My rig was built on a strict budget. (it's called the "wife budget") It consists of the aforementioned gear, with some pieces being bought new and others used. IMHO, it brings me many hours of enjoyment after a long day at work. I look forward to coming home and sitting down and just enjoying the music. By the way, I do consider this set-up modest when compared to others on these pages and elsewhere. I have been fortunate enough to buy pieces, use them and if they didn't meet my expectations to sell them and recoup some of my money. In turn, I go out and get that other piece that I "think" will bring me to sonic nirvana.
So far with this set-up, I am VERY happy. The piano sounds just like I remember it while taking all of those forced lessons when I was a kid, it sounds REAL.
And lets face it, that is what we audiophiles are looking for, a real life performance in our very own home.
I bought a modified Music Hall CD player from Underwood Hifi. I am very happy with it's overall sound and the mods done to it by Parts Connection of Canada.
Rogue Audio 99 Magnum
Very well made and excellent sounding tube based preamp. I have Sylvania "chrome domes" coming to swap out for the stock chinese tubes.
Musical Fidelity A308cr
250 watt a channel amp. Mates very well to my English speakers. Plenty of power and very quiet.
Spendor S8e
Newly introduced 2 way speakers with new mid range/midbass drivers (being built by Spendor) and crossovers.
Signal Cable and Kimber Kable Hero's, PBJ's.
Very modestly priced cables from one well known manufacturer and a new kid on the block.
Signal Cable Ultra Shotgun Bi Wire
Very well priced bi wired speaker cable.
Balanced Power Technologies L-9's
Again, well priced and well made power cable.
Marantz ST-6000
Rarely used, decent sounding piece.
Monster Power HTS 2600
10 outlet video and audio line conditioner.
Salamander Synergy 40
6 shelf audio system rack in cherry finish.
Marantz SD-4050
Low priced dual cassette deck.
Musical Fidelity XCan v3
Excellent sounding tube based headphone amp. This is a carryover from my previous rig. This is a better sounding option than the headphone output on the rear of my Magnum 99 preamp.
Aball: Sorry buddy, I'm in Staten Island, NY it's going to be a bit on the tough side for you to listen to! lol. Thanks for the comps as well. Seriously, I have thought of moving the rig around to see if the sound will change any, but the way my wife has the room decorated, this is the best way for me to have it set up. I think I will start playing with some room acoustic treatments though just to see if the sound improves a bit or not. What you guys don't see in the pics is the 3 BIG pieces of furniture right next to the rig. There is also a rug on the floor in front of it. I am always thinking there could be some sonic improvments, just need to do these next round of improvments with little or no money. My son just loves anything to do with Aston Martins. (I think he gets it from me and my love for James Bond flicks.) He's always bugging me to go into a dealer we have nearby in NJ to take one out for a test drive, I tell him no way, one of those things cost close to or over 100k, I'm not taking a chance there. lol.
Chad: First of all what year SS did you drive? I owned the last year 1996 SS which was just a police special Caprice Classic. I loved that car, just wish I would have bought it new and in 1996 when I had the chance and the opportunity. I bought her used with low miles but the previous owner just let it sit there and literally rot away. I sold the car just over a year later for the SAME I paid for it! (Can't say that about ANY American car period!) A long run speaker cable? I cannot reccomend Signal Cable enough. Frank the owner is very fair and you get your cables terminated for your application in a timely manner. I have been VERY happy with both of my purchases with him. My 2 friends at work have also had the same type of experiences and we all agree, Signal Cable is a good place to do business with. I am looking at the Denon pieces for when and or if my pieces fail here at home. I was with my buddy yesterday and he ended buying a leftover 3803 from Denon yesterday. It originally sold for $1000, he walked out with it for $500! I would also look at their DVD players, I understand that they are very good and very easy on the price.
Chad: I would venture to say that I am a car guy, I get tired of them real fast and either sell or trade them in quickly. (usually within 2 years) I have since started to lease because that way I can get a new car every 3 years as opposed to financing a car for 5. I just leased an BMW X3, great little truck and really not that more expensive to say a Honda Pilot. I had a 1996 Impala SS that I sometimes kick myself for selling. (it went to my brother, so not so bad) Now that was a TRUE 4 door sports car! As far as my set-up goes, I set it up in the corner for mostly room limitation reasons. I have yet to truly see if moving the setup would improve sound or not.
Timrhu: Many thanks on the comments about my rig. I think it sounds great to my ears. To answer your questions my rig is in my living room. What you can't see in the pics is all the furniture, oriental rug and stuff in there along with the equipment. The room is not that large, I'm guessing here that it is about 14 wide by 14-16 long. It's a "sunken" living room with a small step down, so the ceiling is a bit higher than most, again I am guessing about 10 feet from the floor, maybe a bit more. When I am in there listening the grilles come off as I can definitely hear the speakers veiled a bit. When I am not in the living room and the kids are roaming about, then the grilles stay put!
Chadlesko: VAC makes very good products. A coworker friend of mine had some VAC products and according to him, he was very happy. (That is until he upgraded to de havilland products.) I had to buy a new truck myself. What did you buy or are fixing?
Chadlesko: I am using Signal Cable's Ultra shotgun bi wire. I recently switched from the internal bi wire also from Signal cable. I was set to buy some Analysis Plus Oval 9's, but when the bill came to almost $500, I opted to go with Signal Cable. Frank from Signal cable has a pretty good return policy if not satisfied and at less than $150 for a 6 foot run, it really is a no brainer. The cable needs some good break in time though. I usually play about an hour a day after work. I can't speak for BAT but can speak on behalf of Rogue. (they have EXCELLENT customer service PERIOD!)Both Marks at Rogue are great at returning phone calls or emails and that means alot to me. If I have to give them any negatives it might be at the initial cost of SOME of their products. (I feel they might be just a tad high) If you aren't happy with them later on, then you will be looking at a hard hit in the resale market later on. If you can live with that (I can) then Rogue is a great sounding piece.(at least for me)
Chadlesko: Thank you. I still like the amp/pre combo, I am VERY happy with it actually. I was very impressed at the high end store I listened to them at. I recently did some tube rolling and as some people have commented on these pages, it does work with the Rogue. I honestly cannot comment on the new Rogue pieces because I haven't heard them. I can comment on the Magnum 66 because my buddy is using it with an older Parasound 2 channel amp and it sounds very, very good. As for your S5e's that was the speaker that made me sell my little more than a year old KEF Q7's! I heard them at the Northeast Home Expo show in Manhattan last year. I just couldn't get over how fantastic they sounded and I was sold immediately! I didn't think they needed a sub even though I know that all speakers have limitations on how low they can go. I feel that my S8e's need no sub, but that's just me. I have placed my CD player upgrade on hold, I needed a new truck so priorities changed. Keep us/me informed as to your decision with your new upgrade.
Oh, oh. I'm thinking of upgrading again! This times it's the front end. Looking at new higher end CD players to give me that "oooomph", any suggestions? (even though I have set a short list for myself)
Dlwask: I have to admit, I'm not sure how to interpret your comments. My speakers didn't cost ME $3k and my cords most certainly didn't cost me $300. (more like $109 for example) I have to repeat that I do consider my rig modest when compared to some of the big budget systems on these pages and other sites. Personally, I find nothing wrong with those rigs and or their owners. If you have it like that, God bless. This is a hobby where some people are willing to go all out, mid way (my preference) or low end.
