are you equipped?

[al_the_bundy]

Hello, music lovers! You know as well as me that withuot proper equipment, there's no real joy. I've been trying to find geer that sound as good as my first. Conclusion; they don't make 'em as well today. In my livingroom-saloon I can relax to the High- Fidelity from Pioneers SX-737 and turntable PL-51. The clarity of JBL-L36 Decade is not second to any other speaker in my opinion. Audio Technica cartridge makes its ultimate sound. If you still have any of these precious pieces in your home, use them and thrive. One thing for you to bare in mind- JBL pre-1974 is to be connected plus to minus, that means black cord to red. It's not my stuff in these pics but believe it or not, mine's more beautiful. BTW listening to the sound of a CD isn't as good as this

[dbailey]

Well yes I am thanks for asking.

But back to Hifi

I have a Linn CD based system. Hand built with pride in Scotland

The Linn LP12 turntable is a class leading machine. Designed similar to the Thorens TD160 and Ariston RD11 and the Dunlop Systemdek all of which can now be bought used on FleaBay.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linn_Sondek_LP12

People still bid silly money for the Linn Isobarik speaker and these havent been made for about 15 years now. Known affectionately as 'Briks' to afficionados.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isobaric_speakers

On the subject of connecting black to red, my pre-amp also inverts the signal phase so that I need to wire my speakers black to red and red to black on the rear of my power amp

My stuff is between 10 and 12 years old and sings in a way that no other stuff has.

[al_the_bundy]

[QUOTE=dbailey;877839]Well yes I am thanks for asking.

But back to Hifi

I have a Linn CD based system. Hand built with pride in Scotland

Good stuff! CD is superior to turntable only if recording's digital. There's no way any remastering can match the presense of sound from cartridges.

[billybunter]

I am as well

But Hi-Fi wise I use a Pro-Ject RPM 5 turntable, a NAD C565BEE CD player, A Yamaha TX-761DAB tuner, An ONKYO A-5VL amp and a pair of MISSION M3i speakers. Works great for me.

[al_the_bundy]

There's nothing exeptional about pioneer anymore, but that company once had the ambition to rule. In the 70's they didn't do TV or car stereo. One mission, HiFi. Reputation was important. Years' gone and I've bought Pioneer in the 80's and 90's just to be a looser. But now all comes down to sales.

[marlon]

I'm fully equipped as well, thanks

and my hi-fi is pretty good as well, had a rega planer 3 turntable for years till dropped it about 10 years ago, bought a cheap replacement - pro-ject debut with built in soundstage - which turned out to be a good buy, sounds great with all types of music, and was a third of the price of a replacement RP 3 (which was a great deck by the way).

Can't help feeling this discussion doesn't go far enough. The cd won out over vinyl in the eighties, and we vinyl lovers have been harking back to pre cd ever since, but given that thanks to i-tunes, mp3 and other digital downloading methods, cds are now being phased out in a similar way to the way vinyl was - and that disappoints me far more than the end of vinyl. Brought some young friends back last year and they laughed at the fact I still had cds! Somehow a box the size of a kit-kat holding a few thousand albums appeals to me even less than cds, and given that they sound significantly inferior to either vinyl or cd really disappoints.



Now do you have a good retro cd player you'd recommend?

By the way its the music you put on the deck - whether that's a cd or turntable - that really counts. If all you play is Simon Cowell's latest protoge it really doesn't matter now does it?

[dbailey]

Originally Posted by al_the_bundy

Good stuff! CD is superior to turntable only if recording's digital. There's no way any remastering can match the presense of sound from cartridges.

Yes and no in my opinion

Some remasters have been done with finesse and others just compressed into the loudness wars that seems to pervade modern music.

Some of the names that I look out for and respect in terms of mastering and remastering:

Doug Sax, George Marino

The Mastering Lab, La. Sterling Sound New York, Ocean View Digital

The original 4 box set of Led Zep is done very well, as is Pink Floyds back catalogue, I own all 3 CD versions of Dark Side of the Moon and I can tell you that the original pre remaster is shocking. In total I have owned 6 copies of DSOTM.

The Yes catalogue is quite impressive as are most of the Sony Columbia 16 Bit super bit mapping attemps on Bob Dylans work.

I am no fan of the Rush remasters apart from Caress of Steel.

Wisbone Ash's Argus is very good but I find that Fleetwood Mac's Rumours is rather toppy and a tad harsh compared with the vinyl original.

[Greenman]

I have an AIWA Z-L20 stereo with separate turntable, 3 CD player, massive speakers and a double cassette deck which you can also do tape-to-tape (remember those?) and a radio built in with about 30 programmable stations with remote control. Yes I still do play some of my old vinyl albums and singles-why change something that has worked well for over 10 years.

[dbailey]

Originally Posted by marlon

Now do you have a good cd player you'd recommend?

Pre loved Linn Genki go for about £450 on Ebay.
Pre Loved Linn Ikemi go for about £1000 on Ebay

Or any of the Cambridge Audio CD players available from Richer Sounds make a beautiful noise. CA stuff starts at about £100 and is terrific value for money.

I set both my sons up with Cambridge audio systems and Eltax or Mordaunt Short speakers. all bought from Richer Sounds.

[al_the_bundy]

Wisbone Ash's Argus is very good but I find that Fleetwood Mac's Rumours is rather toppy and a tad harsh compared with the vinyl original.[/QUOTE]

Amigo! You've got the world to find. The use of substanses those used are prohibited. and was not effective to do music.