hi fi and finding out what you been missing...

strumjoughlamps

well..... must be a good 5 years since I had anything resembling a decent hi fi but kids, space and time has meant I have not missed it much.. but the past month since the conservatory and moving all the house around to more permanent set ups has found me with a nice space in the living room to sit down and relax and my speaker dock as good as it is(and it is good) was just not cutting the musical experience I was after..

so for £100 I have got, and I didnt want all this but I was bidding on 2 auctions and won both..

Marantz PM57 amp(bout 17 years old I think)

Rotel RA930ax Amp (20 years I think)

Mission 2 way speakers (not sure of age, they are the modern style of Missions but still old, defo pre 750)

Gale speakers(didnt want these but came as a job lot, sound bloody decent tho)

Technics SLPG920A CD Player (have ran 1/2 a doz cds through and it seems to be working nice)

Sony SE 370 Tuner (didnt want this but came as job lot, works great and I have actually set it up to use)

Gale speaker stands, seem to be doing the job okay, I am watching some Atacamas tho that are local and pick up only so might get for cheaps.

after various tests I have decided the Rotel is my fave out of the 2, the Marantz is going in the office with the Gale speakers so won't go unused it sounds great just prefer the Rotel.

anyhoo, blimey what have I been missing the past 5 years, like I say the TDK 2 boombox I have is proper awesome, I have friends with Bose dock and Zepplin and they are also awesome, my monitor speakers are great too... but nothing matches a 20 year old amp and speakers even with the iPod going through it.

Phil_aka_Pip

Gale speakers are rare & sought after.

You can't beat decent hifi

ICBM

Even semi-decent Japanese separates and British speakers from twenty to thirty years ago piss on the modern consumer-grade stuff from a great height, and you can get them for a steal usually.

I'm still using my Pioneer SA540 and Wharfedale Lasers from 1984 to run my iTunes setup on my computer.

CloudNine

You can get those old Tannoy Mercury (M20 etc) speakers for about £20 on ebay sometimes, and they are bloody great for the money!

I splashed out on ebay a few years back and bought Arcam FMJ separates, for a fraction of their original cost. Would never in a million years have paid the new prices. Recently got some PMC speakers to go with it. It is an amazing experience with the volume cranked a bit.

strumjoughlamps

I had been looking for some Tannoy 605 or 609, I had 605 way back when they were released and adored them, but they are either still too expensive for my liking with postage or too far away for collection.

digitalkettle

I'm still running my first ever serious system from 1989 which took me 12 months of apprentice wages to pay off: Kenwood Midi separates through a pair of Tannoys...top of the range back then! :P

The tape decks disintegrated shortly after all my tapes died and got chucked...it's good for vinyl, CDs, and putting the iPad through the 'DAT' channel these days.

digitalscream

I just use a pair of Tannoy Reveal 6 monitors attached to an old Denon UD-M3 micro hi-fi - if you want a cheap amp, those Denon units are ace. They come up on eBay for peanuts, because the CD players didn't last long and the volume controls were a bit dicky. However, if you attach them to a computer or audio interface, you just set them to the loudest you want and control the volume earlier in the signal chain...and as amps, they really are good and relatively flat.

boogieman

Still using most of my decent kit from 88 too. Linn record deck, Creek amp and Linn speakers. Cost me £1200 at the time but it still sounds superb so I guess I've had my money's worth out of it. My CD player died a while back and got replaced with a Cambridge Audio one but everything else is original, including the stylus. >:D<

ICBM

I still have my Bang & Olufsen 3300 system from 1989 as well. I don't use it often but it sounds glorious when I do. Unfortunately the big speakers have been in storage since we started re-decorating the living room... about three years ago . It's nearly finished now though!

Phil_aka_Pip

does anybody want a Readers' Hifi thread?

viz

Sounds like a good deal - Count yourself lucky you didn't ask Chilli's advice, he would have ruined you.

boogieman

Phil_aka_Pip;12869" said:

does anybody want a Readers' Hifi thread?

Maybe we could just have a Reader's mains lead thread.

strumjoughlamps

Aww its a great time to be getting back into sitting down and listening to an album, just purchased 8 cds off Amazon, total cost £10.33 delivered.

chillidoggy

viz said:

Sounds like a good deal - Count yourself lucky you didn't ask Chilli's advice, he would have ruined you.

I'm not saying a word.

Fretwired

I've got loads of old hi-fi ... I'm a bit of a hoarder. I recently sent a Misson Cyrus Two amp to be serviced as the sound quality had dropped .. turned out a couple of the capacitors were showing their age. Got them replaced and the amp now sings again. I have the 60W power amp so it's a 60W + 60W set up. Great sound for a 30 year old amp.

blindlemonade

Well, the TV room has the Arcam/B&W system, the teaching room has the Philips/Cambridge Audio/Mordaunt Short system, and the living room has a Denon DAB mini-system.

The question is, should I get a bluetooth speaker for the garage, for when I'm fettling the bikes? 'Coz plugging the phone into a ropey old pair of computer speakers is less then satisfactory... 

strumjoughlamps

I have one of these in the bedroom

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Samsung-DA-E650-Bluetooth-Subwoofer-Devices/dp/B008HOB8MU/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1376667647&sr=8-4&keywords=samsung+bluetooth+speaker

was the right choice as I have iPods and a Galaxy Note 2, phone tunes are done via BTooth only though so any brand phone works but having a Samsung phone means I can charge it, acts as a nice clock radio. soundwise its great for what it is and more than enough for a bedroom, kitchen, office.. probably too much for your needs but if you have got iPod and Samsung phone its worth a look in to act as a dual charger.

EDIT, just remembered it charges the wifes Nokia too so any micro usb phone would charge, probably best it be on the bottom of the phone tho.

Phil_aka_Pip

bedroom: Arcam Alpha CD player & amplifier, KEF speakers + cassette player & tuner
lounge(1): Linn LP12 + EAR phono stage + Trilogy VTi amplifier + B&W speakers + TEAC cassette player + tuner + CD player
lounge(2): Marantz CD player + conrad-johnson preamp + Leak Stereo 20 amplifier + Leak speakers + Troughline tuner + cassette player
conservatory: Sony SS series amplifier, tuner, speakers + yamaha cassette player
studio: Quad 33/303/FM33 + KEF speakers

chillidoggy

I make it a point never to own hi-fi that's older than I am.

viz

I don't think bakelite and beeswax constitutes hi-fi as such.

TTony

chillidoggy said:

I make it a point never to own hi-fi that's older than I am.

Does that rule out 78s, or are they just OK?

blindlemonade said:

Well, the TV room has the Arcam/B&W system, the teaching room has the Philips/Cambridge Audio/Mordaunt Short system, and the living room has a Denon DAB mini-system.

The question is, should I get a bluetooth speaker for the garage, for when I'm fettling the bikes? 

That's an easy one.

Fettle the bikes in the living room.