Let's See What Makes Your Vinyl Spin!

Just airdropped some art to my TCL tv to hide my shirtless ass in the reflection 😂

Thanks man, as is yours from browsing around this thread last night! Everybody's made some serious upgrades since last time I was here! Things are good, between jobs and moves some family illnesses kept me away from most things on the internet. But now getting settled in to a new city and place so basically back after a bit of a hiatus and it feels good! I'll be trying to pretty much go through every record now that the subs sounding good! 😂

I think that’s the Covid factor. A lot of time over the last year stuck in the apartment with no place to go led to excessive spending on gear…

Where are you now? Is this the same move that you made with your gf before Covid or have you had to move again? Sorry to hear about that, hopefully all is well now and there’s a new job around the corner…
 
Feeling nostalgic and a bit frustrated with some current issues, but what a long strange and wonderful road its been..................
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And all the carts that have passed through these systems:
  • Audio Techinca VM95NL
  • Denon DL-103R
  • Goldring E3
  • Goldring G1042
  • Grado Black
  • Grado Gold
  • Grado Opus3
  • Hana SL
  • MoFi Mastertracker
  • MoFi UltraTracker
  • Ortofon 2M Blue
  • Ortofon Quintet Blue
  • Ortofon Quintet Bronze
  • Ortofon Quintet Mono
Incredible! Which carts did you keep for the Technics?
 
I think that’s the Covid factor. A lot of time over the last year stuck in the apartment with no place to go led to excessive spending on gear…

Where are you now? Is this the same move that you made with your gf before Covid or have you had to move again? Sorry to hear about that, hopefully all is well now and there’s a new job around the corner…

GF had a job opportunity in Edmonton so we moved here from Saskatoon (we miss Saskatoon alot) but we're in a great place now so honestly no losses. I just had a transfer so everything's honestly pretty great right now! And yes lol. Definitely lots of little upgrades over the last year. Pretty much replaced all my cabling during covid lockdowns 😂
 
GF had a job opportunity in Edmonton so we moved here from Saskatoon (we miss Saskatoon alot) but we're in a great place now so honestly no losses. I just had a transfer so everything's honestly pretty great right now! And yes lol. Definitely lots of little upgrades over the last year. Pretty much replaced all my cabling during covid lockdowns 😂

Ah good! Yes I remember now! Glad you’re settling in again after another move!

It’s terrible but in the two years I bought a power conditioner, some linear power supplies, new speakers, swapped my tube amp and got the sub just as I went back to the office 👀

I suppose I wasn’t going anywhere or doing anything so why not…
 
Ah good! Yes I remember now! Glad you’re settling in again after another move!

It’s terrible but in the two years I bought a power conditioner, some linear power supplies, new speakers, swapped my tube amp and got the sub just as I went back to the office 👀

I suppose I wasn’t going anywhere or doing anything so why not…

That's honestly awesome! 😂
 
Incredible! Which carts did you keep for the Technics?
We're in the process of backtracking to the carts I enjoyed the most, with a budget in mind. I'm going to post my GR1042 shortly, last cart to go. I'm keeping the Opus3 and picking up a Hana EL for now, as time goes by I think a Quintet Blue will find it's way back in the mix along with a GR E3. Of course if something earth shattering comes into the market we'll evaluate and go from there, lol.

I'm looking at things in a more long term fashion, and I've gone through so many carts at different price points that I've come to a "personal" conclusion that a "very good" cart can be had for the $500-ish price range.

Currently my amp has been exhibiting some issues, I'm hoping it's something simple because I really don't want to be shopping for a new one 😞
 
Harbeth SHL5Plus XD are here. Replacing Zu Soul mkII. Still breaking in the PS Audio M700 monoblocks in addition to the speakers.

Much different presentation than the Zus. The Zus forward treble, live PA system sound had been irritating me the past year. The thought of playing the White Stripes, for example, made me wince.

The Harbeths are not as airy, but they have so much more heft, and every genre works. The Zus had such little bass, that I had stereo subs to compensate. The subs are out of the sytem now - these Harbeths bump. I have another 250 hours of listening before things should be fully settled in.

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Congrats! Those are some beautiful speakers!! Enjoy!!
 
We're in the process of backtracking to the carts I enjoyed the most, with a budget in mind. I'm going to post my GR1042 shortly, last cart to go. I'm keeping the Opus3 and picking up a Hana EL for now, as time goes by I think a Quintet Blue will find it's way back in the mix along with a GR E3. Of course if something earth shattering comes into the market we'll evaluate and go from there, lol.

I'm looking at things in a more long term fashion, and I've gone through so many carts at different price points that I've come to a "personal" conclusion that a "very good" cart can be had for the $500-ish price range.

Currently my amp has been exhibiting some issues, I'm hoping it's something simple because I really don't want to be shopping for a new one 😞

Hope your amp issues are quickly remedied.. that's no fun.
 
Well……. Well…… Well………. Dramatic change for me :)

Cpl months ago I started “toying” with the idea of setting up a 3rd 🥉 System . My goal was to put together a “Retro” look system, but modern inside :) my goal these days is not hard, because retro is back with a vengeance esp in new speaker models out there and of course tube amps never really went away.

I decided after hearing the KLH 5 to steal a pair . This speaker for the coin 🪙 they asked truly is a winner ! Clean mids and enough balanced bass to keep my toe tapping :) also I adore the way the look ……it’s the 1960’s or 70’s :) …… final position TBD .

The Tube Amp I picked was the Doge 5 PADC. With the build quality and features I was looking for I ordered one without *gasp* hearing it :) and I’m sure glad I did !
I got it with Pavane Tubes all around .
What a sweet sounding little beast from the East ! With an output power of 30 watts into Class A ( max 60) and 40 watts into Class AB( max 70) it easily drives the KLH 5 and I can toast my bread 🍞 on top of it easily :)

TT I sent for a Fluance RT84B hooked to a Cambridge ALVA Solo MM Preamplifier.
So far this has been a great duo/combo !

All this gear is still being broken in as I type this .

So you may ask ….. why did I change from a McIntosh Reference System with Kef Reference 5 Speakers to my newly acquired system???
The answer is very simple ……… FUN!!
Since 2008 I’ve had diff Reference systems of diff High End companies and I loved them all and don’t regret getting any of them or giving/selling them to change/move on.
For this change I just wanted a simple set and forget system that don’t have me analyzing and tweaking to much to reach that “Audio Nirvana” never ending rabbit hole.

So far I love this system …… Colour me happy indeed in this next chapter of my Audio Adventures in life :)


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Well……. Well…… Well………. Dramatic change for me :)

Cpl months ago I started “toying” with the idea of setting up a 3rd 🥉 System . My goal was to put together a “Retro” look system, but modern inside :) my goal these days is not hard, because retro is back with a vengeance esp in new speaker models out there and of course tube amps never really went away.

I decided after hearing the KLH 5 to steal a pair . This speaker for the coin 🪙 they asked truly is a winner ! Clean mids and enough balanced bass to keep my toe tapping :) also I adore the way the look ……it’s the 1960’s or 70’s :) …… final position TBD .

The Tube Amp I picked was the Doge 5 PADC. With the build quality and features I was looking for I ordered one without *gasp* hearing it :) and I’m sure glad I did !
I got it with Pavane Tubes all around .
What a sweet sounding little beast from the East ! With an output power of 30 watts into Class A ( max 60) and 40 watts into Class AB( max 70) it easily drives the KLH 5 and I can toast my bread 🍞 on top of it easily :)

TT I sent for a Fluance RT84B hooked to a Cambridge ALVA Solo MM Preamplifier.
So far this has been a great duo/combo !

All this gear is still being broken in as I type this .

So you may ask ….. why did I change from a McIntosh Reference System with Kef Reference 5 Speakers to my newly acquired system???
The answer is very simple ……… FUN!!
Since 2008 I’ve had diff Reference systems of diff High End companies and I loved them all and don’t regret getting any of them or giving/selling them to change/move on.
For this change I just wanted a simple set and forget system that don’t have me analyzing and tweaking to much to reach that “Audio Nirvana” never ending rabbit hole.

So far I love this system …… Colour me happy indeed in this next chapter of my Audio Adventures in life :)


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Ah the winds of change, looks fantastic!

And welcome back to the clubhouse :)
 
Did you get to listen to a pair of Lintons before going with the KLH? I’ve heard wonderful things about them, mainly that they’ve got a bit more clarity than the Lintons while still retaining a fun forward sound. Thinking about demoing them at my local one of these days!
I decided after hearing the KLH 5 to steal a pair . This speaker for the coin 🪙 they asked truly is a winner ! Clean mids and enough balanced bass to keep my toe tapping :) also I adore the way the look ……it’s the 1960’s or 70’s :) …… final position TBD .
 
Did you get to listen to a pair of Lintons before going with the KLH? I’ve heard wonderful things about them, mainly that they’ve got a bit more clarity than the Lintons while still retaining a fun forward sound. Thinking about demoing them at my local one of these days!
Yes I did hear the Lintons before and they quite almost fitted the bill in what I was seeking, but in the end I preferred the KLH 5 in overall sound and look. To me the KLH had more bottom end and a somewhat more refined midrange.
 
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Where did you get the TT box?

From this seller on ETSY. I can't recommend enough.


He was awesome. Super communication and great craftsmanship. He didn't have the finish I wanted in-stock, so he did it built to order. It only took a couple of weeks and he shipped from Spain.
 
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