Forum Boredom?

UltraFast69

UltraFast69

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Joined
Sep 18, 2017
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The forums seem to quiet down as they usually do in the Summer, but this summer is different.

Where is everyone at?

What is everyone doing?

When is the next change in your system, if any?


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Let's see, I went from not making any changes back in November of 2019 to suddenly new speakers (Wilson Alexias to MBL 101E MK2s). This happened as Mike closed a deal with my wife for the speakers unbeknownst to me. Then, I thought that no additional changes were needed as the new speakers sounded great with my prior electronics (DAG Momentum HD Pre and S250 Amp). Well, Mr. Bovaird showed up in my house with the MBL 6010D Pre and a couple of 9008A amps which took my system to an entire new level. And, I had to make more changes.

But wait, there's more! The 9008As use 2 power cords each (4 in total). So, I had to buy new PCs. The MBL factory cables would not do. Guess what, once again, Mike shows up with 4 Shunyata Alpha NR V2s which took the system to yet another level. So, I had to have them!

This summer, Mike is not allowed to bring any more stereo equipment to my home. He can bring wine but no more gear. Heck I'm retired and these purchases may force me to go back to work! :rolleyes:
 
Bored for sure

I am at home working thru this whole mess. My company put 22,000 employees worldwide to work from home in a matter of 2 weeks. As of last update, only people who actually need to be in an office will go back, so I see WFH for a long time if not permanent. I enjoy the office and my teams.

Been working on our garden and property as I recover from Hernia surgery I had 3 weeks ago.
Went out last week and picked up a few used LPs
Sold a few pairs of speakers but need to shed one last pair to make room for something new
Came into possession of a Fisher 700T from 1969 that I am taking to have refreshed and repaired later today

My system changed a little yesterday. Since I sold the old Polk M20s last week, I moved my Dyns to the Family Room with the VAC Pre and Stratos Amp and rolled the Clearfields (for sale) back into my main system with the Luxman.

Looking at new speakers under $2500, considering the Fyne F502s but also considering a pair of the Wharfdale Lintons and stands and save $1k for something else.

Cheers
 
We have been slammed. I’m sorry for not posting more. Since the shutdown, we have been busier than ever, despite what some forum newsletters think!

My wife has been nagging my ass to get a boat (which I DON’T want), so we compromised by joining a boat club (Freedom).

My daughter is taking advanced math classes over the summer. She loves math. I think she was brought here by aliens. My son has about 9 friends in the neighborhood that he plays with all day.

We may rent a cabin in the mountains for a week and drive to TN/NC for a bit of a holiday, but that’s up in the air right now.

We are really enjoying the new Home Theater.

Business wise, we are bringing in some new exiting brands: TechDAS, Kuzma, Esoteric, etc. We are waiting to get our MBL 6010D back from the XTreme demo system (it’s on loan). We have several installs lined up for next month including MBL, AVID, ARC, but the way C19 cases are exploding in FL, I’m a bit concerned we may get locked down again.





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Work is pretty much back to normal with a little extra requirements for cleanliness and hand washing.

System wise? Adding the Luxman 590 has been a revelation. It’s a great performer with everything. I still have a bunch of low(er) powered amps for my Avantgardes but I’m having trouble letting go. I love swapping out for variety.

Eventually I’m thinking about a higher level DAC. But between the Audio Mirror and RME DACs, I’m really happy.

My Burmester power conditioner is getting a little long in the tooth but has one main important feature that I need - active DC removal. I think my only other option is IsoTek for power conditioning.

Despite all the craziness lately, life is good. The music takes the edge off and also makes me happy.
 
My wife and I are retired and recently sold our homes in Seattle and Tucson in order to move to Boise and escape the virus madness. I have very simple system which I really like, but visually the large diameter speaker, interconnect, and power cables were becoming a visual distraction with my new music room and open style rack.

After some cable experimentation, I settled on some new Audience small diameter speaker cables and interconnects. It has really improved the look of my setup with no degradation in sound quality. This is probably due to my 96dB sensitive speakers and low volume listening levels. I also learned there's no substitute for the big Shunyata power cables so those are staying as is.

Last week I ordered a "summer amp" from Mike which is due to be delivered in a few days. It's a Luxman L-507 Class A/B integrated. My Class A Accuphase warms up my listening space more than I like, so I decided to get a summer amp for use during the warmer months to minimize noise from the A/C. I'm optimistic that the reduction in heat from the amp will offset any loss of SQ.
 
I agree Joe - bunch of craziness.

I've been mostly working from home. That's been awesome. I only have to go to the office once a month. So now I only travel to Dallas once a month instead of weekly. Soooo much better.

I bought all new power cords along with an Everest from Shunyata and that really took the Magico M2s to a new level. My Avant Garde system is currently not hooked up as my wife's best friend moved in with us during Covid. So my room is in shambles since all of the stuff above the garage went in there as we made an apartment for her.

All in all - Life is very good. Very lucky.
 
Such a wonderful gesture Jock. I call dibs if she moves out. :)

the professor said:
I agree Joe - bunch of craziness.

I've been mostly working from home. That's been awesome. I only have to go to the office once a month. So now I only travel to Dallas once a month instead of weekly. Soooo much better.

I bought all new power cords along with an Everest from Shunyata and that really took the Magico M2s to a new level. My Avant Garde system is currently not hooked up as my wife's best friend moved in with us during Covid. So my room is in shambles since all of the stuff above the garage went in there as we made an apartment for her.

All in all - Life is very good. Very lucky.
Click to expand...
 
The audiophile forums scene has always been fragmented (agon, ashark, aaficionado, aasylum, wbf, headfi, akarma, etc), but Facebook Groups have accelerated that trend and siphoned off more of the crowd in that direction. It's annoying because now when you have some content or discussion to post it's like: "well this applies to 2 forums and 6 of my Facebook Groups - which do I post to without being a spammer?".

System is sounding better than ever, now that the Tannoy GR Supertweeters have dialed/settled in and I've switched back to Gold Lion KT88 reissues in my VAC 200iQ monoblocks. The only items I'm tempted by now are:


  • Continuing to hit up DiscOgs for vinyl records I won't find locally
  • The new Synergistic Research record mat & weight
  • ARC reference 6 SE upgrade
  • Mayyyyybe one of those Emia silver wired MC SUT's (though I'm already buried in an avalanche of nice SUT's here)
  • Oh, and maybe some amp stands for my VAC 200 iQ's
  • If my Koetsu Blue Lace Diamond ever bites it, I'll have to immediately scramble funds for a rebuild

Huh that's more than I thought, now that I've listed it out :)
Also, I like working from home, for the most part - AND I love its effect in lightening the traffic here in Atlanta. I think a long term ideal for me would be 2-3 (closer to 2) days a week in the office.
 
While 2019 represented the biggest changes I've made to my system (not the least of which have been the wonderful Harbeth 30.2 40th Anniv. speakers) for the better part of a decade, there have been some significant updates in 2020.

The most signficant of these to date has been the Shunyata Everest power distributor. The level of improvement this device singlehandedly brings to my system is the most significant and profound improvement I've made in 10 years. While Denali is outstanding and the best PD I had heard to date, Everest kicks everything up an order of magnitude, and takes the nature and quality of the musical presentation to a level I've quite simply, never experienced before, not even in some of the most expensive systems I've ever heard. The improvement is not so much in degree, but in KIND. Terms describing audiophile gear don't apply, rather descriptions of how a Bosendorfer sounds different than a Steinway Grand applies.

Additionally, the new Shunyata NR and XC power cords have been a revelation. I think of Everest as the beating heart and the Sigma and Alpha NR and XC PCs as the circulatory system of a world-class stereo. The Sigma XC and NRv2 are all F1-level horsepower in delivering current and DTCD to PDs and amps, respectively, and I've come to love the Alpha NRv2 for preamps, DACs, and phono stages for it's musical, lyrical, layered, nuanced qualities that provide real magic with respect to musical reproduction. For my small space, I'm using Simga XC and NRv2 for Everest and the amp, respectively, and Alpha NRv2 for the preamp and source components and it's...sweet, sweet, sweet. :heart:

The Uptone Audio EtherREGEN and Shunyata Ethernet and USB cables have (finally) taken to my digital front-end to a nature and quality of music that is as fully enjoyable and engaging, quieter, and more resolving than my analog front-end.

The next big change will be the arrival of my First Sound Presence Deluxe III-Si with Paramount Special Edition upgrade preamp. I've had a First Sound pre on loan from a friend for the last number of months, and it is, quite simply, the finest-sounding preamp I've ever heard. Mine was shipped yesterday and should be here in about a week.

Last but certainly not least, yesterday I ordered an AmpCamp Amp from Nelson Pass' diyAudio store. 8 whopping watts of Class A power from Nelson. All parts and chassis for a whopping $327. What's not to like? Stay tuned on the build when that arrives.
 
unfortunately, a lot of my time has now been freed up ...it looks almost certain that all ten weeks of travel planned for this fall will be totally kiboshed. and to add insult to injury, the summer was to be busy with the fun and anticipation of the planning + training for these trips.

pretty darn happy with my system right now. only thing currently in the hopper is a new rack which should be delivered in the next week or so.

of course, there is always the possibility of adding an analog source. but, for some reason i can't seem to commit to the project much less iterate to any decision on specific components. that, however, has not stoped me from accumulating MMJ and other LPs -- yes, i know: pants first then shoes.

so, just exercising a couple hours per day, doing a lot of reading, fixing up around the house, etc... eventually, happy hour rolls around and i flip on the system for several hours of hard earned relaxation and fun.

even thought about going back to work part time -- but then would have to do that from home which pretty much defeats the whole purpose.

so, yeah i am bored -- don't know whether to $@%# or wind my watch.

;):D
 
Mike said:
We have been slammed. I’m sorry for not posting more. Since the shutdown, we have been busier than ever, despite what some forum newsletters think!

My wife has been nagging my ass to get a boat (which I DON’T want), so we compromised by joining a boat club (Freedom).

My daughter is taking advanced math classes over the summer. She loves math. I think she was brought here by aliens. My son has about 9 friends in the neighborhood that he plays with all day.

We may rent a cabin in the mountains for a week and drive to TN/NC for a bit of a holiday, but that’s up in the air right now.

We are really enjoying the new Home Theater.

Business wise, we are bringing in some new exiting brands: TechDAS, Kuzma, Esoteric, etc. We are waiting to get our MBL 6010D back from the XTreme demo system (it’s on loan). We have several installs lined up for next month including MBL, AVID, ARC, but the way C19 cases are exploding in FL, I’m a bit concerned we may get locked down again.





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Click to expand...


Boat, mine still sets on a trailer waiting my return., LOL But the wife is using the heck out of the kayaks and paddle boards. And kids love um.

And I got to agree on the daughter and math. My youngest when she was in school was taking advanced college math in the 1oth grade. Now she is a quality control manager for a custom home and new construction builder. Yep an alien for sure.
 
UltraFast69 said:
Where is everyone at?
Click to expand...

Home office, my 46 plus year railroad career will come to an end this December, it may well do so in my home office

What is everyone doing?
Click to expand...

Well at least my grandsons little league season has finally started .......

When is the next change in your system, if any?
Click to expand...

when they put me in 'the home' I suspect my kids will get a dumpster brought in .......
 
Forum boredom for sure.

And kinda given up on it. It’s just too difficult to discuss the really interesting questions requiring a bit of reflection. While we’re only talking audio blabla here, underlying is a very severe societal issue in today’s US. The country is currently torn apart by an inability for intellectual discourse, without hating each other. People not sharing one’s views are not thought of as bringing in an additional point of view, but perceived personal enemies. So, comparing views immediately becomes a fundamentalistic Fox News vs. CNN issue.

Regarding the system, just adding more of the wonderful Cardas Clear Beyond ICs.


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Someone can start a “Does Magico Have a House Sound?” thread. That will liven things up. :D

Ken
 
Kuoppis said:
edit....

Regarding the system, just adding more of the wonderful Cardas Clear Beyond ICs.


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Click to expand...

I’d love to know more about your experience with your Cardas Clear Beyond cables. I’ve always loved Cardas but have not had any since the Golden Reference.
 
Alpinist said:
Someone can start a “Does Magico Have a House Sound?” thread. That will liven things up. :D

Ken
Click to expand...

Feel free. Then all the people who have heard Magico’s once or twice can tell all the people who own them what they sound like.
 
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