change of clothes… change of hi-fi

[Wil]

Few of us have no change-of-clothes? Similarly, from storage, I'll be swapping to this late 90s set:


Main reason is wanting to use my CD collection again, and hearing it like I did. Thus, a restart to appreciate differences.

 

[plus 1]

Few of us have no change-of-clothes? Similarly, from storage, I'll be swapping to this late 90s set:
View attachment 1653

Main reason is wanting to use my CD collection again, and hearing it like I did. Thus, a restart to appreciate differences.

highly rated by what hifi i remember...

 

[MUSICRAFT]

I used to sell both. Good components although the CDP was the stronger of the two.

 

[batonwielder]

Classy! Enjoy.

 

[camcroft]

I would add set of speakers if I were you, you won't really get any sound from the empty boxes.

 

[Wil]

I'll liken loudspeakers to shoes… footwear isn't normally considered clothing.

Anyhow, 66KI definitely won't be running my D'Appolito Concept 20 config.

I would add set of speakers if I were you, you won't really get any sound from the empty boxes.

I've no time right now to write in detail.

 

[12th Monkey]

I have no idea why, if happy with how your system sounds, you'd want to change. Feels a bit more about the kit than the music to me, but each to their own.

 

[matthewpiano]

I can understand the desire to have a change, and to revisit how you remember some of your discs sounding when you first listened to them. I have 3 CD player and amp combinations to switch between (Marantz, Rotel and Roksan) and it isn't because I'm especially unhappy with any of them, it's because they each bring something different. Having possibilities at home helps to prevent the upgrade/change itch purchases that I can't afford to give in to. For me the music is always the first consideration, but I am interested in the equipment as well. If I wasn't I'd simply have one of those set-ups and never read a hi-fi magazine or forum again.

 

[plus 1]

I used to sell both. Good components although the CDP was the stronger of the two.

may i ask how do these components compare to the new entry level marantz offerings of 2020 ?

 

[Friesiansam]

I'll liken loudspeakers to shoes… footwear isn't normally considered clothing.

If you think footwear is not clothing, are you suggesting loudspeakers are not hifi?

 

[plus 1]

I have no idea why, if happy with how your system sounds, you'd want to change. Feels a bit more about the kit than the music to me, but each to their own.

messing around with the kit is part of, if not, the whole point of this hobby for some. music listening often takes a back seat !

 

[plus 1]

I would add set of speakers if I were you, you won't really get any sound from the empty boxes.

cables as well.

 

[Wil]

I'm careful enough to do Google searches before Posting… "Shoes" generally don't get grouped into clothing. Search and see for yourself.

You know, most clothing stores tend to have a little section selling footwear, but most footwear stores don't sell clothes?

Whatever fits or not to metaphors, they provide room to author an opinion.

If you think footwear is not clothing, are you suggesting loudspeakers are not hifi?

Let's say speaker cables are socks.

cables as well.

I have no idea why, if happy with how your system sounds, you'd want to change. Feels a bit more about the kit than the music to me, but each to their own.

I'm very aware I need to dust the room. And shifting… because I listen especially to voices, I remember a certain result—63KI & 66KI combo had it, may as well…

More thoughts when I've more leisure time.

 

[12th Monkey]

Are the voices still there when the system is off? (Apologies - bad joke!)

 

[Wil]

Never mind, minimal effect upon most readers.

Are the voices still there when the system is off? (Apologies - bad joke!)

Here's showing what I initially had cropped off, it's another-set-of-clothes to change into:


I'll talk about subtleties e.g. when playing the same song, another time.

 

[plus 1]

Never mind, minimal effect upon most readers.



Here's showing what I initially had cropped off, it's another-set-of-clothes to change into:
View attachment 1658

I'll talk about subtleties e.g. when playing the same song, another time.

may i ask what socks, sorry, cables are you going to use ?

 

[Wil]

I used to sell both. Good components although the CDP was the stronger of the two.

A thought when starting this Thread was to give my example of keeping entry-level Hi-Fi (even after buying mid-level or beyond) because certain memories of playback performance can only be recreated by that entry-level Hi-Fi set.

I previously ran them 16 months ago… Ken replied with:


Readers may say entry-level KI are special cases for holding on to, but each person must have enjoyed products… that may become impossible to replace.

 

[matthewpiano]

A thought when starting this Thread was to give my example of keeping entry-level Hi-Fi (even after buying mid-level or beyond) because certain memories of playback performance can only be recreated by that entry-level Hi-Fi set.
Readers may say entry-level KI are special cases for holding on to, but each person must have enjoyed products… that may become impossible to replace.

There are indeed some hi-fi items that produced a sound I have struggled to reproduce since. These are the ones I wish I'd stuck with, and which make me wonder how I'd have got on if I'd kept them.
One in particular is the NAD C325BEE amplifier. This wasn't by any means 'perfect' if listened to with critical ears, but it was frequently impossible to do that as it was just so musically involving.
A complete system that I have often missed is the set-up of Arcam CD73T, A65+ and Quad 11L speakers that I assembled after my first divorce. That was another nominally 'imperfect' system, but it didn't half pull me into the music.

 

[Wil]

may i ask what socks, sorry, cables are you going to use ?

I've photoed KI's '99 interview… answers…:



My approach to cables is to use them to tune the sound. And Ken did the same, especially when travelling around he'd select certain ones to harmonise the Hi-Fi he was demonstrating. Usually, he needs to set up with loudspeakers the local importer/dealer provided. Through experience, he worked out, at any given showroom, which combination gives the resulting sound performance he wanted.

"Every single component, passive or active, has a character." So, instead of high-end cables, I started by buying entry-level ones, then trying friends' and being aware of sales…

 

[Wil]

This Post is primarily for plus 1, for I'm certain he… YouTube…

I've located the segment where Ken spoke answering about cables (but recording was poorly miked, trust you can boost the volume):

Theses are the entry-level cables I recently bought:


I'm trying AudioQuest because, over the years, watching Bill Low's interviews… may as well be now to test their basic products. Here's his advice for consumers:

And although I can afford their high-end Dielectric Bias System tech, I don't want to start by buying those. How BL explained DBS:

 

[Wil]

For the past 2 decades, I've hardly bought hi-fi other than what KI had worked on. An exception was a 4K capable player:

Home review

Ultra HD Blu-ray has arrived and Panasonic's player has delivered a devastating first blow...

www.whathifi.com

I tried using the UB900 for HFPA discs:

But I didn't enjoy the sound.

Alternatively, I find SACDs engrossing, luckily owning some re-releases from my favourite CantoPop singer's back catalogue:


If the player plays SACD, I tend to play solely SACDs on it. Thus, my CD collection is neglected unless I've a dedicated CD only player also connected (or SACD player being absent altogether).

Originally, the 2 photos were taken as visual-news to show Ken.

 

[Wil]

cables…

Be mindful that what succeeds for KHF's system may not be successful in our own. His happy discovery:


KHF founded Fink Audio Consulting:

Home

Fink Audio Consulting is one of the most influential and least well-known companies in the global loudspeaker market. It’s an engineering consultancy responsible for some of the finest speakers we’ve heard in the last couple of decades, including multiple Award-winners from the likes of Tannoy...

www.whathifi.com

 

[matthewpiano]

That sounds like a 'crazy expensive' cable to me. The £89 my Chord Clearway interconnect cost sits at the far limit of what I am prepared to spend on cable.

 

[plus 1]

That sounds like a 'crazy expensive' cable to me. The £89 my Chord Clearway interconnect cost sits at the far limit of what I am prepared to spend on cable.

agreed the price is steep...
i suppose it depends on whether you class cables as components to tune your system or just a bits of wire ?
i wonder how much it cost to make...

 

[Wil]

Next Wednesday will mark the 1st anniversary of Ken Ishiwata's death. I bought Hi-Fi sets he finalised for the double fun of listening and, secondarily, reporting back to him my experience.

But of mixing-and-matching, this is what I'm currently wearing:

The amp is a 1993 release, PM-15, bought second hand in 2006. And SA7001 KI player was bought new in 2008. I find this combination sounding so attractive playing CantoPop SACDs that I want every listening occasion extended, no end. And each new day, I look forward to restarting…