Welcome newcomers!

Hi All,

I've been lurking for a while so I guess this is as good a place as any to make the first post. I've picked the worst time to start "getting into" HiFi, just got married and had first child As a result my system is all eBay deals, apart from the GS Amp which I got from the Ads board on here.

I have no loudspeakers at present as I live in a small flat and have a new born baby about.

Turntable :
Rega Planar 3 (no mods) with Denon DL-160 cart

Phono Stage :
Graham Slee Gram Amp 2 SE
Rotel RQ-970BX

Amps :
Creek Audio OBH-11 Head amp
NAD 3020i int amp

Headphones :
Grado SR-60

Misc : Pro-Ject Speedbox SE

Now the eagle eyed among you may notice the 2 phono stages (well, 3 if you inc the NAD)...I got the Rotel first but then saw the GS at an irresistible price!

I'm still searching for a CD player, I did buy a Rotel RA-965BX but it got "lost in the post" So any suggests for £100-150 CD are appreciated.

Cheers,

David

 

The Graham Slee is wonderful. Should sound very nice. Have you every tried speakers! There's lots of good CD bargains around. Someone I know snagged a really good Rotel player for about £50. Well worth it's money
Welcome to the forum.

 

Hello Everyone

Hello I am new to this forum and shall introduce myself. My name is Benjamin Anderson and live in Dorset, England. I have worked as an Electronics Technician for four years and also worked in the security industry as a second job. Currently my 'Hi-Fi' consists of a NAD 302 stereo integrated amplifier and Musical Technology Harrier floorstanding speakers, connected by Cabletalk Bi-wire (joined at the speaker outputs of the amp but enabling the speaker crossover to be bypassed). As for the source I used to have a Marantz CD17 KI Signature attatched to the amp by an Ixxos Gamma interconnect but this went a while ago and have been using a Denon DRM 650S tape deck.
If I can be bold and give one piece of advice for improving the fidelity of any system, regarless of price, is to give each compnent its own RING MAIN by wiring it straight to the fuse box in your house. Must have a plug with fuse though. This is easy and cheap costing about 20 pounds at most. The only downside is you have wires all over the house!

 

Hello, my name is Simon and i'm a recovering Naimoholic.

I work at a hifi (more custom install really...) shop in East Sussex. I enjoy listening to music, watching films and mountain biking.

Current system:

Naim 82, 250-2, hicap, LP12/Aro/Troika/'Geddon, Squeezebox/NOS DAC, Arcam DV78 all supported by a Mana 5 tier amp rack.

Speakers are Proac D15s, cable is NACA5.

 

welcome aboard chaps

 

Hi, I've been a member of PFM and Hifiwigwam and now ZG...pleased to join.

Speakers: Merlin VSM MXE
Amps: too many...Shindo, Hyperion, Leben
CD: Red Wine Audio Modded Olive Musica
Turntable: EMT 950

I've had almost all of the japanese rare highend and specialise in sourcing it for european audiophiles.

And of course...i enjoy the music

 

Welcome ETM, pretty impressive kit.

 

nado here, ehem,ehem, as long as i have being on this forum i think that it's have been great.
MY KIT: M.F. KW PRE-AMP, M.F. NU-VISTA 300 POWER AMP, "MODIFIED" AVID ACUTUS T/T. SME 309, KW 25.TRANSPORT AND DAC, NEW D.A.B. M.F. X-PLORA V8, SPEAKERS ARE PRO-AC D38'S , VAST VINYL COLLECTION, WELCOME ALL.

 

Heeellloooo

Hello everyone,:mo:

I've been hanging around these here parts for a wee while now and i've just placed me first post.

I've got some Linn gear and some Def Tech and a bit of SVS.

I like various eclectic music from Beefheart to Mogwai.
Hendrix to Bowie.

The misses and i like all kinds of movies, she prefering weepies and romcom, I prefer action and arty.

Great site and especially great smilies........:beer: :elephant: :knight: :redrum: :techno: :tempted:

 

Hi all,

I've been hanging out on PFM for awhile, and recently been lurking here too. Lots of familiar faces here, but seems maybe alittle more chilled and calm than pfm.

Rega Planar 3 + dnm reca
Meridian 500 transport / Squeezebox 3 into Benchmark Dac-1
Naim NAC82, Hicap, NAP180
Shahinian Arcs

Currently mulling over what an Avondale A260z or APX4 might do for me...

--
tom

 

Hi, been lurking for a while, registered a few days ago to participate. Trade live music. Live near Bedford.

Main kit:
Linn LP12 modded by Doug Hewett ex-Manticore, Manitcore Musician arm, Denon DL-304 mc cartidge, Manticore MB6 power supply, Jon Nicoll design mc phono preamp and phono stage;
Musical Fidelity E500 tuner;
Teac VRDS-T1 CD transport, Musical Fidelity X-Dac (MK1) + X-10D line conditioner;
Musical Fidelity Nu-Vista pre and 2x Musical Fidelity e300 power amps;
Linn Keilidh speakers.

Study system: Revolver Rebel, Linn Basic arm, Lin K18 mm cartridge, MF X-Phono stage, MF E600 CDP, NAD tuner, Ion Obelisk 3 amp, modded Wharefdale Linton 2/Goodmans Q45 speakers.

 

Welcome aboard guys, hope you enjoy your stay!

 

introductions

Hi, Just noticed this thread and thought I would take the opportunity to introduce myself. My name is Colin and I joined a few days ago.Live in Kirkcaldy Scotland .My present kit is

Notts Analogue Spacedeck with space arm and Shure or Benz Cartridge
HFC TVC passive pre
Dynavector Phono
Graaf GM 20
Shanling cd t 80 with cryo valves in
Claravox speakers
Interconnects are JPS and speaker cable is a chinese thing called yyw which replaced a very expensive Cardas set,its really good.

Currently thinking about building another kit amp but not quite sure which one.

Have enjoyed reading the forum for a while particularly the discussions,if I can call them that ,on cables.

 

ijoined the forum a couple of weeks ago,iam always looking to learn new things about HIFI,seems an informative forum!
Im on my third system,only 2 channels for me.

First one was: 1997
Cambridge audio CD4
Cambridge '''' dac magic2
Sherwood 7030R amp.
Mission 734i followed by Mission 704A (Beasts)

2nd system:2003
Primare A30.1
Arcam CD33 followed by Primare CD31
Mission 704A
QED biwire,nordost frey,merlin mains leads,block.

3rd system:2006/7
Levinson No37
Levinson No360S
Pass Labs X1
Pass Labs X350.5
Revel Performa F52
Kimber KS3035,1130XLR x2,MDC1 aes/ebu

 

Hi,

I have been registered on PFM for a while (GrahamB), and I see quite a few pink fish are registered here.

Current Kit,

Rega Planar 3/Elys/Projekt PhonoBox
Linn Karik/Numerik
Sugden A21a
Linn Katan

Planned Upgrades,

Turntable - I sold my Lp12 a couple of years ago. Currently looking for new/used deck up to £1000. Considering the following;

NA Interspace/Spacedeck
Rega P7
VPI Scout/JMW 9.0

Phonostage - I have been using a borrowed phonostage since I picked up the A21a. Looking at Graham Slee 2SE or Heed.

Speakers - The Katan's are borrowed from our Linn Classik system. Looking for a small standmount. I would like to hear the small Focal Standmounts.

Regards,

Graham

 

Another newcomer here. Probably the first Canadian ex Pat though !

My Hi-Fi is in a tansition stage at the moment.

Michell Tecnodec, HR, Benz Ace,
Rega Eos stage,
Lavardin IS Reference,
Totem Model One Sigs (soon to be Living Voice Avatars),
No digital at the moment and I'm considering a CD sell-off
and going full vinyl.

Anyway hello all !

 

Welcome JCL,

Hope you like it here.

 

Hi everyone, I'm Martin from Brighton.

I've been lurking around her for a long time but have recently started posting so thought I'd better introduce myself:

My setup at the moment includes Cambridge CD4se with Cyrus Two and PSX. Everything has been modified in some way. The Cyrus has been recapped and ALPS blue pot fitted and switches bypassed and...... you get the idea.
The PSX 500VA supply has been recapped with 88,000uF of Mundorf M-Lytic capacitors and super duper fast and high current diodes fitted to handle the extra load.

The CD4se has all the usuall mods and some Audiocom super regulators but is awaiting more ....

Interconnects are a simple DIY solid silver/Teflon twisted pair.

I'm very much into the DIY modification / building side of things and I am currently making a valve preamp to see how it sounds.
I'm enjoying playing with low voltage (12/24Volt) valve circuits but I can see myself slowly progressing to the full Monty when I gain some more confidence.

My taste in music is very eclectic. I love Drum n' bass and Rock just as much as Madeleine Peyroux, Diana Krall and Thelonious Monk.
I love the new Gossip album.

As a general rule.... anything but country.

Cheers,
Martin

 

Hi all, my name is Bryan and I'm an...

okay, an ex-pat septic tank yank living in Madrid. I found this link googling for info on NVA and followed a link to a thread in which Richard himself was holding court. Fascinating read. After glossing through seven or eight pages of that, I decided to sign in to the forum. Lots of interesting perspectives and knowledgeable folks. I especially like the care some take to get away from recommending specific gear in favor of listening and developing personal taste.

That being said, I'm also looking for advice on gear. Why? Because my current gear is a JVC RC-Q710 cd portable system. In other words, I've got nothing, I'm starting from scratch, and general budget parameters have already been approved by the missus. So, look out world! In the last two weeks, since approval was received, I've eaten, slept, and worked (my boss is beginning to notice) HiFi. But this research, unfortunately, has only involved reading, and has involved very little listening.

I imagine there are a lot of threads that answer or address in some way the ubiquitous "what should I buy?" so I'll scour the old threads first before I ask any questions that are specific to my own needs.

But to give an idea of who I am, musically, I like most genres from classical right up to some offerings from electronica, and not by any means limited to "western" forms. I usually listen to the radio because my own collection is not nearly big enough to keep my attention. I have a favorite radio station here in Madrid that plays a really eclectic mix, including flamenco, celtic and world beats, Jazz, rock from blues roots to hardcore and indy. It keeps me happy most of the time, except I'd like to hear that same music in much higher detail. Lately, I've been experimenting with internet radio and music downloads.

I can say I'm a virtual newbie in the hifi world. A lot of the lingo that gets tossed around here just loses me. Philosophically, however, I'm drawn to the minimalist equipment like NVA. I prize accuracy. I want to hear what is in the recording, as neutrally as possible given my budget restrictions. I don't want any of my money to go to a bunch of bells and whistles that I'll never use. And I don't own a TV, so HT is not a concern just yet. Also, I want to support my local economy, and especially the small boutique setups. So I'm mainly interested in European gear and smaller producers get bonus points in my considerations. Because I am a beginner, I'd GREATLY appreciate responses not skipping details that might seem obvious to you. And any general advice about system building and mistakes I might easily avoid would be great. Maybe I'll start a thread to that end.

Budget doesn't allow to go much beyond 1500 euros for the time being, but I'll be expanding and adding regularly. My initial thinking is centering around an entry level NVA pre / 2 mono block power amp , 40w x channel, (6-700 euros), some decent cheap speakers (I saw a pair of Kef coda 90s for under 100 euros, for example) Alternatively, I could get a cheap integrated from ebay and concentrate first on getting good source components. Anyway, that's the preliminary thinking.

I won't usually be so long winded, but I'm feeling enthusiastic about all this. I'm sure some of you can relate.

Cheers!
Bry

 

http://www.eden-audio.com

Try this guy in Malaga. He stocks Totem, Revolver, an excellent smallish English loudspeaker manufacturer (see my avatar ), Neat and a few others.

Sorry, I'm not familar with NVA.