First upgrade in about 5 years. JL Audio E112 subwoofer and Tributary 3 meter cables for the JL. The subwoofer adds the bottom octaves to my Paradigm Studio 100 speakers.
What new gear have you just bought?
I figured this might be an interesting topic for people of all levels of audio knowledge. For folks like me at the lower end of the spectrum, we might even learn some things from it.
I'll start off with a couple of my recent purchases which entails a CD recorder and a CD player.
A couple of weeks ago I purchased the Tascam CD-RW900SX CD Recorder/Player. I bought this to make a CD out of an old cassette I made way back in 1988. The tape still sounds mint but it won't forever so I wanted the digital copy before it was too late. The machine itself works pretty good. I had a tough time with some of the instructions but finally figured most of it out. The CD's came out great. It took two blank CD's because it is a 90 minute cassette. If anybody is wondering, I used Maxell blank CD's. I'll get some Verbatim blank discs now that I know what I'm doing. The cassette was done on a Maxell XLll blank tape 35 years ago.
My other recent purchase was this week. I bought a Rotel CD11 Tribute (Black) CD player. The Rotel name seems to come up on Audiogon a lot so I figured it must be decent for it's price range. I could simply use the aforementioned recorder as a player also but I don't want to use the transport in the recorder for simple playback so it will last longer. The Rotel sounds pretty good to me in my system for as much as I've tried it out so far. Especially for it's price range. All I've played so far was Robert Plant Fate of Nations because it was the first thing I grabbed off the shelf. This weekend I'll check it out further with some Pink Floyd and a little classical music to boot. Specifically,Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture. I love the rendition I have of that with real cannon and musket fire!
The Rotel CD11 Tribute is not a super expensive CD player but it will be a good stand-in until I can get my vintage Harman Kardon CD players serviced. Two of them stopped reading discs just a few weeks apart.
Anybody else want to share some recent purchases? I'll be sure to look up more information on anything that piques my interest. Also, if anyone has any questions on my recent acquisitions I'll do my best to answer them . Thanks.
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Just ordered this for work. Can’t wait to take this baby out for a spin. Single driver, good coherence for nearfield listening. Audiophile doesn’t always have to be relevant to price. It’s passion about getting the right presentation that works well in a particular listening environment. I’ve heard songs that I swear must have been mastered on a boombox because the sound is so perfect. |
The remote, the relay pots (like in my Freya), and the build quality. Totally worth it even after just a few days enjoying it. I'm sure the Lokius sounds great also as do the 2 Lokis I've used, so there may not be that much incentive to get the Max if you already have a Lokius. Note that it's not always in the mix but it works so well when it is (like the Loki it replaced...now relegated to my headphone amp. My other Loki in in my video rig) it's just cool. I wish they could have somehow put little lights in the knobs so you could see what's what from the listening position (I have a preamp with a tiny knob light that works great, relegated to the video stuff), but...meh. Maybe I'll put a little paint dot on the knobs. Another good thing is that the lights aren't too bright...I went through hell taking my original version Freya apart to paint the lights with something to dim them, as re-assembling the Freya with the lights matching their respective holes was very difficult. Whew. I tried the balanced inputs on the Max and they sound exactly like the RCAs so I'm leaving in the RCAs (take up less space). Highly recommended. |
After getting my system utterly dialed in to my tastes I just bought a Loki Max. I was worried it would pick up transformer hum (Schiit says this is a thing) since I use a Bryston BIT-15 conditioner that's basically a large toroidal Piltron in a box, and a couple of other small power supply cleanup transformers but no problemo. Put the Max on its own shelf below the preamp in my rack and oh yeah...quiet as a mouse. Amazing gizmo, although not surprising since I own various Schiit items, including a couple of Lokis. Maybe pricey for some, but man...I'm a musician/sound engineer and have used EQs of various sorts for decades, but this thing is like a recording re-mix (if needed of course) rescue tool of extremely high caliber. Just pure fun without any negative impact on my "purist" gear heap. Very cool. |
I just picked up an Earthquake MiniMe DSP P12 Subwoofer. It's a 15" cube with a 12" active and 12" passive radiator . It rocks for the modest price I paid. Used mostly for movies but sometimes I' ll use it for music when I want to rock out. It really digs deep . It's scary with movies..... I put my smaller REL in system 2 where it pairs better with my SF Concerto A decent sub at It's street price of $1100 , a deal at $640. I needed a sub that could keep pace with my klipsch and not break the bank. |
Linn DSM/2 with Organik DAC card upgrade - feels like I got a sonic bargain competing with the top DACs |
thanks for your suggestion... I will read about it... But the microzotl i bought cost me 1000 bucks, was one of the best reviewed headphone amplifier there is, and there is not even an inch of comparison possible with my 35 years old Sansui alpha... The Phonitor is way over my budget... And the SWnsui alpha being the best of Sansui shine so much i will no more seek any upgrade... Read about the Sansui alpha you will see why... 😊 And the AKG K340 is the most harder to drive headphone not just in raw power but in some other aspects...
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@mahgister Have you listened to the SPL Phonitor series of headphone amplifiers. I have the Phonitor 2 (Studio) that I use as a preamplifier and headphone amplifier and I absolutely love it. Love the detail, flexibility, with zero coloration, exactly what you would want in the studio. |
I recently bought a pre-owned Yamaha A-S2100 integrated in the gorgeous silver finish (even though all my other components are black). Previously, I owned the A-S1100 and had an in-home audition of the newer 2200. I find the 2100 is a nice step up from the 1100, and I prefer its overall sound to the newer 2200. Since I also have my “reference” separates, the Yamaha 2100 will serve as my “end game” backup integrated. Actually, it’s good enough that I could easily live with it if I were to consolidate to a simpler system. |
It’s rare that I spin CDs these days because I’ve uploaded quite a few terabytes of CD music to a hard drive (started this years ago) and that’s what I listen to, but I’m now inspired to insert a better CD transport than the Rotel changer I’ve been working with for the last 20 or so years. Bottom line, just sharing and I’m happy to report I’m enjoying my stereo immensely for the first time in a while. Enough to make me spend a little more money f’ing up ’the happy place’ I’ve stumbled upon. isn’t that what we do? |
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Thanks for trying to help steakster. According to the one link you provided, I would need a C17/C18 cord. That would be 2 prongs on one end, 2 slots on the other. I still don’t see one of those in 14 gauge doing a quick look. I’ve put more than enough time into this. Unless of course you’re saying the cords I said I bought aren’t going to be safe or work. |
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Bunch of recent purchases, but most recent were an Audio Sensibility power strip (star-wired) and an iFi GND Defender (safe way to lift ground). Why? After I paired my new Leben RS30-EQ (tube phono pre) with my almost as new Leben CS600x, I noticed a low level hum. I played around with various combos of power strips, conditioners, straight to wall, etc., and had some success, but hoped I could do a little better. Theorized that I had a slight ground loop. So the combination of the AS strip, which is not very much $, with the GND Defender got my phono section within 2db of the noise level of my digital side. Am thrilled with results, everything plugged into power strip. Btw, I came up with a crude but effective way of measuring noise: I have the Decibel X app on my phone. I measure noise at one inch from speakers. Baseline is with volume at 0 - I call this “room noise.” Then for digital and phono, I measure at noon on volume control. My measurements were 38db, 40db, and 42db, respectively. |
I hope I found a suitable replacement plug for my Rotel CD11 Tribute. It's 3 prong but I'm gambling it will fit into the receptacle. At this point, I'll carve the darn thing to make it fit. The one I found is 6.5 feet long, a lot more than I wanted but it's the only length the place had with shielding. Here's what I found: https://www.newark.com/volex/17604-10-b1/power-cord-nema5-15p-iec-c13-2m/dp/93K2606 I bought two since the recently purchased Tascam CD recorder also only has an 18 AWG unshielded power cord. I apologize for hogging so much of this thread with my power cord troubles but it's important to me and hopefully will help others. I have read each and every post from all the others in this thread too. A lot of interesting gear for sure! D’Agostino Momentum M400 MvX’s... DROOL.... If only I didn't need any money to retire, LOL! Thank you every one for all the help (again) and for making the thread so interesting.
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@markpao and others I found two other cords on hand, both 3 prong. One fits in the recess the other doesn't. Unfortunately, both are 18 gauge. So if i just go and order a 14 gauge cord it will be a crap shoot as to whether it fits or not. I realize you folks are trying to help and I appreciate it. I might as well be looking for a traffic signal with the red light in the middle though. |
