ruecatinat

I'm probably not going to pull the trigger on a new set any time soon as I'm still rather enjoying my little mid-80's B&Ws. Have to audition the Elacs / find a dealer as well as see how they compare to the Dali. If I could find deals like Mike I'd be pretty happy - I like those Vandersteens he posted a while back and my current integrated is probably rated around the same output. What I suppose I'm most curious about is the quality of the components and subjectively 'good' sound. In your build, for example, if you used a very high quality set of components (not to say you're cheaping out, but hypothetically) with the same woofer and tweeter, would they fatten out your bass and smooth the midrange without changing inductors or resistors or ports? Or is the 'perfect' design the software gave you always open to interpretation and I, for example, might like the levels of bass and the midrange output in your first mockup?

How so? Is the 'good' and 'bad' subjective and thus prey to choice in, say, heavy bass output or precise treble? Putting aside room acoustics, equipment, etc... Also - those Elacs look like they could be very well my next set of speakers if offered in anything but black. I don't know why I'm not fond of black finish speakers as I generally prefer black components, but yeah...the Elac looks like a better buy than the Dali Zensor3s I've been eyeing for a while.

Whoa this exploded pretty quickly. When it comes down to it there are scientific methods to measure sound quality and the measures/numbers don't really discriminate as far as prices / looks go but it is an uneven split between subjective and objective, favoring the subjective. But humans are illogical beings. Scientifically speaking you don't need expensive stuff to enjoy music or produce good sound but if your ego needs to have expensive stuff to enjoy music I guess it's worth it to you in the end. Hell, it's not my money. Look at wine. There is unbelievable value below $20 and some $40 bottles I'd never drink again because it was not worth the money and then some $60 bottles that are so incredible you might pay $80 to repeat the experience. There is a terribly subjective side that is seriously tainted with ego - people out there want to be seen popping Cristal or setting up expensive equipment even though they have barely any taste to appreciate it yet defend their choices because they spent the money and then there are people who buy the exact same stuff but have either been unsatisfied with what's less expensive or have the money to blow. No matter what the budget or brain you have underappreciated stuff, overappreciated stuff, and stuff that really shouldn't even be bought and sold. I once met this absolute moron who used Johnny Walker Blue, at nearly $300 a bottle in Canada, to marinate a cheap steak. On the other hand, a family member of mine has all the money in the world for ridiculously exorbitant hifi gear but still uses the Rega Planar 1 he bought in college. All different walks - and thus all different levels in the market...hifi really isn't much different than any other market and shouldn't be singled out insofar as the propagation of snake oil. People are stupid with money everywhere - cut through it and mess around until you find what you like and want. That being said - in any group of enthusiasts I truly despise those who believe the answer is more money and expensive gear, blindly spending and recommending...whether it be cars, audio, wine, clothes, shoes, furniture, bicycles...

Or, also likely, "These 15K speakers won't sound good unless you have a 15K amp, 15K in cabling, 15K in source components and 5K in room treatments and are seated in the perfect, measured seating position"

That is precisely what I'm afraid of I already have a hard enough time convincing myself to keep components and cabling for longer than a year

Some serious stuff on both those websites...speaker building is another world I know nothing about

A little far from me. We have TAVES here, hopefully making it out this year... Post some pictures if you go!

Decided to conduct a cheap experiment this weekend... On the left is the power cord that came with my Denon 2800 DVD player I currently use as a CD transport. On the right is a $23 power cable off Amazon (https://www.amazon.ca/gp/offer-listing/B0069FLXLU/ref=dp_olp_new?ie=UTF8&condition=new) that is close to the commonly known "Iron Lung Jellyfish" - a medical grade power cable. Added a surprising amount of bass and filled out the lower end - definitely worth it.

Out of my neighbourhood In other news, picked up one of these over the weekend...

I'll have to hunt down some DeOxit and take a peak. Sounds like a weekend job for when the girlfriend is travelling on business. Is it merely a preference in sound that makes vintage a thing? I look at these polished metal and wood 1970s behemoths and then a compact, slick NAD and the Pioneer doesn't accept banana plugs, doesn't have a detachable power cord, and has maybe 1 AUX input. Also no remote control

Scratchy sound, static, uneven power distribution (you can see on the little radar scale) and pops on start up/shut down. After taking a look at this http://www.oldbrokenjunk.com/wordpress/?cat=22 I'm not sure if I want to dive into this myself.

I've seen them play before, a coworker of mine did some work with their website That Tamron looks like a nice lens!

I actually have 2-3 vintage Pioneers...a QX-747, a Sound Project (basically a Pioneer, super low end), and another I can't remember the model of. They all need work to some varying degree - they've all been sitting in storage for decades without much or any use. I'm okay with my h/k right now - it isn't broken or awful but I am looking for more power and a better phono stage. I appreciate the offer of the Kenwood but the shipping, especially in US dollars, would be close to $75 Those speakers look great!

eBay has the biggest selection by far but the Canadian dollar + shipping to Canada has almost killed it for me The local classifieds are a much smaller pool unfortunately, but I can audition stuff and not have to pay shipping so I'm holding out a bit Curious about matching a Rotel to my B&Ws as well

Why integrated? No space for separates right now and no need for the power, really. I have a set of small, efficient bookshelf speakers. Budget too - looking to buy a house within the next year and I have a cap on all things audio for the next foreseeable few years. I do like NAD gear but the few BEE units I've seen for sale haven't had phono stages. Been a while since I've seen a PE unit as well. If I were going new I'd look at a Marantz PM6005, Rotel RA-12 or best case scenario Hegel H80. Used I'm open to a lot of things and waiting for the right NAD or maybe a Rotel RA-1062 to pop up.

Brampton Beast?

Still looking for an integrated, haven't really made up my mind on what I want 100% so I'm surfing the classifieds and seeing if anything in my list pops up. I've found some decent luck on Amazon for brand new vinyl - I need to make it out to the record stores to find some more for sure though. That would probably be your best bet - I got lucky on eBay a few years back when I was replacing the fuses in an old Sound Project (made by Pioneer) receiver from the early 70s and got a whole bag of a very specific and hard to find fuse from China

The V12s are a great tire for the price but I noticed they had a bit of a softer sidewall. I've tried them on an 01' Mini Cooper S Works, 2008 GTI and S2000 FYI The Conti DWs are basically a German PSS - cheaper and better wear. There's a BMW in my underground with a set of PSS up front, DW in the back...can't tell the difference visually unless you go up and look lol. If I had the choice I'd go Continental. I've seen two coworkers tear through a set of PSS (Volvo XC60 R Design w/Polestar, Golf R) in less than 2 seasons.

Glad you're enjoying it! I'm getting back into browsing used stuff for a new integrated amp and also slowly collecting more records. Do you buy new or used vinyl?

Look into Continental ExtremeContact DWs If you're going budget - Falken FK series

That looks nice and sharp. I still keep my 60 2.8 on the lens 80% of the time (except for when using my 12-24) but I can't help thinking it would be easier to have something shorter in focal length for all my light tent stuff. For what the lens goes for it seems I can't go wrong. Those are nice shots - looks like you might find a circular polarizer handy for those car shots

Those look nice - wish I had the space for floor standers NAD integrated?

Anyone a fan of the Nikkor DX 35MM 1.8? Been using my 60MM 2.8 (full frame) on my D7000 daily for over 2 years now and it's a little long for indoor/studio use for what I do (product photography in a light tent)

B&W DM100i Doesn't seem like it but I will really look for it next time I play some vinyl.

I don't really have the resonance problems Mike mentioned for one reason or another, maybe I got lucky or it's where my table sits - couldn't tell you. Throwing money at this thing would be taking from more important things like saving for a new integrated amp, I've already dropped enough on new ICs and the acrylic platter.