RobbieGong's System

You have put together a really nice well thought out old skool system there Robbie, I suspect it gives you big smiles when you listen its great to see other music lovers systems nice job sir

Love the monster plinth on that SP10. I did ask Angus about one for mine and he said.....no 🤣🤣

Love the older Jap stuff as I have I said before. Great looking system Rob.

That Marantz DAC will fit right in!

Thanks Oli',

Lol - I dont actually particularly like big plinths.  It was that I wanted something just a bit deeper than his usual 32mm offering. 

This one is only a shade over 6cm  (64mm).  I'd have gone about 5cm-ish, but doubling the 32mm Angus gets/has made life easier, hence.  

It looks great IMO, as I'd hoped without being so deep that 1. I wouldn't like the look and 2. Not massy like you get, to the point of having a negative effective sonically - thankfully. 

Digital does not get a look in with me as I enjoy the vinyl front end aspect of my set-up too much.  But I will, as you know look to replace the cdp with a stand alone cd transport, coupled with the Marantz DAC you refer and see how that goes.  

That's a great system Robbie, Spendor's wouldn't be to my taste but everything else is spot-on  

Thanks Antonio.  The Spendors are actually really good, very honest like monitors in that regard, ie: they play exactly what you feed them, warts an' all, no gloss over just the music and source info revealed, as is.

What speakers are you into ? 

Well my speakers are NVA Cube 3's, which for me were a complete bargain at £600, they just do everything right:  The speakers I listen to most would be my brothers Estelon XB's, rather extravagant looking, I love the looks and the sound, they fit perfectly in the room and will take one hellava speaker to better them  Since I'm away from the uk at present I have purchased a pair of Mark Audio Cesti's, a single driver speaker and I'm enjoying them at present, the Cubes would not work in this room since the ceiling is too high: I would like to hear more Tannoy's and Klipsch speakers, brands that seem to have passed me by although I have liked when heard: Will have to give Spendors more of a chance when, and if, I hear them again 

Lovely system, I particularly like the SP10 / plinth. All too often I see plinths of the "what were they thinking?" variety. Yours looks great.

Having had more opportunity of late to spend good and prolonged time with this system, I have to say that it gives me immense pleasure.

In a word, I'd describe its presentation, via the vinyl front end as simply wonderful and honest of the recorded source.

This is the system I'd aimed for, a true, in my view, re-player of the recorded music.

I've deliberately avoided kit that I sensed may impose too much of a signature towards proceedings, or character, away from neutral, for that reason.

As a result, everything spun is insightful, the vocals, rhythms, textures and realism thereof, the bass, drums, horns, instruments, and how good or bad the music / session has been recorded.

I'm getting everything, warts and all, and that's exactly what it's about for me, hi-fidelity, the pursuit of extracting as close as possible to what was actually recorded, not to polish, change, re-invent or re-produce what was laid down in the grooves.

The SP-10 MK2 is the most quiet, neutral precision tool, coupled with solid, lock-tight timing, the perfect platform towards this, the best platform for allowing arm and cart to do their thing unhindered.

The Cadenza Black mc with Fritz Gyger S retip is amazing ! digs mad deep into the grooves with it's thin stylus profile and large contact patch area it is forensic, vinyl groove, recorded information is extracted and revealed in all its glory.

Sansui AU a707DR - So much depth and balance, without getting in the way, allowing the music to flow through with insight....

Spendor D7 floorstanders - again just excellent ! they let out what you give them, from the source, music, ancillaries, amplification - everything in the chain. Like the SP10 and the Cadenza Black FGS the D7's are a precision tool. I'm so taken by these that they will only be replaced by the revised D7.2 - not a case of if but when

This system is pretty close to perfect for me, and will be closer still once I secure a pair of the D7.2's.

The phonostage on the lovely Sansui could be quieter and the on the fly vta system on the EPA-500 tonearm base, would have the vta lock.

Either way, when tonearm set up is in the sweetspot, the replay is a delight, addictive and calls you to spend hour after hour spinning tunes and indulging in the delight of the music and the system.

Despite covid, these are happy days  

You've got a great system there Robbie, both for looks and sound, and I would never say don't buy another pair of Spendor's if you like the sound:
But, it's a fair amount of money and there are plenty of speakers in that price category, just looked at speakers priced between £2-5k, there's a couple of Sansui speakers for sale  , but I also saw these


www.ebay.co.uk/itm/234048490328?hash=item367e608b58:g:iG8AAOSwMA5gn9qW

www.ebay.co.uk/itm/274815668732?hash=item3ffc4a51fc:g:trMAAOSw3wxgs176


www.ebay.co.uk/itm/274825371173?hash=item3ffcde5e25:g:yFcAAOSwsfJgvi-d (a new pair can be purchased for £6259 so a bit of bargaining wouldn't go amiss)

www.ebay.co.uk/itm/113329424724?hash=item1a62f5c954:g:p8sAAOSwpXNaz3wx  - these I would love to hear

Good luck when it comes time for you to change your speakers, hope you find a bargain pair 

I don't blame you waiting for a used pair, there's some great bargains imo to be found 2nd hand: I wasn't trying to put you off the Spendors, just going by my past experience, I wasn't on any forums at the time, they were new then, so I continued buying the same brands when I should have been comparing against other stuff  

That looks exceptionally nice Robbie. I see you have slowly and successfully improved all of your cabling.

Thank you Dave, yes, the cabling was an important step, really glad I did it, the Triple C is great, did find it takes an age to settle/burn in, changed loads, at times sounding awful and then superb once on song. Cable management made me feel a lot better as well, no cables, interconnects, wires touching, all apart.  

The fact I haven't updated this blog for such a long time is testimony to just how absorbed in enjoying this system.

The Plinius 9200 has been a large, key part of that, fundamentality pulling everything together, the foundation, bringing the best out of the system/music.

Since it's arrival I simply just enjoy the music and set up like never before, no thought or time for blog update, words, describing etc, it is just joy and satisfaction.

Plinius for me, particularly knowing that the current Hautonga is effectively a revised, improved 9200, has for a while now been an itch I've been aching to scratch but for funds.

Plinius introduced this revised, improved piece firstly as an Anniversary model, which speaks for itself, eventually releasing it as The Hautonga.

So! When one turned up on popular auction site   via Audio Lounge, new, boxed at a price I never thought I'd see one, plus offers option, ( was always hoping for a nice used one at fair price, although they hardly appear), I had to pounce.

Worse, I then received eBay notification of 8% reduction, still with offers option.  I decided to throw a cheeky offer in and the rest as they say is history. 

Plumbed her in yesterday evening and expected to leave on for a day or two but the opposite, she was pretty much on song in no time, and without going into all the detail, this amp is SUPERB, like the 9200 but improved without a doubt, I am super chuffed. Am I surprised it is sounding so great no, this is what I expected, I didn't envisage for one moment that Plinius, with intent to revise/improve would somehow produce a worse version, I just sensed that the revision/improvement would translate, and gosh it does - proper happy. 

In fact, It's been a bit of a crazy time, as I've hankered after the Spendor D7.2 for a while - (I love my original D7's), but the revised D7.2's have always been out of my price range. 

Hey presto, same time as the Hauntonga, a beautiful pair, in the dark walnut, I have and want appeared at a price a I didnt think I'd see for now. As the Olster says, sometimes the stars align, I also think that there's always a period where it is feels like more of a buyers market, than others. 

The D7.2's are 2hrs away and the guy is happy to keep for me til I sell mine, within the month or so, so the 9200 and D7's are up for sale, need to recoup spend, or again, in the words of the Olster ' repair the money' 

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Thanks Dave, a big move, as in a risk, in particular, IF it wasn't the revision/improved version of what I have.  I just knew it was going to be more of what I was loving.

It's a bit like my love for Ortofon carts, I've gone up the range, never heard one prior to purchase, 2M black mm, Quintet Black mc, Cadenza Black mc and always the same things i love and like, but improved over the one before.

Same Spendor, all these guys know what the heck they are doing and their stuf, if you like their stuf, dna, will always do it for you and satisfy greatly.