Bragging rights.....


I recently conducted an experiment and ended up moving from a very good sounding system consisting of separate components that I carefully assembled over time to a "future fi" system. Only part of the  phono rig, old speakers, their setup within the rooms, and speaker wires remain.

A Cambridge Evo 150 all-in-one replaced 9 different components including interconnect wires. I held onto all the old stuff until I reached the point where I was convinced they were no longer needed and recently have started to sell some of it to others.

The new streamlined system sounds really good! I’m not missing all that older stuff nor the work that went into assembling a good sounding system myself. ALso the flexibility to listen to music in many ways utilizing many different sources as desired is incredible!

So I think I lose some bragging rights.... it was easy to buy that one unit, hook it up, and deliver the good sound I always crave. Anybody could do it!

Also I think I no longer would lay any claim to being an "audiophile" anymore having made things so relatively simple. I will call myself an "audio enthusiast" now, however I still will always want to keep an eye on what else is out there...especially the latest and greatest innovative applications of technology that might still move things forward. "Future Fi" is the term I have read that seems to describe these kinds of transformative products these days.

Thoughts?

 

128x128mapman

The Coda CSIB integrated is a not as well known as say Ayre,or Pass labs 

Nelson Pass actually started out with this same design team 

at Threshold -Stasis ,great classics audio , then Nelson went out solo in the 1990s 

and these engineers formed Coda , a fantastic integrated with the biggest potted ,not open toroidal like most 3,000va which is much bigger then most 

and 3 power choices for the same price ,lowest power is 18-1st watts in pure class A ,then 150,300,600 wpc , super high current 120 amps short term 

and on back 2-16 amp slow blow fuses , 10 year warranty ,exceptional build quality 

for under $7k. A steal , I only upgraded the preamplifier output caps from the very good Rel caps to the Big Duelund tinned Copper foil foil oiled paper caps.

it sounds very good.

Often high-end audio can be obsessive and hard on the bank account, but musical enjoyment should be the end goal.  Congratulations, nothing wrong with contentment. 

I wanted to simplify my system, a bit, by retiring my outboard Bluetooth receiver and outboard DAC. I read great things about the Cambridge Audio CX 81, so I took a chance on one. The analog section of the amp is excellent. I also found the onboard Bluetooth to be excellent, especially with HD sources. The onboard DAC is a disappointment. My 20 year old Rotel CD player sounds better through it's internal DAC and my circa 2015 outboard  Arcam DAC sounds better as well. It's still well worth the $800 for a factory refurb unit. But for the regular $1400, not with that chipset.

@mapman ....*L*  In a year, you ought to be much like you are now, but 1 more lengthy in tooth and shorter of hair. ;)

I've that problem as well....🙄

Audiophile, 'phobe, 'philiac, 'fiend, you be want you wanna be. ;)

Personally, more interest in how you hear your Ohms with the new intergrated.
But, that's just my interest to pique'. *G*

 

@asvjerry

 

Other than spls now limited to the low 90s at my main listening position, the amp in the newer Cambridge took everything to a higher level especially with the big Ohms than the gear it replaced, which was somewhat older….Bel Canto ref1000m monoblocks and Audio Research sp16 tube preamp, no slouches.  Listing for almost $8k together in their day. That’s with both digital and phono as a source. Everything is clearer, more detailed, better imaging and more dynamic. Not nearly as laid back as prior. The biggest differences can be heard with the best classical recordings as one would expect.  The Cambridge Evo 150 cost $3K back earlier this year.