What do you spend most of your money on for the 2ch rig?

[organ]

I used to spend most of my money on CD's. I'd buy 5 cd's every week or two but now it's getting worse....a lot worse. I haven't purchased any CD's for about a month now.

All my money is spent on tubes. In the past 3 weeks I spent about $450CDN on tubes and I just ordered a pair of Mullard ECC82 today which will be close to $150CDN. That's almost $600 a month on tubes. Sheeeeeaaat!:o

I'm sure Derick, madmax and Tour is spending a ton of money on vinyl and TT stuff.

Maurice

[Zero]

Maurice,

Still fail to understand how a student with no real job is coming up with all this cash. heh

Can't say where my two channel money is going.... I may find my audio nirvana in this 400 dollar "magic box", or I will have to continue on with my original plan of a trasnport, dac, amp, and pre amp, which would take me up to around 2k.

CD's? Not until Im satisfied....

[RuSsMaN]

I don't have an answer, especially if media is in the equation.

Interesting.

Oh, speaking of tubes, my Radii tube pre will arrive this week - I'm effin STOKED to say the least. Already got some Pearl tube coolers ordered, and looking at other brands of tubes to try vs the stock. It's going in the man cave with the SRS's.

Cheers,
Rooster

[TroyD]

heh heh heh........

I'd say that so far, I've spent more money on (in order)

speakers
amps
pre's
sources

CD's, shoot, I bet I haven't bought ten in the last year. I go in spurts. The funny thing, I've got about six power amps (a few more integrateds) quite a few pairs of speakers, a few preamps but I only have ONE decent source in the cave. This time next week I'll have an AR turntable but as far as sources go, I'm lacking. Time to get on the stick!

Russ,

where is my ADC, beeyotch?

BDT

[RuSsMaN]

What ADC, bleeeatch.

Cheers,
Rooster

[organ]

Sean,
I do some part time drug dealing and pimpin;)j/k. Actually, most of the money I make from work goes to the tubes. I make more than $600CDN a month. I'm working 3 days a week, about 24.5hrs.
Actually, I want to know how you're coming up with a lot of cash. You purchased a lot of gear in the past year that I've known you:).
From the stuff youl listed, I'm guessing you're abandoning HT and forcusing on 2ch?

Russ,
Fu#king awesome man! Link please..I'd like to see your new toy. What tubes is the pre using? Whoaaa, you're going to have so much fun trying out different tubes. The right combination can make you think you just upgraded a component in the rig. You might want to slowly build a collection of NOS tubes before their price gets out of hand and eventually dissapear. There's plenty of great current production tubes though(very cheap too).
What are the Pearl tube coolers?

One thing you'd want to keep in mind is switching your components on/off. When I had my ASL hooked up to the NAD, I had to turn on the ASL about 15secs before the amp because the rush of current to the tubes shortly after turn on would send a spike to the NAD and put it on protect mode. Same thing happens when I turn off the pre.
Very strange but nothing happens with the Dyna amp. I can turn on/off the pre with the amp still running.

Please tell us your first impression followed by a review once you find some tubes you're happy with and pics:D.

I get so juiced up when it comes to tubes:)

Maurice

[organ]

Troy,
I bet that combination of speakers and amps cost you less money than an LSi15 right?:) Lucky bastard. Always in the right place at the right time.

Maurice

[madmax]

For me the turntable thing was a spurt. Spent the cash, got instant satisfaction and moved on. I mean, how much can a low paid person keep pumping into an old technology... (about 6 grand is the answer here) OK, I'm set up with the turntable. I was thinking new speakers but at this point I'm turning towards sales, not purchases. I am fairly unhappy with the lsi15's '9's and lsic. No one here is going to buy the full system so I'm thinking ebay. I am going to try to go a little more than I paid so I can afford a set of maggies possibly. If anyone is interested I'll consider offers but the winning offer will be pretty close to whatever the cheaper black market is selling for. I don't know, maybe $2500 for the whole set. I could add $1300 and get some maggie 3.6's to play with. Other than that I'm pretty well set up unless I find some $3000 200+ watt tube mono blocks or something.
madmax

[TroyD]

Originally posted by organ
Troy,
I bet that combination of speakers and amps cost you less money than an LSi15 right?:) Lucky bastard. Always in the right place at the right time.

Maurice

I have had some good luck. EXTREMELY good luck plus, guys like George, Russ, Tour..etc etc etc have really helped me out...

I posted it in another thread but I got right at 1000 bucks in my 2ch rig. Wires and all. If you count my spare set of amps (in case the TFM-45 goes tango uniform) I got 1400 all in. I'm thinking that is less than MSRP for a pair of LSi15's.

BDT

[Zero]

Organ,

You must have a nice job. Mine pays me roughly 600 USD a month. Scraps and bones.

I never did go for HT. I dont have the room for it. It would defeat the whole purpose of HT.

[RuSsMaN]

Organ, here are some pics. Look familiar? I'd be willing to bet they share factory space with ASL.

Same tube complement - (2) 12AU7s and (1) 12AX7.

I'll address the coolers in another post - once they arrive. Plenty of data/test links and info on purchasing.

Cheers,
Rooster

[RuSsMaN]

Radii rear shot....

[dcarlson]

I've been buying some CDs, mostly vinyl when I get the chance. My vinyl collection is building quickly, when I'm in a store or where ever vinyl shopping I'll come out with 10 or so records and it always amazes me when it comes time to pay and it costs me less than $100. Of course I'm always talking Canadian funds. ;) Next week, I'll be T.O. for Radiohead, I'll be hitting a record store in Oshawa and hoping to come out with a wack of vinyl. Bob Dylan, Bob Marley, Johnny Cash, Some Blues, Hendrix, The Byrds, CSN, make my vinyl sort list right now.

As for dumping money in my TT, I haven't really. I do have some spending to do in that area for sure. Including a new TT and cleaning machine. But all in due time I guess.

I'm currently searching out some speakers. Saturday, I had a demo of the new Pdimes Studio 100 V3 on a tube CD, tube integrated and a few grand in cables. The setup sounded pretty nice. I then demoed a biamped little pair of B&W C4 with the trusty old MF A3CD hooked up to an older carver amp of some sort. Cabling was much cheaper than in the Pdime setup. I have to say I prefered the B&W's over the Studio 100's. B&W is also replacing the CDM series so there's going to be some prices droping and my shop has a beautiful pair of 9NT's. They may be out of my price range but we'll see. The store was pretty busy so I didn't have time to sort out the details of the equipment used though.

Here's a question, I think the Carver amp in the B&W setup was a 4 channel amp. Would it still be considered bi-amped if you use a 4 channel to bi-amp? Does that make sense?

[organ]

madmax,
Like your name says, you're MAD. 6K...WOW...You can compete with the "Crazy French" in an analog battle:). I'll have to check the system showcase to see if you got pics of your rig there.

Troy,
You forgot to mention "the source"LOL. I know Russ will kick your ass if you do.

Russ,
Holy shit, that pre is identical to my ASL! Better faceplate and knobs though. Same rear end as mine too with the detachable power cord. I'm not into the whole power cord upgrade thing though so I'm going to stick with the stock power cord.

There is a very interesting article on audioasylum.com in the FAQ section called "Joe's Tube Lore". Plenty of information and reviews of the X7 and U7 tubes from a tube nut. He recommends the 5751 tube instead of the 12AX7. I agree with him there. I replaced the X7 with a JAN GE5751(1980's) from thetubestore.com and it sounds better than any of the other 12AX7 tubes I own. Better soundstage, more air, more warmth, less harsh, etc. All my 12AX7's are current production though so it's not a really fair comparison. I'm going to try the NOS Tungsram or RFT 12AX7 and compare them to te 5751.

That pre will surprise you with its small size. How much did you get it for if you don't mind me asking? new/used? Get ready for some crazy dynamics and micro dynamics/slam from that pre especially when you hook it up to a ss amp.


Derick,
Glad to hear the Radiohead show is finally going on. Have a blast:)!

Let's hope your dealer drops the price of those Beemers.
If the amp is 4ch, you should be able to bi-amp. You can also try to bridge the channels to make it into a higher powered 2ch amp. Check the instruction book first to see if you can bridge it. Good luck on your new system.

Sean,
Now that's good money. You're a student too right? I've been without HT since March of this year and I want to get back into it. I love playing my XBox in DD and watching multi channel movies.

Maurice

[Loud & Clear]

Sharp pre, Russell. Once you purchase your $1500.00 power cord you'll be in business.

[TroyD]

Ahhhh.....yeah, I can't mention the 'source' of the amp..

The speakers came from a private sale in Old Orchard Beach, Maine..

The AMC CD8b come from AMC's website and the pre, I got from tsto.com.

BDT

[madmax]

Originally posted by organ
madmax,
Like your name says, you're MAD. 6K...WOW...You can compete with the "Crazy French" in an analog battle:). I'll have to check the system showcase to see if you got pics of your rig there.



Maurice

Well, that included all the tweaks, anti static gun, brushes, cleaning machine, cleaning fluids, a bunch of lp's, storage boxes for the lp's, stylus cleaners, preamp, some cables etc... What a sport! I keep wanting to post some pics but I'm lucky enough to find time to listen. I must have been in a mood or something when I was getting into vinyl. Kind of like everything else. I can spend this much more to upgrade this but then for a little more I can do that, if I'm going to that then might as well get this, hell, that one is twice as much but it does this, and so on... I have been feeling a little poor since the whole experience. Everyone should go "MAD" once in a while, you deseve it.
madmax

[tryrrthg]

Speakers were the most for me, by a long shot... (so far anyway, who knows what the future will hold! ;) )

*Kimber 4PR speaker wire: $25
*Used NAD 521 CDP: $125 (msrp ~$350)
*Used Audio Research Pre amp: $500 (msrp in it's day $1700)
*Used ?*McCormack DNA 1*? Amp (soon to come): hopefully around $650 (msrp in it's day around $2000)
*Used Dynaudio Speakers: $1200 (only 5 months old when I bought them. the 1st owner bought them NEW for $2500. not too shabby...

System price: $2500

Sitting back and listening to my rig with a cold brew in my hand and a big grin on my face, = PRICELESS! :D

[gidrah]

Sweet looking preamp there buddy. I hope to snag a Dyna PAS-? in the future.

I just bought 2 albums from the thrift store and found a free Garrard TT.

Right now it's real close between speakers and amps. Then again I just set it up. If you count my HS/HT rig (which is still only 2-ch) the big Altecs win hands down.

[dcarlson]

Free TT? :confused:

Buy 2 albums get free a TT? ;)

[dorokusai]

The most cost to me for my future, still incomplete, 2CH system....has been my SANITY. All the rest is chump change ;)

[Tour2ma]

Quite a different thread than I thought it would be based on the title. Old 2 ch guideline was 50% of budget into speakers, but I'm not sure that's applicable anymore.

gidrah,
I just nailed a PAS-3 for my first little forray into tube pre's. Ought to be fun. What model Garrard did you nail?

Russ,
Radii looks sweet. Was it a factory purchase?

As for music buys, I made quite a few from the old RnR Rem threads, and since have just been stumbling across various listings on ebay and elsewhere... Has led to some interesting buys both CD and vinyl.

[faster100]

Originally posted by TroyD


The AMC CD8b come from AMC's website and the pre, I got from tsto.com.

BDT


can i have a link to AMC's website?

[RuSsMaN]

amchome.com

Look in the 'refurb' section.

[hoosier21]

for me it would be shipping, if Ihad the cash in what I have spent on shipping I would buy some more speakers

[TroyD]

Well, Christ, you move more product than any hifi shop that I can think of....:D

BDT

[dcarlson]

I just picked up 2 power cords and some isolation cones to demo. A used XLO power cord, demo Cardas Cross Power cord and Black Diamond Racing Pyramid cones.

We'll see what happens. :)

[dcarlson]

Quick impressions...

Lately, I've found my system to be harsh on the top end. I took out the Signal Cable Power cord from my integrated and stuck in the Cardas Cross. There was an immediate and dramatic smoothing of highs and tightned bass. I'm very impressed and it most likely will be staying in the system.

The XLO hooked up to my CD player also made a nice difference, I have to play around a little more... Unfortunately, I have to bring this one back tonight.

The cones altered the sound, I can't say for the better or worse. With the cones, warmer highs and a little less detail. Without, brighter highs and more detail. I can't decide with or without so far.

Once again, I'm thrown for loop. ;) I'm quickly becoming a huge Cardas fan.

[organ]

Derick,
I'm not a big cable fan. I've been very pleased with my curren't IC's and speaker cables and don't plan to upgrade any of them for a long time. However, you seem very happy with the Cardas power cord. How big of an improvement is it compared to stock power cords?
I already bought a power cord and an on/off switch from Radio Shack to replace the old power cord in the Dyna. I'm guessing the stock power cord is close to 40 years old. I haven't done anything with it yet. If the Cardas cables aren't expensive, I might look into them and forget about the Radio Shack power cord. What's the price range for their power cords?

Maurice

[dcarlson]

They are expensive. Cardas Cross Power cable, $310CDN. But, I was looking to replace my speakers, now I'm putting speakers off and putting my money into cables instead. It made that much of a difference. :) I'm now getting results from the MF I thought would only come with new speakers. The RT1000i's have never sounded better, I've grossly(sp?) underestimated them. Imaging is stellar, highs are crisp, clear and detailed. Bass is tighter and well defined.

My system still seems a little on the bright side but I'm guessing the Kimber 4vs speaker wire may be at fault. The Cardas Power Cord has tamed most of the brightness.

It could be that the MF is picky when it comes to power, I don't know. I may also be in that holly crap mode but I am shocked at the results that's for sure. My sales dude said that even though the Power Cable is already burned in (Demo), it takes about 4 days for it to settle and show it's potential. So far, I've only heard these types of results in the store, never at home.

I can't speak for your Dynaco and the results you may have with it or tubes in general. I'm guessing the Dyna doesn't have the removable type of power cord? If your NAD does, I'm sure you could demo one on that to see if you hear a difference.

I'm now, once again, an even stronger cable believer. I just don't like the price that comes with them. ;)

Give me a few more days, I have all of next week off so I should be able to get some serious listening in and I'll have the Cardas for a week or so, or I probably will never part with it. I'll let you know how things turn out.

Derick.

[organ]

Derick,
Glad to hear you got some great results with the Cardas on your RT1000i and MF integrated. $300 for a power cord is too much for me. The only component I have that have a detachable power cord is the ASL. I wanted to strip the wires and solder them to the Dyna but it looks like I'm goig to stick to my Rat Shack cord for now. When I start making more money, I'll be sure check out the Cardas. At the moment, I'm trying out different sound by tube rolling on the pre and amp. The sound of my system is changing on a weekly basis. My pair of Mullard ECC82 arrived today and I'm really enjoying them. The highs roll off sooner than the RFT's I was using but their mids, bass and warmth is amazing. Very nice plump sound.
Have you decided on the next speaker purchase yet? Any luck with those Beemers and Carver amp?

Maurice

[dcarlson]

$300 is quite a bit but I'd say by far worth every penny in my case.

I'm guessing here but I'm thinking that a power cord in an integrated would be one of the most critical components because you're feeding both the Pre and Power from the same cable. The results I've had are nothing short of astonishing. I'm getting a total 3d experience now all because of a power cord. :)

The results weren't as drastic on my CD player but still good none the less. I'll have to get 2 of the Cross. Maybe a discount to boot. ;)

One dilema I'm having, is the MF now reveals all of the shortcomings of my TT. The Rotel has taken over as source king in my system. I may be on the hunt for a TT in a few months.

Speakers are put on hold until the spring, maybe. The RT1000i's are seriously doing a great job. I'm very surprised.

I'm confident the MF/Cardas combo would do wonders with some beemers. The C4 would be great in an apartment setting, they're so small and both sound and look terrific. Then there's the CDM 9NT that both look and sound even better. What sucks is the lack of speakers I'll be able to audition at home. If you're interested and haven't already gone to their website, check out the photos.

http://www.bwspeakers.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/products.photolibrary/label/Model%20CM%204

http://www.bwspeakers.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/products.photolibrary/label/Model%20CDM%209NT

I can't wait to get home from work. :D

Thanks for the interest.

Derick.

[organ]

Well, I finally replaced the old power cord. I measured the resistance of the stock cord and the replacement cord. The stock was a little over 1 ohm, around 1.4-1.5 and the replacement was 0.4-0.5 ohms. I took a look at the on/off switch and it was pretty old and crusty, so I had to replace that one as well. The connections were pretty loose on the old switch. After replacing the cord and switch, I installed all the tubes again and and powered up the amp and let it warm up for a bit. When it was ready I wasn't expecting anything special but I swear it sounds better! The soundstage just widened, less grain in the highest frequencies and the sound had more body with a lower noise floor. Pretty much the same thing you experienced by upgrading to a better cord.

Another reason why it's sounding better may be due to the new Mullard tubes in the pre amp breaking in. I received them the day before and that night I fell asleep on the couch with the pre amp still running. Got about 7 hours of break in time while I was asleep. Or it could be a combination of both.

I sat there all night listening and trying to tell myself the power cord did not make a difference, but every CD I put in revealed more detail, wider soundstage and more body. Not sure what made the improvements but I'm extremely satisfied with the results:).

Have you thought about getting a tubed DAC for your CD player? With warm sounding tubes installed, you may get pretty close to vinyl sound.

Those B&W's are nice. I really like the looks of the 9NT. They're too expensive for me though and probably a bad match for a tube amp.

Maurice

[dcarlson]

Good to hear. I was very skeptical. The more I listen, the more I love the results. I should have replaced the stock cord a long time ago.

What did you use for a replacement cord? There might be a burn in period for the cord as well.

I'm going to have to wait for tubes. My upgrade path is power cables, speakers/speaker wire, Turntable then Tubes. So much to do, so little money. ;)

[organ]

I replaced it with a Rat Shack cord using their silver solder. It's a generic power cord but the old power cord was just that, too old and building up resistance. The connection to the power switch was also getting pretty bad. I'm planning to do a full restoration on the amp. Next thing I'm going to replace is either the internal wiring or tube sockets. Still have a long way to go until I finish everything in the amp. dynaco-doctor.com is selling the replacement driver board that's pretty much identical to the stock unit with carbon resistors. No fancy metal film stuff. A lot of people who have restored the ST-70 say that metal film resistors give a more solid state sound and carbon is warmer sounding.

I'll look for a good quality low price power cord for the pre amp ad see what kind of improvement I get there.

You're absolutely right about having so much to do and so little money. But it's funny how we always get what we want even if it's years later. I'm sure you'll have a lot of fun with tubes. There's so many tubes out there to try out, old and new production. Let's hope you don't end up being tube crazy like me. I have two boxes filled up with tubes and that's only the beginning. If you like trying out different power cords, you'll love trying out different tubes.

Maurice

[Gary Robertson]

I think i spend every damn penny i earn on friggin stereo and high end equipment. Mostly this year is an Ampilifier and speakers and i agree about those damn CD"S those things add up "oh so fast but never the less it all seems worth it to live at about 1% above poverty level because of a rediculous "AUDIO ADDICTION""Right now I don't even have a car but i have the best audio equipment in the valley---- We all gotta be a little twisted to be in this hobby anyway--You all ought to hear all my female aquaintences ( "AS long as you can hear the song is all that matters" so why do you buy all this stuff) ?? WEll ladies, I think it's pretty self explanitory..s

[madmax]

Gary,
I feel your pain. At my level of pay I should own a cheap sony HT with whatever the cheapest oldest polks out there are. For me, I decided a long time ago that this aspect of my life was important to me and therefore worth my attention. Is that wrong? Who knows. I say that if you are happy with your lifestyle then continue on.
madmax

[organ]

Gary,
Yep, I also don't drive and all my friends think I'm nuts. I think they're nuts for trying to tell me their sound systems with clipping amps are the greatest. I don't even bother trying to tell them about better systems. They just don't get it. What makes my head hurt, they perceive as detail and superior sound.
Next time the ladies come over, let them pick out a tune and let them hear what it's all about. If you want to make it even more exciting for them, place a small sub underneath their seat:D.

madmax,
I agree. Without audio we won't be happy. We also learn so much about this stuff as our systems evolve.

Maurice

[scornful]

I'm fairly new to high end audio. Where might I find info on building tube amps? I assume you guys dont start with some sort of kit.....

[organ]

Hi scornful,
You might want to start by making a tube pre amp. The most popular is the "Foreplay". You can check it out at www.bottlehead.com If you don't want to build a tube pre amp, the ASL 2004-DT is selling for $289US at www.audioweb.com

I don't know about tube amp kits but I'm sure there's some out there. Check www.audioasylum.com and go to the Tube DIY forum. The members there should know where you can find a kit. A fun thing to do is to get an old tube amp from ebay and restore it or upgrde parts to it. You learn the basics along the way and it should get you ready to build one from scratch. You can find upgrade boards and parts for popular old tube amps around the net. There's plenty of things you can upgrade in an old tube amp lke the ones made by Dynaco. Check out www.dynaco-doctor.com to see the things you can do with their amps.


Maurice

[dorokusai]

AES also has a tube pre-amp kit for $400, has good reviews, and resale value. They have kits for all of their tube amp/ pre-amp products.

http://www.audioelectronicsupply.com/

[organ]

I think Jstas built an 8w/ch tube amp from a kit. Let's see if he'll chime in with some info.

Maurice

[gidrah]

Tour: The Garrard is a GT250 (belt drive) with a Shure M95EDM cartridge. I hooked it up and it appears to work fine, but the bass is as lacking as the dynamics. Let me know how that Dyna treats you.

In case Jstas doesn't chime in, here's a link to the kit he built. I've read many posts on other sights from people that are quite pleased with it (as is Jstas). I've also seen pictures were people have taken the time and effort to put in a nice enclosure and made it look world class.
http://www.tubesandmore.com/

Edit: Sorry, but the link won't take you directly to it. Click on "kits"-"audio"-"K-502".

[Tour2ma]

Don't know the 250... pics sometime please.

The M95 is OK, and the ED is IMO better than the HE. Playing with a NOS of each. Kinda like the old M91ED better, but the V15 series is where Shure really shined... I've got a Type V-MR very nice, and a Type IV-MR that was semi-retired due to wear and replacement stylli discontinued (have to drop back to the Type III replacement, the VN35MR). But recently I scored two NOS VN45MR's for it off of ebay...

I've never auditioned the current Type VxMR... someday...

BTW, Shure will replace any stylus for $50 with trade in of your original. But in the case of the Type IV, you get back a Type III replacement. Same tip, but minus the dynamic balancer/ dust brush...