Amplifier Experts?

[neilbardsley]

I found this interesting article on my existing amp. I agree the pre amp is poor

https://www.tnt-audio.com/ampli/yamaha592_e.html

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[gridgway]

I thought I'd managed to quell my hifi projects desire, but over the last few days I've been looking at some speaker DIY construction videos to see the minimum woodworking stuff I need to build my replica BBC monitors (I have hardware and plans!).

I also have a pair of MS10is that I bought to play with DSP and to make "active". So take the digital signal, do DSP to implement a "software" crossover and use a pair of stereo amps to drive the Bass and tweeters of the MS10s separately. I've actually got 2 pairs of MS10s to do a back to back! And then there's my Boominator-mini project too!

Too many hobbies, too much work and not enough time!

[neilbardsley]

Interesting weekend. After getting home on Friday I drove about 30 mins to pickup some speakers stands. £15 on eBay. I expected to turn up at some tiny flat (because a tower and letter were mentioned in the Address). I actually arrived at a Grade 2 listed building with a Tower. The seller was a complete audiophile. I checked out his other listing and make an off eBay offer for some Linn Kaber LS500s he had. I went to pick them up on Sunday. I entered the house and saw how crazy he had got. 10 plus pairs of speakers and lots of other items in a backroom. Then the listening room. He was kind enough to invite me to listen. Lots of impressive kit. I thought it inappropriate to take a picture. Appears his mates come around once a month to audition the latest equipment he has bought. Quite a few different set ups but the main one was the Quad speakers. He was running a Yamaha Super Audio into a pre amp and then into two mono amps. Very nice man. We had a good chat about a range of subjects. I think he didn't quite know what to make of me as I turned up in my 22 year old Yaris . The seller's other items. Just the tip of the iceberg.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/str/watertowerfu ... media=COPY

Maybe that is it? The best setup I will hear? I will try to get near it. That said we visited a coffee shop in Tokyo which has a very good system.

The Linn Kabers sound great in the front room and Mrs B likes the look. PS the speaker stands were too big we gave them to a neighbour (after some DIY)

IMG-20250112-WA0003.jpg

Screenshot_2025-01-12-22-34-36-092_com.chrome.beta-edit.jpg

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[neilbardsley]

Some small progress today. The phono pre amp arrived. Ifi pre phono amp. If you are ever interested in technical reviews this website is very good. Proper signal in and signal measurement. Less subjective warm and full sound! The reviews I've read are budget to mid range. I don't know if that is because it's the range I've been looking for or those are the price range s of audio equipment s sent the reviewer.

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/foru ... iew.35270/

I also got a record stabiliser. Seems to be some discussion about if they are snake oil. The idea of adding mass and holding the record in place appealed to me but when it arrived it was heavy. I'm a bit worried about the bearing on the record player. Some discussion here! I think I might not of spent £15 if I've read them first.

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/foru ... 45/page-56

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/foru ... 318/page-5

I also tried to fit a upgrade stylus I had bought last year but I got the wrong size. The yellow is correct.

Next step is to clean the old Yamaha Amp and see if I can improve the sound then compare against my new NAD.

However, taking electrical equipment apart will have to wait until next week as I have the 3 dogs visiting me in London. They are very Springery!

At least it has all promoted me to get some LPs I've listened to and play. This history of blues is very good and sounds great on the new setup.

I've also started booking our big European trip. 3 weeks this time. Less long travel but we are going to get to Poland so still an adventure. I will have to start testing the 356 soon!


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[neilbardsley]

Well I've able to clean some of the messy storage room and get the beginning of a system in. I bought these Castle Warwick Speakers off eBay for £50. I figured that is they were no good I could use the stands. They are probably over 30 years old and I had to replace a bass driver and clean some of the foam inside the cabinet.

I also got a WIIM ultra which is a streamer and DAC. What a setup from the Ifi. It has an optical in so I'm now running my old Sony CD player through it. I'm running an extra sub and it has some clever room tuning software.

The set started to sound a lot better after optimizing it

Highly recommend.

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[neilbardsley]

Reading/listening room still messy as the house is full of summer visitors. However, I've added a sofa and some sound damping on the walls. I've had a driver reconned. I've also connected a sub to the WIIM. After some playing with bass levels I'm happy with the sound. It will be better when the room is tidy but almost there.

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