Bigman80
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Posts: 16,412
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Post by Bigman80 on Mar 31, 2023 9:38:21 GMT
How times have changed!  April 1st tomorrow mate!!🤣 I know, it's almost comedic how much progress has happened but it has taken 9 years. Hadn't realized I'd been at it that long. |
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Post by brian2957 on Mar 31, 2023 9:57:49 GMT
Ah Ok. I'm afraid you have to explain these things to someone who is intellectually challenged like me  You have dug out so many seemingly bargains in the past I just wondered if this was another one. Now if this had been tomorrow......I would still have fallen for it  |
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Post by stevew on Mar 31, 2023 9:58:54 GMT
A retrospective one suspects
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Post by pete on Mar 31, 2023 10:05:53 GMT
April 1st tomorrow mate!!🤣 I know, it's almost comedic how much progress has happened but it has taken 9 years. Hadn't realized I'd been at it that long. Incredible how our systems change. I still enjoy my NAD amp, great things. I’ve got a few years on you though. I wonder if I have photos of my system 40 years ago! Can’t believe it was that long!! And I am still playing loads of my lps form then. |
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Post by robbiegong on Mar 31, 2023 10:47:26 GMT
I know, it's almost comedic how much progress has happened but it has taken 9 years. Hadn't realized I'd been at it that long. Incredible how our systems change. I still enjoy my NAD amp, great things. I’ve got a few years on you though. I wonder if I have photos of my system 40 years ago! Can’t believe it was that long!! And I am still playing loads of my lps form then. Good shout guys! The journey eh ! I feel a thread coming on, and indeed Pete, I bet a load of us still play a ton of the same tunes, from wayyy back, cause we simply love em and they are a part of the journey and our lives too. |
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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 Mar 31, 2023 15:28:39 GMT
Ah Ok. I'm afraid you have to explain these things to someone who is intellectually challenged like me You have dug out so many seemingly bargains in the past I just wondered if this was another one. Now if this had been tomorrow......I would still have fallen for it Ha! I hadn't even considered the date Brian! This is where the Hifi journey started for me. A rotel TT, an AT110 cart and a NAD 312. DL6 speakers in the top corners of the room on brackets....wow lol |
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Post by brian2957 on Mar 31, 2023 15:35:19 GMT
Ah Ok. I'm afraid you have to explain these things to someone who is intellectually challenged like me You have dug out so many seemingly bargains in the past I just wondered if this was another one. Now if this had been tomorrow......I would still have fallen for it Ha! I hadn't even considered the date Brian! This is where the Hifi journey started for me. A rotel TT, an AT110 cart and a NAD 312. DL6 speakers in the top corners of the room on brackets....wow lol Lol mine started in 1979 (I think). Dual 505-1 turntable, Optonica amp, and Castle Clyde speakers. Seems like a distant memory now After 44 years hearing loss has put an end to my quest for audio Nirvana  |
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Post by jandl100 on Mar 31, 2023 15:46:35 GMT
My journey's start was a small all in 1 Philips lowfi system. 12 inch square plastic speakers, about 4 inches deep, that like Oli I hung up high and widely separated on the big wall of my bedroom. It sounded fab.  |
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Arke
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Posts: 1,263
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Post by Arke on Mar 31, 2023 16:48:24 GMT
My journey began with an all-in-one Toshiba stack system, it even had a record player on top!
This was swiftly followed by Rotel separates - RCD965BX CD player, RC960BX pre amp, RB960BX Power amp and some Monitor Audio speakers. This sounded incredible when I was 17 and really annoyed my mum!
EDIT: A little extra info: some may be thinking 'how did he have that much spare cash when he was 17!'... Well, it wasn't bank rolled by my parents... I used to work Friday evenings and Saturdays in Bennetts electrical store, it had a large 'HIFI' department and I sold stereos to the fine people of Norwich! After many months of saving (and a great trade discount) the Rotel kit arrived.
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Post by misterc on Mar 31, 2023 17:09:21 GMT
First pices of audio were a Hitachi TRQ 299, an integrated amplifier I made at school and pair of Rogers JR 149's from my uncle in 1979 after that it was downhill all the way. Many, many different spakers and amps over the next 17 years until 1996 when my first proper audio system a wadia 270/27 krell FPB 600's and pair of Wilson watt 5:1's thot that was amazing then travelled around the world a lot and realised it just american big ballsy tripe. Guess what pieces I kept though |
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Post by gninnam on Mar 31, 2023 23:16:20 GMT
First properly listened to music around 54 years ago using a Dansette we had in our bedroom - remember the glow of the valves (bliss) - Chubby Checker, Buddy Holly etc First proper 'HiFi' was bought in 1984 (my brother left home and took his system with him so sold my car to buy my system), Had one ever since and never not had a turntable |
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Post by macca on Apr 1, 2023 8:39:56 GMT
My journey began with an all-in-one Toshiba stack system, it even had a record player on top! This was swiftly followed by Rotel separates - RCD965BX CD player, RC960BX pre amp, RB960BX Power amp and some Monitor Audio speakers. This sounded incredible when I was 17 and really annoyed my mum! EDIT: A little extra info: some may be thinking 'how did he have that much spare cash when he was 17!'... Well, it wasn't bank rolled by my parents... I used to work Friday evenings and Saturdays in Bennetts electrical store, it had a large 'HIFI' department and I sold stereos to the fine people of Norwich! After many months of saving (and a great trade discount) the Rotel kit arrived. hah my job when I was 17 was stacking shelves in Gateway. Tenner a day (although back then you did get paid in cash). Enough for a new record once a week and a few pints on a Saturday night. I wanted a Rotel amp but the cheapest one cost the same as my budget for the whole system. There was no secondary market then like there is now. |
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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 Apr 2, 2023 23:15:33 GMT
New cable on the way. I bagged a pair of Clearer Audio, Copper Line Alpha BNC to BNC cables. Conductors: • Positive core: - 6N OCC Copper (99.9999%) - Solid conductor - Foamed Polyethylene (FPE) Dielectric • Negative braid: - 5N Ultra High Purity Oxygen Free Copper (99.999%) • Conductor Resistance – 0.021534 Ω/m • Capacitance – 47.98 pF/m • Inductance – 0.3954 uH/m • Impedance - 75Ω • Attenuation – 0.18dB/100m @ 1kHz – 0.25dB/100m @ 100kHz – 0.49dB/100m @ 500kHz – 0.68dB/100m @ 1MHz – 1.94dB/100m @ 10MHz – 3.26dB/100m @ 30MHz Shielding: • Copper Foil Shield (grounded); - Electric Shielding Performance up to 10GHz up to a maximum of 90+ dB - Magnetic Shielding Performance up to 1MHz up to a maximum of 75 dB • 5N Ultra High Purity Oxygen Free Copper (99.999%) Braid Shield (grounded); - Electric Shielding Performance up to 1GHz up to a maximum of 72 dB - Magnetic Shielding Performance up to 1MHz up to a maximum of 10 dB - Plane Wave Shielding Performance up to 1GHz up to a maximum of 44 dB • Copper Foil Shield (grounded); - Electric Shielding Performance up to 10GHz up to a maximum of 90+ dB - Magnetic Shielding Performance up to 1MHz up to a maximum of 75 dB Looking forward to trying these. Against the Airbow, The Neotech AES and the SAEC DIG4000.  |
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Bigman80
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Post by Bigman80 on Apr 17, 2023 22:48:25 GMT
A pic of some of the recently collected vinyl. In the words of the youth, "there's some bangers in there" 😂  |
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Post by zleepy on Apr 18, 2023 5:38:08 GMT
Some good stuff in that pile of vinyl Oli! What's the price of the Clearer Audio cable? Looking forward to your review . |
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optical
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Post by optical on Apr 18, 2023 6:30:55 GMT
A pic of some of the recently collected vinyl. In the words of the youth, "there's some bangers in there" 😂 Indeed, a few from this party animal.  |
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Arke
Moderator
Posts: 1,263
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Post by Arke on Apr 18, 2023 6:44:02 GMT
New cable on the way. I bagged a pair of Clearer Audio, Copper Line Alpha BNC to BNC cables. Conductors: • Positive core: - 6N OCC Copper (99.9999%) - Solid conductor - Foamed Polyethylene (FPE) Dielectric • Negative braid: - 5N Ultra High Purity Oxygen Free Copper (99.999%) • Conductor Resistance – 0.021534 Ω/m • Capacitance – 47.98 pF/m • Inductance – 0.3954 uH/m • Impedance - 75Ω • Attenuation – 0.18dB/100m @ 1kHz – 0.25dB/100m @ 100kHz – 0.49dB/100m @ 500kHz – 0.68dB/100m @ 1MHz – 1.94dB/100m @ 10MHz – 3.26dB/100m @ 30MHz Shielding: • Copper Foil Shield (grounded); - Electric Shielding Performance up to 10GHz up to a maximum of 90+ dB - Magnetic Shielding Performance up to 1MHz up to a maximum of 75 dB • 5N Ultra High Purity Oxygen Free Copper (99.999%) Braid Shield (grounded); - Electric Shielding Performance up to 1GHz up to a maximum of 72 dB - Magnetic Shielding Performance up to 1MHz up to a maximum of 10 dB - Plane Wave Shielding Performance up to 1GHz up to a maximum of 44 dB • Copper Foil Shield (grounded); - Electric Shielding Performance up to 10GHz up to a maximum of 90+ dB - Magnetic Shielding Performance up to 1MHz up to a maximum of 75 dB Looking forward to trying these. Against the Airbow, The Neotech AES and the SAEC DIG4000. My interconnect is a copperline alpha too. Never compared it to anything else, so not sure what it's like. Be interesting to hear your thoughts. |
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Post by karma67 on Apr 18, 2023 7:33:10 GMT
Fancy having to slum it with only 6N OCC Copper!
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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 Apr 18, 2023 8:50:23 GMT
Fancy having to slum it with only 6N OCC Copper! Hahaha, the standard on the forum is exceptionally high lol |
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Post by jandl100 on Apr 18, 2023 9:48:59 GMT
A pic of some of the recently collected vinyl. In the words of the youth, "there's some bangers in there" 😂 Yup, a lot of excellent albums in there. It's all good that I can see, actually, a few can't be read. |
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Bigman80
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Posts: 16,412
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Post by Bigman80 on Apr 22, 2023 19:35:52 GMT
A pic of some of the recently collected vinyl. In the words of the youth, "there's some bangers in there" 😂 Indeed, a few from this party animal. Most won't recognise the scene, but i do lol Excellent! |
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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 Apr 22, 2023 19:38:04 GMT
Some good stuff in that pile of vinyl Oli! What's the price of the Clearer Audio cable? Looking forward to your review . I have a spare one for sale @£25 for 0.5m I bought two as i realised i wanted 1m and i'd bought 0.5m. It's a very good cable to be absolutely truthful. I will be doing a digital cable review at some point because i have gone mad buying up all sorts of digital cables to test. |
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Bigman80
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Post by Bigman80 on May 1, 2023 19:52:53 GMT
I have had the most horrendous week.
After selling my Aqvox DAC to a member here, i suddenly hit upon a state of sellers remorse. Bouyed on by the fact i possibly had another DAC in the pipeline, i tried to stay positive.
However, i can't find ANYTHING else that i am remotely interested in....so i have bought a brand new Aqvox from the factory in Germany.....for a fair bit more than i sold mine for.
The ridiculous decision to sell the Aqvox was fuelled by a moment of optimism at what else i may be able to get. Turns out that unless you want to drop £4K, the options are just not what they were 12 months ago. I don't want to drop £4k at the moment, so i have retreated for the very first time in my hifi journey.
However, it's not a total retreat as i have an idea of something to try in the Aqvox....so modding is already being planned!
In other digital related news, i also have another DAC on the way...an M2tech young DAC....that i also used to own about 5 years ago lol...i have totally withdrawn!
This one is going to get a run out while i get the Aqvox up to speed. Must say, i have really missed the Aqvox and it only went last Thursday. Who'd have thought it.
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Post by rexton on May 1, 2023 20:30:50 GMT
Buyers remorse is a horrid thing. Weirdly, I only seem to get it with speakers! I've had several pairs of Ditton 15's and JR 149's, yes both are nothing special but I now have a pair of each in the collection. I like to listen to them every now and then.
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Post by jandl100 on May 2, 2023 4:21:32 GMT
Must say, i have really missed the Aqvox and it only went last Thursday. Who'd have thought it. Me. I heard it a few weeks ago. It trashed my rather good SMSL SU-9. I've heard a few DACs in my time. Based on my experience at Oli's, with a system I wasn't wholly in sympathy with, I'd be tempted to put your modded Aqvox at the top of the pile for rez and palpability. |
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Bigman80
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Posts: 16,412
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Post by Bigman80 on May 2, 2023 5:02:10 GMT
Must say, i have really missed the Aqvox and it only went last Thursday. Who'd have thought it. Me. I heard it a few weeks ago. It trashed my rather good SMSL SU-9. I've heard a few DACs in my time. Based on my experience at Oli's, with a system I wasn't wholly in sympathy with, I'd be tempted to put your modded Aqvox at the top of the pile for rez and palpability. Yeah, spot on Jerry. It is a Rez and palpability monster isn't it. I just don't think I have heard another DAC that does that? Maybe the Soekris 2541 had similar levels of palpability, but not quite the Rez? Anyway, the truth is that looking around at what was out there, including some dCS stuff and BADA, all within my budget, but alas......I just missed the Aqvox. I am excited actually, as I have never had a brand new DAC before. I can't wait to get it here and start taking it apart 😂 |
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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 May 2, 2023 5:43:24 GMT
Buyers remorse is a horrid thing. Weirdly, I only seem to get it with speakers! I've had several pairs of Ditton 15's and JR 149's, yes both are nothing special but I now have a pair of each in the collection. I like to listen to them every now and then. I have not had it before, so was quite uneasy with the decision all week. Now i have another on the way i am back at ease. Which is a nice place to be. |
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Post by lurch on May 2, 2023 11:16:04 GMT
Must admit I felt some trepidation when I put my pimped mk1 Jolida up for sale when I secured the moderately pimped Black Ice.
However having heard the way it performed against a £3k Lab12 Reference (matched it) followed 45 mins later by an £13.5k 2x LPS, MSB Discrete and £23k dCS Rossinni both of which weren't £12.5 & £21.5k ahead of the BI. You certainly don't to my ears, get vfm moving that high up the DAC ladder.
Having had the BI maxed out (barring a silly price fuse recommendation) and hearing the results, I know I've moved a hell of a, lot closer to those mega money DACs for a total investment of £1200.
The BI is going nowhere anytime soon.
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Post by misterc on May 2, 2023 12:49:18 GMT
Its a common thing, the grass is always greener on the other side, until the grass turns out to be a rather biege palette of brown.
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Bigman80
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Post by Bigman80 on May 3, 2023 16:43:39 GMT
M2TECH Young MK1 in situ with the Acrolink 7N-A2400III cable in.  |
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