. I really need to take some good ones!!!!

 

 

Butuz

[tom_newton]

Yeah - and if you rip to "flac" the sound quality is very good

 

I rip mp3 and it is "good enough" tbh.. but that's a different debate. Certainly the squeeze will handle various MP3, OGG, Flac and I think AAC too. And the server software is good. And there are smartphone apps.

[CHR1S]

To make mine sound better, I'm going to buy a few of these.

 

Silver SuperKord Signature-SD II : product details The Silver SuperKord Sig...

 

and, no I'm not, and it is after noon!

 

Seriously? Isn't that like a glass hammer?

[Guest salan]

Does anyone remember when QED brought out 'directional speaker cable'?

[sted]

I know the sony stuff isnt the best out there but the 2 amps ive had have sounded alright to me and they have been the cheaper end of the home cinema range. Now granted there are other makes out there for similar money and they may be better but my last amp lasted nearly 10 years (which these days for an electrical device is damned good (it does still work but every now and agin it makes a horrid noise)). I also have to say ive had no build quality issues with them the old one felt like it was built like a tank new one dosent feel quite as sturdy but hardly flimsy. I also like the fact that with hdmi and having a ps3 and sony tv i can do most stuff from 1 remote for instance if i turn on the ps3 it turns the tv and amp on and selects the right settings. Any Midi/micro system is a compramise whatever you get.

 

10000000w pmpo weah because like megapixels thats the only good measure of quality lol. I swear ive seen computer speakers ratat at 500w pmpo read the box carefully its really about 5.

 

Subs ive personally never been that bothered my fronts give enough bass for me 90% of the time ok sometimes in a film i wouldnt mind a bit more but not enough to buy a 1/2 decent sub

 

while your here is there actually any point in the extra speakers that a 7.1 system can cope with or is it just more speakers for the sake of more speakers?

[CHR1S]

If you have the room, 7.1 is worth it, think of what its like sitting in your local cinema, its a bit like that lol

[maniac]

Subs ive personally never been that bothered my fronts give enough bass for me 90% of the time ok sometimes in a film i wouldnt mind a bit more but not enough to buy a 1/2 decent sub

 

while your here is there actually any point in the extra speakers that a 7.1 system can cope with or is it just more speakers for the sake of more speakers?

 

For listening to music a sub is pretty un-necessary unless you're listening to drum and bass or other electronic type music specifically designed to be listened to with a sub. However they do add more depth to films. On my Front Room cinema setup, if I'm listening to music I turn it to 2ch mode, I only use the surround mode for films.

 

As for 7.1 - there's still a lot of films that aren't encoded in it, although most blu-ray stuff is now. Personally I find it hard to tell the subtle difference between 7.1 and a well setup 5.1 system having listened to both at times, I don't think it's worth the extra expense, but if you've got the room and the money to do it when why not.

 

Mike.