I'm feeling that it has now settled in, and it's break in period is over. I am quite pleased so far, but am experimenting with it running as a stand alone unit, or running it through my LS-27 line stage. Up untill just last week I have been using it as a stand alone, but now I'm routing it through the ARC again. As I feel that the Manley is now past the break in period, I'll keep it running through the ARC for a week or two, and then switch back to the Manley running direct. Nice thing about the Manley is it does have one line stage in/out, and as I only have a TT and a CD player for sources, if the Manley is more to my liking I can eliminate the ARC completely. A more streamlined system, AND , I can sell the ARC and fund some power cords that I've got my eye on. :)
My gift from my wife was neither audio equipment nor music. She is always kind enough to listen to new cables or a reclocker or whatever, if I ask for her opinion but really has no interest in the hobby. Me? My fantasy career was to become a musician- a drummer. But as things happened, I instead chose a career in biomedical research and only at the ripe old age of 55 did I realize that I could afford to buy myself a drum set. All I can say is that it's a lot harder than it looks and I've probably sacrificed some hearing pretending to play them for the last 8 years. Now as we look to downsize, it's pretty clear that the drum set will have to go- it's big and it's loud. So my wonderful wife surprised me and bought me an electronic drum kit and I love it! She loves it too since all she hears is tap-tap-tap but I hear real drums in my headphones. And if you think this was really a gift to herself, just know that she never stopped me from buying any audio equipment ever. I'm so lucky and grateful.
Sounds like many of you have awesome wives who buy you great presents. I just got engaged for the first time at 61 years old, but figured I needed to buy myself what I wanted, BEFORE I get married, while I still have total control over my resources. So as my days of bachelorhood wane, I bought myself a Naim 552 pre-amp ($35,000. value) and ordered a pair of Grandinote Mach 36 speakers from Italy ($180,000, value). There's no way I would get away with that post nuptials!
I’m restoring a 1865 brick townhouse, and the “gift” I will eventually have this spring is the atelier being turned into my home office/studio/listening room.
It it will be insulated with Roxul: the walls with 6” and the ceiling with 14”. Instead of covering the Roxul over with sheetrock, I will cover it with a fireproof wide-weave canvas fabric.
The windows will have storms on the inside with a seal that is 12 times more efficient than conventional storm windows placed on the outside.
I am about to receive an audio research LS 27 .....YE...HAW...I am overjoyed.I 'm not even concerened it's a late christmas gift "to myself" hahahahahahaha.
My awsome wife got me a Prima Luna dialogue premium preamp for Christmas/birthday. I got myself a Vpi Scoutmaster here on Agon for Christmas. This was one of the best Christmases since I was a kid!
+1 gpgr4blu and ruebent re: Amazon wish list. My wife looked at mine and got me AKG noise-canceling earbuds (N20-NC, I think) for when we travel. In the case, they take up roughly 1/10 of the space of the PSB noise-canceling headphones they are replacing. Anyone want to buy a lightly-used pair?
My gift to myself, just coincidence as to time--a Whest ps30RDT-special edition, bought as b-stock from Whest. Stereo finished now. Had a Moon 5.3, and for classical music, poor discrimination of different instrument voices (Wanted improvement in other areas, but that was one facet of performance I wanted) 2nd LP I played through it was Sibelius 2nd symphony. Wow--symphony was in my room--all instrument voices plainly heard, and very alive. Don't overlook Whest!!! Wasn't cheap, but last 'stage I will ever buy.
Despite this being my main hobby, my wife will not buy anything for me relating to this since she surprised me a few years ago with a Boston Mat. I sent it back the next day to her utter dismay.
Bought myself a second Parasound A23 to bi-amp my speakers and a pair of XLR "Y" connectors made from vintage Western Electric single core wire from Schmitt Custom Audio Cables.
It'll be a few months but I bought myself a custom phono pre from Tom Tutay that will have dual vol. controls and an extra input for ...?, along with 2 records by Gary Wilson and the Blindates who I caught for the first time recently.
My daughter bought me a 2 CD set of Hans Zimmer's "Live in Prague" album. The first CD will not play no matter what I do. Can't see any nasty scratches that might account for my player's inability to read the disc. Oh well. Back to Amazon it shall go!
@rhljazz Should not take you too long to rip your collection to the vault. Best piece I have purchased for a long time! My CD collection is now gathering dust in boxes in the attic. You will also find the ability to stream Tidal and the like a huge boon. Furthermore the sq exceeds the original CD especially if you select wav as your rip encoder setting. Enjoy!
I got a pair of Deer Creek Audio speaker stands for speakers I have yet to get. The JBL 4319s should arrive just after the new year. Cart before the horse and all. 👍
Blue Sound Vault 2 so I can store all of my cd's in one compact package for transport to a summer home that I'm planning to purchase. It will be a bit time consuming to copy all of them. At least I have a few months head start.
Present to self .. Decware SE84UFO. It will be a while before it's built and delivered but I'm excited. Should prove to be a nice match with my Omega Super 3i's.
My wife gave me a Pink Floyd book "Their Mortal Remains", a Pink Floyd Coffee mug and a Pink Floyd T shirt. I also got a Nikon charger and a 128GB memory card for a camera I bought a few months ago. I am very happy.
My wife gave me an Ortofon 2M Blue replacement/upgrade stylus for my Ortofon 2M Red Cartridge. Won't be able to install it unit later in the week. I also got a couple of vinyl LPs from family and a BluMe bluetooth receiver from the in-laws. Got to love the Amazon Wishlist.......
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