Welcome newcomers!

Glad you like them mikasa, welcome to the nerds corner

hang around for a while and your upgrade choices may change.

 

Hi Everybody! I found some interesting threads on forum and decided to join.

My system: Exposure 2010 (used as transport); MF Trivista 21 DAC; Bryston BP 25/ 4B ST; ATC SCM 35. Interconnects: Cardas Cross and LAT (digital) Speakers' cable: QED XT 400. Mains: LAT.

Music: rock/blues - Waits, JJ Cale, Dr.John, Grebenshchikov/Aquarium, Cowboy Junkees, Nina Simone, Armatrading etc.
jazz - Burrell, Cannonball, Green, Mingus, Rollins, Holly Cole, Quebeck etc.

Next year resolutions: 1. improve my room accoustics
2. buy a set of Beethoven piano sonatas
3. possibly even listen to it
4. buy a new rack
5. no more Vibrapods

Merry Xmas everyone !!!

 

Good morning and welcome, that was an unearthly hour of the morning to join!

Brystons and ATCs nice set up.

I like point 3, of course belonging to a forum negates all need to actually listen any more!

 

Hi Nomoretweaks, kewl name., welcome.

 

Welcome Nomoretweaks (you'll soon be known as NMT I'm afraid)

Judging by you music listing, point 2 of your NY resolutions is a definite must. However, I would start with a couple sonatas, not a complete set. My experience is that complete sets are often a mistake, as you get some good and some not so good that way.

Some here are more qualified than I am to suggest a version, all I know is I heard Barenboim live and was bored stiff, although many idolize him.

You may want to try No. 8 Op. 13 "Pathétique" by Serkin.

Cheers

 

For what I've learned the best pianists for these sonatas are (for the whole set):

Wilhelm Kempff
Emil Gilels
Walter Gieseking
Artur Schnabel
Claudio Arrau

And also some good ones:

Friedrich Gulda
Wilhelm Backhaus
Rudolf Serkin
Sviatoslav Richter
Alfred Brendel

Also good guys who recorded some sonatas:
Josef Hofmann,Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli,Vladimir Horowitz,Edwin Fisher.


Some of them are really early mono recordings. Tha's ALL I know at the moment. Any experts here? Thanks.


PS Yes, the time was weird. I was on the night shift.

 

Hi Everyone

Have been on the side lines for a short while Thought I,d join in

Marantz 6000KI
Sugden integrated amp
Monitor Audio GR20's
QED 79 cable

 

Welcome oldboy. Hmm...sounds like I'm inviting you in to a gentleman'ss club

Nice little system you've got there

Michael.

 

Likewise here...I've been looking aorund here for a little while,and thought it was time to join.

Nice to find a forum like this.

 

Hello Everyone!

Hello everyone!
I happened accross 'zeroGain' while checking 'google' about my amp... The thread that caught me was Gryphon Tabu vs. NAD Silverline S300. HiFi has been my hobby (music my passion) for forty years. Some of the kit I had I wish I still had but meanwhile I am happy with what I got:

- Audiomeca "Romance" TT with Sumiko Blue Point Special van der Hul and CS-audio PSN (separate mains driver), Active "Super Link" phono leads (from 'Becker', I think of Essen, Germany) that I'm told that Krell bought the patent for -- has ANYone ever heard of this cable? I find it 'sounds' clearer than Gryphon Reference (Siltech)...

- Spectral SDR1000SL (model II, version II, i.e., last model) CDplayer

- harman/kardon TU9600 tuner (cable-fed, nothing otherwise noteable on the 'air' here)

- harman/kardon CD491 cassette recorder deck (mod.: onboard mains filter) that I still use and astonish people with

- Gryphon Tabu Century with onboard Phono section (note: this model has the 'mute' and 'monitor' buttons on it, i.e., it is the "AT's" preamp board with the 'old' power section) and I purchased the Gryphon because of its phono...

- QLN G3 speakers (mod.: bolted to 2" thick steel 'stand' on stainless spikes/brass cups). These tranducers are transmission line and fast-sounding.

- REL Storm II (I wish I had two... but turnover is 58 Hz and "2" volume)

- Gryphon Reference (symetrical) cable for CD, Gryphon Guideline II (RCA) for the rest. (By the way, Guideline II is an excellent digital cable) My Speaker cable is gray "Transcableaudio" (from France) bi-wire. Does ANYbody out there know where I can locate some more of this speaker cable? It is out of production.

- Custom-made tripod rack based on mass (about 150 kgs) with 'hard' mecahnical earthing mostly with Gryphon Cones. Everybody out there know about "Panzerplatten?" It is like plywood (38-ply) but impregnated with resin and designed for use in armoring (e.g., cars) and weighs a lot and is expensive but literally, "dead."

- Mains is still 'normal' (I moved my hifi earlier this year into the bedroom) though rewiring is planned for this winter, i.e., devoted (analog, amp & digital) mains with shielded 5 x 2.5 Oelflex throughout. Mains filtering with a combination of old and new units, i.e., also 'custom.' I am proud of my TDK (analog) conditoner that came from a cold-storage warehouse...

My music tastes are towards pop, from White Stripes to Joni Mitchell, Grateful Dead and otherwise allot of singer-songwriter. I have quite a few Nina Simone LPs and a tad of jazz...

Cheers!
John

-

 

Hi John and welcome,

I too was attracted to ZeroGain after reading the Tabu Vs. Nad S300 thread, by chance, as I was considering getting a S300. I now got one and I'm very happy with it. First upgrade in 15 years. Probably the last ...

I also enjoyed your report on the concert in that 14th century chapel. Magic moment I guess.

Cheers

PS : I see in your profile you are a reader. Do not hesitate to start a thread if you're reading a real good book (I'm into contemporary American)

 

And thank you Sir Galahad for your kind reception...

Not to go over the hill with the S300 vs. Tabu subject, but I didn't notice ANYone mention the NAD having an onboard phono [board] - option. Is there one? Would one fit (if that is the same Tabu layout)? Gryphon have a new phono board that is 'hotter' than my version and what I have thrills me still. 'Didn't see it in NAD's ads. I spent beaucoup time testing add-on phonos deciding Lehman Black Cube SE was an Irishman's [hifi] best choice. Anyway, that (S300) is/must be one hellofa great bargain that I had no idea existed. I'd go out and tell everybody but nobody seems interested [in music, let alone hardware] anymore... just a few of us crazies left.

Ah, 'mention reading: I don't know 'new' stuff but a great book is, e.g., "The Old Man and the Boy" by Robert Ruark or, especially this time of year, "A Christmas Memory" by Truman Capote. Merry Christmas!

And you're right about the concert in the chapel: twice the violla 'started in' about one-half a second too soon and once the tenor got a brief glare from the conductor to lower his volume a tad -- I mean, it was perfection! I am still enchanted...
Cheers!
John

 

John,

No, the NAD S300 doesn't even have a phono input, which is OK with me, as I got back into music 25 years ago after spending many years overseas, and my vinyls were gone when I got back.

I understand NAD no longer makes the S300 (and it never was a best seller) which explains why we could find a few at a really good price a few weeks ago. It was originally priced at 2500 € (as compared to £1500 in the UK) and I got mine for 1700 €, which, considering the build quality and sonic performance (not to mention very high WAF), is a bargain.

I just finished reading Ian McEwan's "Atonement". A bit hard to get into at first (maybe something to do with the language) but probably one of the best books I've read in years.

 

Hello again,

It's been a little while since I last posted on ZeroGain so I thought I'd let you know that my system has undergone a few slight upgrades here and there....

It is now as follows:-

NAIM CDX2/FC2/202/200/Spendor S5e's (in maple)/NACA5 cable/Rega Planar 3 TT with P3 motor upgrade/RB300/Super Elys MM/Stageline N Phono stage, all on Hutter.

Next upgrade (hopefully)...an XPS2 !!

Cheers,

JonR

 

Hi there, just joined as I have been lurking for a while and found I kept coming back for more of this excellent forum.

My kit:

Sources
- MF E624/Philips CDR796 (as transports) [Missing Link Dark Art] PT P1A Upsampler [Kimber D60] MF Trivista 21 DAC [Audioquest Diamond X3]
- Rega Planar 3 / RB200 / Linn K90, Creek OBH-8SE [Precious Metals SS52]
(disused for several years due to dead motor, replacement iminent)
- Sony STS-D777ES FM/DAB tuner [VdH D102MkIII]
- Technics RSBX-404 cassette deck [Cambridge Tape Solution]

Amp
- AVI S21 Laboratory Series Integrated

Speakers
- Acoustic Energy AE3 Reference Mk1, on dedicated AE stands [biwired, Nordost Solar Wind for mid/treble; QED SA for bass]

Mains
- Chord Clearway filter feeding cheapo 6-way panel
- Missing Link Orbit cable to amp (most cost-effecive upgrade to date)
- Missing Link Opus cable to DAC (negligible improvement, presumably due to built in choke filtering)

Accessories / tweaks
- Peter Boffin Sound Improvement Disc
- Foculpods & Polipods for isolating electronics
- small Michell Tenderfeet for speaker/stand interface (more convenient than spikes for such heavy (70lb/30kg) speakers)
- Caig Deoxit / Progold for connectors

System strengths are detail resolution, wide & deep sounstage, transparency and dynamics.
Shortcomings due to speakers are slightly exaggerated bass and slightly rolled off/metallic treble (same metal domes as AE1/2).

Improvements being considered
- Reduce speaker bass output with high power resistor in parallel with driver
- A decent rack, as currently two stacks on a large built-in alcove shelf
- replace dead motor in Planar 3 so I can transcribe remaining vinyl to CD
- upgrade mains conditioning/distribution
- (longer term) might replace metal dome tweeters with soft domes or Visaton ribbons

Any comments on relative merits of mains conditioners or tweeters welcome.

JohnT

 

This looks like a nice place!

The Naim fundamentalists are are giving us a bad name, so i will say that i like a lot of different systems and types of sound, my system maybe flat earth but its all been modded to some degree (ssshhh, dont tell anyone)

My system is Source: CD Players, Heavily modded Audionote CD2,with dave wright clock and psu, battery biased output etc. Also a modded Talk Thunder 4/Whirlwind3 and a modded Arcam A8

Turntable, Project Classic, Project 9 arm, orto 540, into Naim boards.
Radio, Creek T43 and a Tivoli 1

Amplifiers, Naim Nac72 modded, Hicaps modded, Nap250, Headline and an Exposure 15 integrated
Speakers, Naim SBLs and Castle Durums

Headphones, Beyer 911 and Senn 580

This kit is run on juice provided by a separate spur through homemade cables.

I look forward to some interesting discussions here!

Regards Mark

 

Hi John,

Welcome to the forum

You may want to start seperate threads on these two topics.

Cheers

Chris

 

Long term lurker, First time post!

Thought now would be the best time to get contirubting to the comunity!

Names Dave, Known as Slink... Abode in the coldest north east of Middlesbrough
Nice to see a friendly grown up comunity!

 

Come over as a straggler from enscape Hiey

 

Hi, followed a link from a home page I found. Looks good, I like your music forums