Steve's Rig
- Thread starter Steve
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sharkmouth
Active member
- Joined
- Apr 5, 2013
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- 1,616
Come on Steve, get it together!!!
- Thread Author
- #12
- Thread Author
- #15
It's all settled down but still tweaking & I'm quite content. So now it's about the enjoyment factor. Being a hybrid system, it gets many hours, around 40-50 hours a week. Would I buy McIntosh again if I had to start over?...probably yes after factoring in depreciation ratios. However, there are many great solutions out there to easily wish for. Is there room to upgrade & could I do better? Certainly!
What's next? I've put together a quiet PC inspired from a CAPs Zuma baseline as a further enticement into the digital world. A Wireworld Platinum USB will string it to the MCD1100 DAC.
Where I would like to be...In a dedicated room rather than open plan (to get away from the busy zone of the household mainly). Maybe a loudspeaker upgrade will come first. No rush for either.
What's next? I've put together a quiet PC inspired from a CAPs Zuma baseline as a further enticement into the digital world. A Wireworld Platinum USB will string it to the MCD1100 DAC.
Where I would like to be...In a dedicated room rather than open plan (to get away from the busy zone of the household mainly). Maybe a loudspeaker upgrade will come first. No rush for either.
Paul
Senior Member
WOW......Steve, Thank you so much for share !!! What are beautiful gears and amazing pictures.
My jaw just dropped to floor. Absolutely beautiful....WOW:victory::band:
ley::Bow:
My jaw just dropped to floor. Absolutely beautiful....WOW:victory::band:
ley::Bow:
Holy Cow! What a system Steve. I must have looked at these pics 5 times before I could write.
I would love to know more about your R2R. I would love a Studer, but instead, recently bought a Technics 1500 mk2 and will have it heavily modified/upgraded/updated, etc.
Mike
I would love to know more about your R2R. I would love a Studer, but instead, recently bought a Technics 1500 mk2 and will have it heavily modified/upgraded/updated, etc.
Mike
dlb2
New member
Aye Chihuahua Steve! :disbelief: That's some system you've got there. I need to pick up a light for my table. What are the two you're using?
- Thread Author
- #19
Thanks for the compliment Mike. I would consider it a "safe" system in its present configuration. It delivers the goods reliably. There is always room for further potential though.
Almost went down the Technics track & Jeff from J-Corder does great work. I weighed up the cost of a heavily customised & modded Technics against a refurbished Studer A810. In the end, a good Studer was still going outperform. And that is the problem. Finding a good specification Studer. Technics are easier to find & so are the parts. I was lucky to find an A810 MkIII, one of the last 10 ever made. It belonged to a CBS Executive from new & had low non production hours. Fully serviced by Studer tech, the last owner, a Studer enthusiast & avid collector kept it on maintenance as part of his collection. He had some amazing hi-end gear & two Studer A810s were the centrepiece of it all, whereby he would synchro dub from his source using Siltech Royal Signature DC wire throughout!
I bought it with the intent of picking up some Tape Project titles & also recording vinyl source for personal use. It is ready to go. A little slack in that regard because I've been focussing on enjoying other suspects of the system.
This little prod will motivate me to reacquaint myself, make a few calls to get a stock of blank media & also pick up a few more titles. Tape is expensive.
I have some software but not much. The R2R played so far sounds really incredible. I'm thinking the sound is better than most vinyl & on par with the best vinyl pressings. It's a close race. Tape captures something even more. Whatever that magic is, does not transfer entirely into digital remastering IMO.
There are still Studers around & they come up from time to time. Anything decent will fetch high prices. Anything under $5K will likely have issues. Canada is the best place to look for good examples.
A beautiful A820 example recently sold for around $25K. If only I had the room for one of those gems!
- Thread Author
- #20
Doug...I use Littlite L-LED lights. I run them straight out of the McIntosh trigger out ports. So when the MT10 triggers on via pre-amp source selection, the light turns on too!