Show us Your Kit!

New member

Greetings from across the pond!

As a long-time member of the classicspeakerpages forum which is devoted to classic New England speakers, I was interested to find this forum, in "old" England.

Most Americans don't recognize my avatar but I suspect most members here will! As a DIYer I'm aspiring to Gromit's level of expertise but usually commit Wallace's goofs. I enjoy restoring vintage hi-fi equipment and have gone through a succession of speakers. My real passion is restoring KLH Model Eight tube radios.

Recognizing that we are separated by a common tongue, I'll describe my "kit" ("gear" to us Yanks) and post a couple of photos.

The vintage set-up:
This is as "all American" as possible:
McIntosh MAC4100 receiver, recapped per an AudioKarma thread
old Toshiba DVD player for playing CDs
AR-3 speakers restored and modified to 3a specs
VMP Larger subwoofer
MicroStatic supertweeters
a pair of AR-91 serve as extension speakers in the hallway. Too big but I have nowhere else to put them.

waiting in the wings: The Mac may be replaced by a DB Systems DB-1 preamp, an Adcom 555 amp, Scott 350 tube tuner. Also awaiting restoration is the AR XA turntable I bought new in 1969.

The home theater:
An "old" Pioneer 50" plasma
Onkyo TX-NR1008 receiver
Onkyo DX-C320 carousel CD player
Harman-Kardon T-60 turntable with Shure V-15 cartridge
Panasonic DMP-BDT220 Blu Ray
Cambridge Soundworks Newton sub
Main speakers: Cizek KA-1 in solid koa wood
Wide speakers: Minimus 7 with Zilch mod
rear surrounds: Cambridge Soundworks Ambiance in solid oak
rear: Cizek HTA in solid oak

I keep switching things around. "so many speakers, so little time and space".
Here are the KLH radios, AR-3 and Cizek KA-1 speakers. I resized them so they are all under 100KB but can't upload any more because I've exceeded my quota (?). Oh well.
Kent

 

Hi Kent and welcome.

I thought I recognised that name from Classicspeakerpages
Excellent forum keeping the great sound and legacy of the New England sound alive.



PS: for any younger viewers tuning in, 'the New England sound' is that typified by AR, Allison, KLH and Advent

 

Greetings from also across the Pond,

I've also been a long time addict of the New England sound now for 40 yrs and been a Classic Speaker Page member since 2004.I love to buy and restore vintage Acoustic Research Speaker my collection has grown to appoint my wife is constantly
giving me grief so I told Her I would stop buying speakers If she quit buying shoes and of course we all know a woman can't resist buying shoes so in short my collection is
still getting larger

My Audio system consist of the following:

2) Sony Tc-580 R/R
1) Pioneer CLD-1030
1) JVC XL-R5000
1) Yamaha CX-900U
1)Realistic 12 Band EQ
2) Pioneer RT909 R/R
1)Pioneer CT-F750 Cass Deck
1)Technics RS-M258x DBX Cass Deck
1)RCA Dimensia Linear Tracking T/T
1Yamaha M35 Amp
1)Yamaha MX-600 Amp
1Yamaha MX-800 Amp
1)Yamaha TX-900U Tuner
1)Yamaha DSP-1 Processor
1)Heathkit AP1800 Pre-Amp
1)Heathkit AA1600 Amp
1)Heathkit Graphic Output Indicator (Which All the Kits I built)


Attached Photo of the system

 

Hi Ron and welcome.

I see some nice silver Pioneer there - top kit and great look.

....and that's a lot of AR loudspeakers!

 

Stereo reel-to-reels! I think you need a period TV.

What is the kit second down on the left with the rackmount wings?

 

That's the Heathkit amp I built model# AA1600

 

My current set-up:

Source components:

401 in one of my own plinths:



Gyro SE:



Consonance Droplet CDP:



Albarry amps:



Reference Fidelio speakers:

 

Lovely stuff and great to see an Albarry set.

 

The acrylic reminds me of another brand. I hope this is a little safer?

 

Yes, it's much safer (even has output protection )

Neil at Albarry is a great guy to deal with too. The preamp is fabulous. Very low noise floor, very nicely designed. The power amps sound more valve-like than any previous valve amp I've had...they retain a creamy rich mid-band without sacrificing upper HF detail. They'll also driver very difficult loads and belie their modest 60w rating.

Speakers took a while for the better half to grant her approval...something to do with being 170 litres, 1.3m high and 80Kg....a little imposing!

 

Hi all, new to this forum.

Looking for a Supex 901 MKIV to replace the broken needle of my Clearaudio Concept V2 cartridge The incredible cartridge porn thread is what brought me to join this forum!

My AV system:

recordplayer
Clearaudio Emotion with Satisfy arm and Concept V2 element

amplifier
Sonneteer Campion (Special Edition)

speakers
Monitor Audio Radius 2x270HD + 370HD

Blu-ray / DVD / CD player + wifi streaming

Samsung BD-D7000 Blu-Ray player

TV
Sony Bravia KDL32W656

 

New member

Hi All
Is a privilege to join this wonderful hifi forum. I dont write much but mostly enjoy reading for new informations on hifi gears. Cheers.. Ooop I have posted in the wrong column. Moderator kindly help to move to the Welcome introduction. Tks.

ps: need help how to attach pics ?

 

Hi
On how to post pictures, read my thread here :-

https://www.audio-forums.com/as-rediect/showthread.php?t=30861

there is an explanation from mjp200581, but wait until his last post a few days ago before diving in and trying anything.

Best wishes from Jeff

 

Sorry for the mess, here is a photo of my hi fi. The jbl4312As aren't being used but are stacked on top of the Tannoys (System 12 DMT II) for lack of space. You can just see the project 1.2 turntable (lower left), and behind the speakers on the left is a computer with RME interface. Underneath the turntable behind the half-open door is a little mixer, the make of which shall remain nameless along with the phono preamp. There is a Sunfire Signature power amp on top of the left column, and another pair of monitors, Yorkville-something-or-anothers, again hidden, behind the Tannoys. Waiting for the Crofts to arrive and working on a new cartridge for the pro-ject.
This situation will improve....
Cheers,

 

More dynamic system
Hi my system is as follows: Michell Gorbe TT with Origin Live Illustrious arm and Benz Micro low cartridge with trichord dino mk2. digital is Musical Fidelity KW sacd. Pre is Cyrus 7 with Cyrus psu. Power is 4 Cyrus mono x bi amping Gershman Avant Ggarde florstanders these are a Canadian 3 way speaker. Iam fairly happy with the system but I think I need more punch and dynamics from my TT. Iam considering changing my cartridge buying secondhand say around £700 to £800. Iam wondering will this give me what Iam after or do I need to change my phono amp or both? I listen to most music but pop. I like a bit of rock but, mainly acoustic, jazz, classical, folk, occasionaly electronic. Any suggestions much appreciated.


MIke Byrne.

 

HI from Australia, here is a photo of my system, I have a pink triangle Anniversary, SME V, Micro Benz Gullwing SLR, Icon Audio LA4 MK 3 & PS 3, Cambridge audio 840C, Halcro MC 20 power amp, Aurum Cantus grand supremes and a set of Audiosmile super tweeters.

 

an update:

I'm now lucky to have two systems, a studio/listening room and a "hi fi". The studio consists of a pair of Tannoy System 12 DMT II monitors, a Sunfire Signature stereo power amp, an RME Hammerfall/HDSP audio interface, Linux computer and no-name mixer as an line attenuator.

The room has the dimensions 344cm X 480cm and the speakers are placed along the narrower side with 116cm from the front face of the speaker to the rear-wall and 72cm from the centre of the speaker to the side wall. Perhaps a little too close, but this is to achieve a separation of 2m between speakers (the recommended minimum). The distance between side and rear wall is using the "golden ratio" of 1:1.618

I did try placing the speakers along the longer wall but it didn't sound any good. If anyone has any recommendations for speaker placement please let me know!

My hi fi has a pair of mono-blocked Quad 303 amps and a Quad 34 pre. The turntable is a Pro-ject 1.2 and the CD player is a Philips CD960. The speakers are a pair of JBL 4312A.

Cheers

 

Very nice I like the Quad amps and I like the study with a perfect sweet-spot. My office has nice speakers but the seat for the computer is not ideal for listening because the desk and the speakers are both against the wall.

I think a large soft rug would help the sound a lot in your study.

 

Nice setups

 

My humble system:
Home made Home theatre PC
Camridge audio Blu-ray
Quad FM 3
Tisbury Audio passive pre
Quad 303 Amp Labs modified
PS Audio Digilink DAC
Isol-8 mains filter
Leema Acoustics Xero speakers on yummy Target reference stands

Not after audio nirvana, just enjoying the tunes


Sorry about the crappy iphone pics