Cheap experiments in hi-fi.. (the Lampizator I am not!)

[admin_exported]

Hi

Just wanted to tell you about a cheap little system that I put together that kicks ass.

It consists of a set of new Boston Acoustics on big Mission stands, good old Gale XL315 speaker cable, an excellent condition Technics A900mk2 amplifier I found in Oxfam for £80, and .. wait for it..

A good condition Goodmans DVD player GD134 (£12.99 from cash converters!) output to a cheap ebay SMSL DIR9001/1793 mini-DAC (£35 from ebay hong Kong including delivery!) powered via a 12V 3A regulated supply in a little aluminium box (again ebay Hong Kong).

I was suprised to find it was actually a computer DVD rom drive inside the cheapy Goodmans. So I put a brand new Pioneer DVD rom inside, and it worked even better. Next I added lots of damping. I mean lots. I filled the DVD with UHU white tack, blue tack, and other tacks.. about 20 packets, amounting to about 2.5kg of mass! At least 1kg of that is moulded all over the Pioneer DVD rom drive. Nothing that gets hot is covered, but all circuit boards are screwed on top of great balls of tack and the IDE ATA cable and clock etc have at least 2 packets each around them. There is also about 500g of a dynamat clone on the lid which pressed down on the tack around the drive.. The whole player weighs about 6kg now, not insubstantial for a slimline budget DVD player and it is totally dead like wood when you tap it. I cannot explain how much this changed the character of the sound. It was night and day. The sound is astonishing, and I made no component changes.

I've had had lots of nice proper hi-fi over the years but the clarity I am getting from this cheeky funky old new borrowed and blue system is sublime. Total cost for system? About £400, or about what the Technics amp would have been new back in 1995.

 

[Anonymous]

I can't work out to edit. In case anyone is interested in my 'trainspotting' tale, the speakers are the A26..

I am also using a Tacima mains conditioner..

Interconnects are short 0.5m home made Neutrik etc.

 

[hoopsontoast]

Yup, I have found a lot of fun can be had at the budget end of the spectrum.

My current £200 system

Arcam AVR200

Philips CD-850

Keesonic Kolt

Target R1 Stands

(or £400 including the Luxman TT/Cart and Rotel RQ-970BX Phono Preamp)

Not perfect, but does a lot that most systems I have heard dont do, although thats down to the speakers, and a small room.

 

[Anonymous]

That sounds like a good system. I like Arcam. I have an Arcam Alpha 8 amplifier which is fantastic, though I do prefer the Technics. I haven't bought any hi-fi in ages. I looked in Richer at the CD players and just didn't want the whole system to be Chinese. I would like Japanese and English etc people also to be making. So the Brit designed, Japan made Technics 900mk2 was such a find for £80 from Oxfam. It is a lovely amp.

I was suprised to read that a lot of high end players use DVD rom transports, same one as mine even.

I wouldn't mind trying that 8 x DAC 'hi-end' from ebay that lampizator (who I discovered only just the other day) recommends.

I wonder if it sounds even better? Having said that I have never felt so engaged by a system, despite it being a bit Frankenstein.

 

[Gazzip]

I built my own speakers about 20 years ago when I was a student. Massive Celestion base cones bought at a car boot, mids and tweeter from some VERY old Wharfdales, and crossovers from a pair of Goodmans. I made the cabinets out of chipboard and stuffed them full of cushion filling. I had no idea what I was doing but they sounded great! That was the beginning of my hifi bug and I haven't looked back.

To the OP: Do you think you have spent more on Blutac than the rest of the system is worth? 😉

 

[sashavlad]

I'm happy to see this here! Good man, the Lampizator. I think I've read his site dozens of times. I too am enjoying a 'budget' system with few thoughtful mods. The most noticable ones come from the Lampz site, I removed the output filter capacitors and muting transistors on my cd player and the input filter caps on my amplifier. I've also treated the inside of the cd player case with dynamat and built a solid copper plate cage around the cd player transformer.

The difference was like night and day. I'm not good with audiophile lingo, but there was more of everything and more 'there'! Makes sense? Don't care really, I'm enjoying the heck out of it!

I really like the idea of tinkering with bits to make them better and I really do hope more people give it a go.

And the cost of it all - about 420GBP including cables and mods.
I've often though of upgrading, but I can't decide on what, or if I need it. What I really need now is a good DAC as more and more of my music is digital. Too bad the great little DAC from the Lampizator isn't avaliable anymore. I salute all who experiment!