I dunno geof3....there's something familiar about that shape....
(omg, they're casting Casper!)
(omg, they're casting Casper!)
Wife opened door to build my best ever system...ideas for what it should be?
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joekapahulu Congrats on the investment. I am also waiting on an 8 year investment to pop so I can get a "free" set of speakers. I am set on buying the Yamaha NS 5000 after hearing a ton of great systems. You should check them out or the much cheaper NS 3000. I think an NS 4000 in-between the 2 likely will also be released. Not sure if the NS 3000 is in the USA yet. It is a very technologically advanced speaker. Surprisingly, this evening I got an email the CEO of a company I worked and invested in about 15 years ago. Seems they are going to cash out on Monday (2 days from now). I likely will get $100 from my stock investment there. with all the dilution, but it is going to be fun to see what happens next week. I do not even remember how much stock I own there. Maybe I get lucky and can get the NS 5000 early. I did get all my new electronics for the future NS 5000 over the last 3 months. I realized the stuff I liked the best was cheaper than my initial very very expensive choices. I just looked at the new Stereophile Recommended Components for 2020 and it seems the 3 new pieces I bought are all in the A+ category. I did not know this before hand but looking over the list today, I think they have some good guidance (and measurements). https://www.stereophile.com/content/recommended-components-fall-2020-edition |
Thanks for all the feedback. I think it will be even more challenging to do this after reading all these comments. I have historically preferred separates over integrated amps but probably mostly due to possibly out of date thinking that the integrateds were a compromise. The current Marantz integrated was a concession for a remote due to back injury that necessitated having a means to adjust my system without moving much during a 6 month recovery. It was also the first modern piece I had bought in at least 10 years other than CDPs. Got the Kef R300s at the same time for a very good price because I needed something which was quieter to use at night when I couldnt sleep and listened to music to relax. I like the open sound of the Ohm Walsh's and appreciate the fact they have a very wide sweet spot, wide soundstage and go pretty low in the bass. I also enjoy what they do with voices. I have enjoyed Spendors, Harbeths, Rogers, other Brit speakers. I have had limited exposure to all tube systems but the ones I have liked (Mac 275) had I guess an older style sound vs the Rogue Cronus Magnum which sounded more like solid state to me. Heard both at Overture on B & Ws, Magico and Sonus Fabers. Liked the B W the least, seemed a bit bright to me. I like my Kefs but I think the UniQ needs to be carefully paired. I heard the Kef Ref1s with Marantz KI gear a few years ago up in NJ (cant remember where) but that was an eye opener which took me to looking for Kefs. I was going to do the LS50s but heard them side by side up at Quest For Sound IN PA and felt the 300 had more bass, presence and WAF. Will have to do some more research on this....given Covid it is probably summer next year at the earliest when we will be traveling to the Mainland. So, I have the time. |
edcyn...Aloha bro. Good to see there is at least one other audiophile out here...we are hidden well. I am up in the mountains so maybe similar weather to Hilo area although we dont get the cool winters and rain like we used. I did the fan and open windows thing for years here but developed some asthma suddenly and found a portable AC helped alot. When we needed to do some remodeling, it was a natural to add a split system. Best thing I ever did in this house for our health and made a lengthy recovery from surgery much better. Now, it has me thinking I could do tubes even if they put out heat....we shal see. Thanks for the feedback. |
My choices would include about anything in the Pass Labs lineup that fits your budget. Their stuff is just so consistently top notch and great sounding. Extreme attention to quality and detail in both sound and build. The best customer service in the business. I did many hours of research (well over 100+ hours) and listening to numerous brands over the span of a year before settling on a Pass Labs int 250 integrated. I’m running the int 250 through a pair of Harbeth Super HL 5+ 40th Anniversary speakers, a dual power supply MSB Discrete DAC, and now have a little over 300 listening hours on the amp and my new system. I’m ecstatic with it. I couldn’t be happier. My ears are pretty happy too. ;) A name that, IMHO, seems to sometimes get overlooked is Naim. I would take a serious look at a complete Naim system headed by their Supernait 3 integrated. Superb sounding amp and system. Major bang for the buck. Other names I auditioned that I’d recommend include Luxman, Boulder, VAC, Simaudio/Moon and Gryphon. So many great choices out there. |