Bigman80
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The HiFi Bear/Audioaddicts/Bigbottle Owner
Posts: 16,412
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Post by Bigman80 on Nov 10, 2022 22:05:59 GMT
Yup, love buying new gear, but my main focus for the last 30 years has been buying and trying new cables and connectors. My mate was over yesterday and took a look at the baskets under my system ( which only holds some of my cable collection) and said there must be hundreds of pounds under there! TBH I couldn't disagree with him  Get them sold off Brian. Have you experimented with any PC-CCC yet? |
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Post by mikeyb on Nov 10, 2022 22:12:31 GMT
Yup, love buying new gear, but my main focus for the last 30 years has been buying and trying new cables and connectors. My mate was over yesterday and took a look at the baskets under my system ( which only holds some of my cable collection) and said there must be hundreds of pounds under there! TBH I couldn't disagree with him Get them sold off Brian. Have you experimented with any PC-CCC yet? Yip, they'll be worth as much as when you bought them if not more 😉 |
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Post by brian2957 on Nov 11, 2022 9:09:34 GMT
Yup, love buying new gear, but my main focus for the last 30 years has been buying and trying new cables and connectors. My mate was over yesterday and took a look at the baskets under my system ( which only holds some of my cable collection) and said there must be hundreds of pounds under there! TBH I couldn't disagree with him Get them sold off Brian. Have you experimented with any PC-CCC yet? Nope, haven't tried any of those types of cables Oli. It all stopped a while back. Hearing loss diagnosis and a lovely pair of hearing aids has kinda helped end my hifi journey after 42 years I'm afraid. Don't get me wrong I can still enjoy the system but the missus keeps comes into the room to tell me it's too loud more and more. I have been playing around with headphones to good effect and will probably go down that route. Most of the cables aren't worth much and I still like to swap cables around. Can't be arsed to sell them TBH. Anyhow, my daughter and her partner went to work in Australia 6 weeks ago, guess where all the disposable income is being channelled now  |
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Post by brian2957 on Nov 11, 2022 9:14:00 GMT
Get them sold off Brian. Have you experimented with any PC-CCC yet? Yip, they'll be worth as much as when you bought them if not more 😉 I did experiment with 99.99% pure wire in the early days Mike, but most of the cables I experimented with over the last 20 years were not expensive. I do have some cables terminated with KLEI plugs but I quite like them |
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Nov 11, 2022 10:34:05 GMT
Get them sold off Brian. Have you experimented with any PC-CCC yet? Nope, haven't tried any of those types of cables Oli. It all stopped a while back. Hearing loss diagnosis and a lovely pair of hearing aids has kinda helped end my hifi journey after 42 years I'm afraid. Don't get me wrong I can still enjoy the system but the missus keeps comes into the room to tell me it's too loud more and more. I have been playing around with headphones to good effect and will probably go down that route. Most of the cables aren't worth much and I still like to swap cables around. Can't be arsed to sell them TBH. Anyhow, my daughter and her partner went to work in Australia 6 weeks ago, guess where all the disposable income is being channelled now Just a heads up - the HiFiman Sundara can be had quite cheaply at the moment. A nice pair of Planar magnetics if you fancy some. |
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Bigman80
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The HiFi Bear/Audioaddicts/Bigbottle Owner
Posts: 16,412
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Post by Bigman80 on Nov 11, 2022 10:43:11 GMT
Get them sold off Brian. Have you experimented with any PC-CCC yet? Nope, haven't tried any of those types of cables Oli. It all stopped a while back. Hearing loss diagnosis and a lovely pair of hearing aids has kinda helped end my hifi journey after 42 years I'm afraid. Don't get me wrong I can still enjoy the system but the missus keeps comes into the room to tell me it's too loud more and more. I have been playing around with headphones to good effect and will probably go down that route. Most of the cables aren't worth much and I still like to swap cables around. Can't be arsed to sell them TBH. Anyhow, my daughter and her partner went to work in Australia 6 weeks ago, guess where all the disposable income is being channelled now Thats a shame mate, although i expect it to be something that most of us will experience with time. Glad you are keeping on with the music though, even if it is through headphones. |
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Post by brian2957 on Nov 11, 2022 11:55:55 GMT
Nope, haven't tried any of those types of cables Oli. It all stopped a while back. Hearing loss diagnosis and a lovely pair of hearing aids has kinda helped end my hifi journey after 42 years I'm afraid. Don't get me wrong I can still enjoy the system but the missus keeps comes into the room to tell me it's too loud more and more. I have been playing around with headphones to good effect and will probably go down that route. Most of the cables aren't worth much and I still like to swap cables around. Can't be arsed to sell them TBH. Anyhow, my daughter and her partner went to work in Australia 6 weeks ago, guess where all the disposable income is being channelled now Just a heads up - the HiFiman Sundara can be had quite cheaply at the moment. A nice pair of Planar magnetics if you fancy some. Thanks Kevin, I'll have a look |
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Post by brian2957 on Nov 11, 2022 12:04:07 GMT
Nope, haven't tried any of those types of cables Oli. It all stopped a while back. Hearing loss diagnosis and a lovely pair of hearing aids has kinda helped end my hifi journey after 42 years I'm afraid. Don't get me wrong I can still enjoy the system but the missus keeps comes into the room to tell me it's too loud more and more. I have been playing around with headphones to good effect and will probably go down that route. Most of the cables aren't worth much and I still like to swap cables around. Can't be arsed to sell them TBH. Anyhow, my daughter and her partner went to work in Australia 6 weeks ago, guess where all the disposable income is being channelled now Thats a shame mate, although i expect it to be something that most of us will experience with time. Glad you are keeping on with the music though, even if it is through headphones. Tis what it is Oli, I just need to find other ways to listen to music that's all |
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Bigman80
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The HiFi Bear/Audioaddicts/Bigbottle Owner
Posts: 16,412
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Post by Bigman80 on Nov 12, 2022 9:43:04 GMT
Busy morning so far.
I have just ordered the LPSU parts to replace the SMPS in the AQVOX. Thankfully Mr Firebottle will be on hand as this may require a little bit of creative thinking. The case only has 38mm height to work with...it's gonna be tight.
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Post by mikeyb on Nov 12, 2022 15:11:23 GMT
Busy morning so far. I have just ordered the LPSU parts to replace the SMPS in the AQVOX. Thankfully Mr Firebottle will be on hand as this may require a little bit of creative thinking. The case only has 38mm height to work with...it's gonna be tight. Aye its murder sitting in front of the pc spending money 😂 |
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Bigman80
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The HiFi Bear/Audioaddicts/Bigbottle Owner
Posts: 16,412
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Post by Bigman80 on Nov 12, 2022 19:54:31 GMT
Busy morning so far. I have just ordered the LPSU parts to replace the SMPS in the AQVOX. Thankfully Mr Firebottle will be on hand as this may require a little bit of creative thinking. The case only has 38mm height to work with...it's gonna be tight. Aye its murder sitting in front of the pc spending money 😂 Ha! i know, but needs must. I am becoming very attached to this Aqvox DAC. Listening to Toto at the minute. It's really well recorded and this dac is very good at showing you that sort of stuff. I like it. Still awaiting the Ortofon Jubilee. Was supposed to be here today but i expect the Saturday delivery fee means it will be Monday. RM tracking is down, so i can't even find it online. |
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Post by stevew on Nov 12, 2022 20:43:45 GMT
As sure as Kilimanjaro rises like Olympus above the Serengeti
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Bigman80
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The HiFi Bear/Audioaddicts/Bigbottle Owner
Posts: 16,412
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Post by Bigman80 on Nov 12, 2022 20:56:15 GMT
As sure as Kilimanjaro rises like Olympus above the Serengeti Progressed into some Steely Dan |
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Bigman80
Grandmaster
The HiFi Bear/Audioaddicts/Bigbottle Owner
Posts: 16,412
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Post by Bigman80 on Nov 13, 2022 14:36:05 GMT
Won my first Yahoo auction item today. A pair of SAEC XR-3000 lol...yup, same as i use already. Lost another though, which would have been a VERY interesting Coax cable for the digital. 4m of it, and i lost out by £1...never mind.
For the last few days i have had those Silver Xangsane cables in the system due to selling off my slightly too short (Thanks AQVOX!) PC-Triple C cables to an existing customer. They are pretty good cables, and even though i am no silver fan, these really do sound very sweet to me. However, i'll soon be back up to my normal cable loom in no time, which i am excited for.
No Ortofon Jubilee update yet as it didn't make it here yesterday. Most likely be Monday.
All things required for the new Aqvox LPSU are now on the way, and as you can probably work out, the fact i am re-cabling again means it is likely gonna do some length of service in the system. The fact you can pick these up for £300 from the EU is absolutely ridiculous.
Oh, if you were someone who bought some of that Webro 100 stuff a while back, it makes a very decent coax cable for the link between streamer/mutec/DAC.
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Bigman80
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The HiFi Bear/Audioaddicts/Bigbottle Owner
Posts: 16,412
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Post by Bigman80 on Nov 19, 2022 20:06:11 GMT
November update: I've decided that unless something significant happens, I'll make a monthly blog entry from now on. The titbits here and there get a bit fragmented. So far in November, things have not gone entirely according to plan. bigbird visited earlier in the month, yes, all the way from Australia! He brought with him his Ortofon Windfeld Ti. I knew going into the listening session that it was a stupid idea, and sure enough, a few tracks in and the Lyra Helikon was for sale. The Ortofon Windfeld Ti was leagues ahead, as it should be. There was an Ortofon Jubilee that had been offered to me on home approval. My thinking was the Jubilee was an Ortofon, a sound I love, so grab it and save for a Winny. Out went the Helikon, in came the Jubilee ..... Out went the Jubilee. On its way here, the Jubilee had been subjected to a rather serious amount of abuse and got delivered in this condition: ibb.co/VHYk1xsThe stylus guard (of a 2M red) was rattling around the box. When I inspected the cart, it looked as though the cantilever may have survived. However, when I played the first LP it was clear something wasn't right. Left channel was way down....the. It came back, but it just didn't sound right, so it went back. The owner is chasing a claim with RM, and rightly so. So, there I am.... cartridge-less again. I now have an Audio Technica 740 MM on the way to tide me over, but there is a development! bigbird is selling off either his Windfeld Ti or his ZYX Omega X....a deal has been done, and one of the two will be adorning the MK8SE, when he's chosen which one to keep lol. While I await his royal decree, I have turned my attention to the digital for a minute. Having decided that the Aqvox is probably far better than anyone will ever expect, I have decided to keep it.... permanently. Yeah, I know we've all said it, but I REALLY like this DAC. It's probably my favorite DAC of all, and it's not had the LPSU yet either, which obviously I can't wait to get sorted out. The issue is that the Aqvox is laid out totally opposite to any other DAC I've had...so AES cables are too short, RCA cables are too short, mains cable is too short. I managed to snap up a bit of XR-3000 on Y! auctions for a decent price. I also have a bit of mains cable waiting for the Aqvox to be positioned correctly, and now I have a new digital cable on the way. Yup, I found something I was quite interested in trying. The cable is a SAEC DIG-4000 ibb.co/2vLrczVIt's NOT PC-TRIPLE C, but it is PC-OCCa....SAECs specially treated OCC. Ordinarily I'd have left it, but a new one (MKII) is around £160.00, plus VAT, + postage. I managed to get this one at £70, and it *should* make it to Zenmarket in time to get into the same parcel as the XR-3000. I do need another link between the Aria and the Mutec, and I'm thinking a Clearer Audio BNC to BNC. They are OCC, they are well made and they are about £60. Not much to complain about. There you go, that's Novembers update. I'll leave you alone for another 25 days-ish |
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Post by robbiegong on Nov 19, 2022 21:11:52 GMT
Nice update Olster, you dont have to leave it a month each blog post, unless nothing worth mentioning happens or you really really really dont want to |
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Post by pete on Nov 19, 2022 21:40:49 GMT
Great to hear all the things happening Bigman80 . Unbelievable what happened to that cartridge in the post. Great to hear how the AQvox dac is working out for you. Enjoy the sounds |
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Post by antonio on Nov 20, 2022 6:13:55 GMT
Does the 2M stylus guard fit the Jubilee cartridge? Was there any packing in the wooden box to stop it moving about while in transit? What do you think has happened to the cartridge?
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Post by jandl100 on Nov 20, 2022 7:16:10 GMT
Does the 2M stylus guard fit the Jubilee cartridge? Was there any packing in the wooden box to stop it moving about while in transit? What do you think has happened to the cartridge?  |
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Post by firebottle on Nov 20, 2022 7:48:56 GMT
Having decided that the Aqvox is probably far better than anyone will ever expect, I have decided to keep it.... permanently. Great news, we'll have that PSU singing shortly! |
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Bigman80
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Posts: 16,412
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Post by Bigman80 on Nov 20, 2022 7:50:46 GMT
Having decided that the Aqvox is probably far better than anyone will ever expect, I have decided to keep it.... permanently. Great news, we'll have that PSU singing shortly! Yes we will! It makes a difference. I've taken the loaner LPSU out a couple of times and the sound does change. I am looking forward to getting it in place and shorted out. |
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Bigman80
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The HiFi Bear/Audioaddicts/Bigbottle Owner
Posts: 16,412
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Post by Bigman80 on Nov 20, 2022 7:55:24 GMT
Does the 2M stylus guard fit the Jubilee cartridge? Was there any packing in the wooden box to stop it moving about while in transit? What do you think has happened to the cartridge? 1. Not in my opinion. I tried to put it back on to see and it kept pinging off 2. Yes, REALLY well packaged in the box with styrofoam. Black insert inside the wooden box looks to have become dislodged. 3. It all looked ok from the outside, so anything I suggest would be a guess. |
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Post by macca on Nov 20, 2022 8:47:32 GMT
Stylus guard came off in transit and damaged the stylus while rattling about. The only thing that makes sense.
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Bigman80
Grandmaster
The HiFi Bear/Audioaddicts/Bigbottle Owner
Posts: 16,412
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Post by Bigman80 on Nov 20, 2022 8:52:49 GMT
Stylus guard came off in transit and damaged the stylus while rattling about. The only thing that makes sense. Yeah, most probably. Shame. |
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Post by rexton on Nov 20, 2022 8:59:49 GMT
The "M" style cartridge protectors are notoriously flimsy. I broke one recently when loaning a 2MB.
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Post by antonio on Nov 20, 2022 10:38:07 GMT
Does the 2M stylus guard fit the Jubilee cartridge? Was there any packing in the wooden box to stop it moving about while in transit? What do you think has happened to the cartridge? Very funny Jerry.  The reason I asked was because Oli mentioned the seller was trying to make a claim against the PO  |
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Post by stevew on Nov 20, 2022 11:16:46 GMT
NOBODY EXPECTS THE THIRTY DAYS NOTICE OF THE SPANISH INQUISITION!
Our chief weapon is surprise,fear and a prolonged period of anxiety...
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Post by macca on Nov 20, 2022 11:20:34 GMT
NOBODY EXPECTS THE THIRTY DAYS NOTICE OF THE SPANISH INQUISITION! Our chief weapon is surprise,fear and a prolonged period of anxiety... And a fanatical devotion to vinyl. |
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Post by macca on Nov 20, 2022 11:21:42 GMT
'Cardinal Biggles - fetch the Diana Krall LP!'
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Bigman80
Grandmaster
The HiFi Bear/Audioaddicts/Bigbottle Owner
Posts: 16,412
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Post by Bigman80 on Nov 21, 2022 21:51:14 GMT
AT MM cart is here and set up. It's a 540, not a 740.   |
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