Some pics of what I'm using and not using right now.

This is what colour my new speakers are going to be:

Is that gonna be Tannoys?

That's not them btw just a pic I was sent to verify that the colour was okay. He's going to knock one up in mdf first to see how it goes then it's on to the real deal in 18mm birch ply and 36mm thick for the front baffle. I don't want them looking like old man's speakers even if I am an old man now

You've heard big JBls though? It's the same deal on the slam and scale side but otherwise it's a different character. Got to say I prefer the JBL way of doing things but that would cost big money compared to doing it the Tannoy way. It's almost cheaper to just buy a new pair of 4365s for ten grand than it is to build your own.


As it is these Tannoys are going to end up costing me more than a month's wages so it isn't a low budget project.

Or one of those jobs that hangs from the ceiling.

My house was built in 1901 renovated in 1972 so it is very seventies. I couldn't afford to change it and I like the good aspects of the seventies style so I went with it. I've got a bespoke original 70s coffee table and I did have some proper seventies furniture to match but it was trashed so I slung it in the end.


Still got lots of original seventies features like spotlights on tracks (they don't work), open plan staircase and those doors that are just corrugated cardboard inside.

Yes I have. The JBLs were awesome but £10k FFS, not anytime soon.

Admittedly, possibly the best speakers I've ever heard. Just phenomenal power but incredibly realistic sound. Powered by my Krell too so I know the combo would be delicious!!!

Got a fault in my system somewhere, been dogging me for a couple of weeks now. Breakup in the right channel. Sometimes happens after a few minutes but more normally after a couple of hours. Thought it might be dodgy speaker cable connection but swapping the cables for some others revealed it isn't. So suspicion falls on the DCB1 pre amp since that is the newcomer. Have sent it off to be looked at.


In meantime need another pre-amp to check it isn't the Krell at fault. So am using the Pre-amp section of an XTZ A100D3 that was on TV duties:




The integrated was only £70 more than the stand-alone power amp and the pre amp section has MM and MC phono stages and a DAC built in. So not an expensive pre-amp but man! Nothing like as good as the DCB1. Perfectly listenable but where has that magical delicacy gone? Where are those three-dimensional bass guitar notes? Just shows the importance of a pre-amp.


Might swap out the Spotfire cable for the Klotz MC which I was using to connect up a cd player on the tv system - that sounds pretty good, quite sweet and delicate.


That's assuming the fault does not rear its head - which will pretty much mean a faulty Krell! Mucho expensivo! If it is the DCB1 at fault it will cost next to nothing to sort.

So far so good but sometimes it can be on 2 hours or more before it starts to cut out.

I'll get it sorted. So far got a couple of hours on the clock and no issues yet. I'm almost sure now it is the DCB1, which is great as it is already in the shop to be fixed. I'll give it another hour.

Deffo a lack of musical 'ease' with this set up. The Krell not being allowed to give of its best for some reason. I hate almost all active pre-amps, don't care if it valve or solid state. This one is fine if it has a simple signal to deal with, a vocal and one or two instruments, but as soon as the mix gets busy you lose the quality. Not in any harsh, hard way, but the beauty gets lost.

Quite a big difference between the DCB1 and the XTZ pre-amp. More than I thought there would be. Might try the XTZ as an integrated into the JM Labs. Not done that combo before.

You can switch the XTZ amp between AB and A class configuration so I'll try that as well.

It's all about the matching and the DCB1 is a perfect fit for the Krell. Hopefully will get fixed this week.

Any Tannoy news?

Got the DCB1 back, it's had all its joints reflowed and cleaned up, hopefully should now be 100 percent. Will give it a try tonight. Been getting withdrawal symptoms.

Ardens.

Mate, that's unacceptable. I'd be going bezerk!