Downsizing

[drummerman]

I am curious;

Would you consider downsizing your system in the true sense of the word, size rather than cost and what is it you'd pick?

Alternatively, are you happy carrying on with separates because there is no one easy solution to meet your needs?

AVI owners, especially DM5 ones, are naturally excluded from this thread as it is probably not possible to go smaller

 

[CnoEvil]

Linn Majik DSM + Kef R700s (Down in size and price, with aesthetics intact).

 

[steve_1979]

AVI owners, especially DM5 ones, are naturally excluded from this thread as it is probably not possible to go smaller

I could have bought a more appropriate sized subwoofer like the 10" BK one.

 

[drummerman]

AVI owners, especially DM5 ones, are naturally excluded from this thread as it is probably not possible to go smaller

I could have bought a smaller subwoofer like the BK 10" one.

I should also have said that the alternative 'downsized' system/product should either be commensurate or cheaper than what you currently use, rather than cost no objective solutions.

 

[steve_1979]

I should also have said that the alternative 'downsized' system/product should either be commensurate or cheaper than what you currently use, rather than cost no objective solutions.

The BK is less than half the price of the AVI one and I expect that I'd be pretty happy with the result if I downsized to it.

As for downsizing the whole system I think that I'd struggle to find anything cheaper that I'd be satisfied with TBH.

 

[mond]

I did just that several years ago. My system used to consist of a very large (and heavy) McIntosh 6450 integrated amp, a Pink Triangle Cordinal cd player, a Rega Radio tuner and some Sonus Faber Signum speakers on very heavy solid walnut and metal stands. Anyway I decided to up roots and go and live in rural Somerset for a while......in a static caravan. As there was no way my system was going to fit into my caravan, and the speakers/stands would have probably fallen through the floor, I decided to downsize. It was a massive down size as I sold the lot and bought a Linn Classik Music cd/tuner/amp all in one system and some Linn Kan (later version) speakers as a package from Peter Tyson. Although it was obviously not a patch on the old system I did quite like the sound of the Classik and it led to me gradually upgrading the Classik to a Linn Sneaky and adding a Linn 2250 power amp which I later had upgraded with the Dynamik power supply. I have recently added a Tisbury passive preamp and a Anthony Gallo sub woofer - I no longer live in a caravan! I also upgraded the speakers a couple of times. Now my system is almost as big/expensive as it was before the move but none of the items are as heavy or bulky as I took care this time to try to stick to smaller and lighter items. I will eventually replace the Sneaky with a Linn Majik DSM/I and have a two box system again (apart from the sub woofer) I do now tend to prefer less boxes and kit of the same brand and I can’t imagine building another large multi box system - especially as electronics are getting smaller and more compact.
Mond

 

[Superaintit]

Hi Drummerman,

I wouldn't want to downSize as long as it means I have to downgrade in sound. The Beolab 9 are 90 cm tall, the beolab 3 30 cm. They sound significantly different. The difference between beolab 5 and beolab 9 is not as pronounced ime. I guess it has to do with the physical space required to give good bass and clear mids. I'm very much interested in the devialet Phantom, although it would not mean downsizing in size at with stands it has the same footprint. Also, being accustomed to active speakers and having just heard the meridian speakers, I would be very very very surprised if current technology can replicate true bass in a smaller package than I have now.

 

[Waxy]

...but then I only fairly recently up-sized!

 

[Macspur]

I love my big heavy amp and CDP, but I won't rule out trying aDevialet some time in the future.

Mac

www.macsmusic.blogbubble.net

 

[ID.]

My systems are pretty compact at the moment so it would be hard.

I guess I could get it slightly smaller with something like a Pioneer U-05 into a pair of smallish Genelecs, but the size difference would be pretty marginal.

 

[tino]

I have a very compact setup in the Wadia and Squeezebox, but I would prefer less boxes. There are very few downsized solutions that incorporate all the features I would like in one small box, namely a streamer with integrated hard disc as opposed to NAS, apt-x Bluetooth, HDMI inputs, and a nice UI.

 

[fr0g]

Avi owner, and I have been looking at Opalum speakers with interest...

So yes.

Less. Is. More.

 

[paulselwood]

I been thinking of down sizing, for a long time. With less boxes mean less wires, less cleaning. Also hifi has comedown in price like computers. From time to time you will see that marantz 610 for sale at 300 pound. So it can be done at a cheap price. Plus you could sell your old gear. You may say now well you lose sound quality, but as you get older your hearing get worse.

 

[lindsayt]

Drummerman, I'm very happy with what I've already got. I have no plans to change - apart from replacing items when they wear out or go BER (Beyond Economical Repair).

My hi-fi is a tool for getting the best out of my music collection. If I can find a better tool I'll use it. I wouldn't want to change to a worse tool.

 

[Covenanter]

Drummerman, I'm very happy with what I've already got. I have no plans to change - apart from replacing items when they wear out or go BER (Beyond Economical Repair).

My hi-fi is a tool for getting the best out of my music collection. If I can find a better tool I'll use it. I wouldn't want to change to a worse tool.

+1

Chris

 

[iQ Speakers]

Having heard the AVI 9.1RS i bought for my mum i could probally live with those, but i dont want to! I love having a seperate amp. If I could afford it, both in terms of buying a decent turntable and the LP's to play I would. Crazy!

 

[matthewpiano]

I've tried downsizing a few times, both with a Marantz MCR610 and a Yamaha CRX560ND. No major grumbles about sonic performance in general, the Yamaha a touch better than the Marantz. I still have the Yamaha, but I just can't get on with the physical size of that sort of unit and I still like the big boxes and range of controls that some seperates offer. The sound of the Denon kit is definitely better but I'm not going to pretend it is just about the sound - I like decent sized hi-fi and need my fix.

 

[strms]

Over the last 2 months I have put together a second hand Linn Aktiv setup; which sounds fantastic.

Its bi amped not tri amped and as an experiment into the Linn Aktiv technology it has shown me what SQ is available at a fairly low cost. The down side to this is the number of components/cables etc. With the tech which is now available from Linn I could easily go from 5 components to 2, but then I've recently heard an Exakt setup so it would possibly be 3. Less components with a step up in SQ and not tied into Linn speakers, but a fair bit more expensive. *smile*