I'm quite tempted

[podknocker]

Hope you don't class me as "elitist". I don't even class myself as a 'Audiophile'. I like to keep it simple, simpler the better.

For some reason my little thread about a used Exposure CDP has gone way off-topic. I fully respect those who want to grasp the latest technology, I like to think others respect my choices, even though I partially have thanks to the new TV.

Other than my lovely Dalis I struggling to remember the last time I purchased a new product at the full retail price. Hang on I do: Arcam CD73 in 2005.

Therefore none of my components have cost thousands, and the money I have spent has been building blocks to my current bundles. Or in simple terms I've never gone out and splashed fortunes in one go.

I don't consider you to be elitist at all, but there are some, even on this forum, that want to steer the unwary towards stupidly expensive items, that simply cannot offer the suggested levels of sound quality.

Anyone buying an £8k fuse, or £1k power cord, needs to recalibrate their expectations of what this stuff can or can't do and how physical materials do have limits. This is not Star Trek.

I'm similar to you and have budgeted and gradually upgraded, over the last 35 years and realised there is a point where you are simply wasting money and no longer fall for the hype and BS which exist in this sector.

I don't think you can go into a shop, even on a tight budget and buy a system that will make your ears bleed. Most modern kit sounds half decent. You spend a bit more and it improves and then you spend a bit more and again, you get a better sound.

Electronics and electrical components, along with human hearing, have limits. Many companies resort to embellishments and nonsense, to stand out and people love buying stuff that stands out. It makes them feel special. If Unicorn horn, plain or gold plated was available, they'd use it.

I'm hoping to upgrade to a £3125 Leema Quasar (£2125 after trade in) and I know this is a lot to pay, but I think it will sound better than my Omnia and it is powerful and should last. I'm hopefully not going to regret it, but I certainly resent paying £2125 for this device. Anything more than this would be a complete waste of money.

It's a plain looking amp, so I'm hoping the money will go on solid engineering and parts with fine tolerances etc. I know it's a lot and I have decided it's my last fling with HIFI. The daft stuff, like £8k fuses, I will leave to the uneducated with deep pockets.

 

[plastic penguin]

I've said at least twice that I was merely clarifying that the comment about technology moving on was streaming vs CD, and not to compare one CD player with another.

If you truly can't understand that, I'm not sure how else to say it.

Technology moves on with everything, evolution. I get that. What you don't seem to grasp is streaming doesn't appeal to me.

I can be accused of many things but elitist or a hi-fi snob I'm not. If I was I wouldn't have the kit I own, instead I would have some expensive pre/power amp or all-in-one contraption with Harbeth speakers with silly priced designer stands.

Anyway, back on topic. The Exposure CD 2010 is fabulous *for the money* unsure if this 3010 is a big enough upgrade to justify the price, hence why I'll give it a miss.

 

[podknocker]

Exposure need to make a streamer, with the same DAC. It will sound the same and there's no cheap transport to break!

 

[plastic penguin]

I don't consider you to be elitist at all, but there are some, even on this forum, that want to steer the unwary towards stupidly expensive items, that simply cannot offer the suggested levels of sound quality.

Anyone buying an £8k fuse, or £1k power cord, needs to recalibrate their expectations of what this stuff can or can't do and how physical materials do have limits. This is not Star Trek.

I'm similar to you and have budgeted and gradually upgraded, over the last 35 years and realised there is a point where you are simply wasting money and no longer fall for the hype and BS which exist in this sector.

I don't think you can go into a shop, even on a tight budget and buy a system that will make your ears bleed. Most modern kit sounds half decent. You spend a bit more and it improves and then you spend a bit more and again, you get a better sound.

Electronics and electrical components, along with human hearing, have limits. Many companies resort to embellishments and nonsense, to stand out and people love buying stuff that stands out. It makes them feel special. If Unicorn horn, plain or gold plated was available, they'd use it.

I'm hoping to upgrade to a £3125 Leema Quasar (£2125 after trade in) and I know this is a lot to pay, but I think it will sound better than my Omnia and it is powerful and should last. I'm hopefully not going to regret it, but I certainly resent paying £2125 for this device. Anything more than this would be a complete waste of money.

It's a plain looking amp, so I'm hoping the money will go on solid engineering and parts with fine tolerances etc. I know it's a lot and I have decided it's my last fling with HIFI. The daft stuff, like £8k fuses, I will leave the the uneducated with deep pockets.

Have a guess what I use as a power cord for all my devices? The kettle leads that came with the product.

To me all these expensive add-ons are a waste of money.

 

[richwhite08]

Technology moves on with everything, evolution. I get that. What you don't seem to grasp is streaming doesn't appeal to me.

???

I'm not trying to convince you to start streaming - I want people to enjoy music however they best prefer.

 

[plastic penguin]

Think the problem nowadays is there's too much choice, which can be a real positive and it can be a mass of confusion.

From day one I've grown up listening to vinyl and it's been a constant even when CD players, Laser discs were in 'in thing'. I was pretty late to join the CD party, my first CD player was the Rotel in 1997, some 15 years after the first CD player was launched.

As a consequence, my current system has been purely built to maximize the lovely organic sound that only comes the black spinny stuff. The fact I love the Exposure and Arcam CDPs before it is nothing more than a very nice bonus.

 

[WayneKerr]

I'll chime-in. Two years ago I replaced a £1K CDP with a £4K CDP... was there a difference? You bet there was! Not 4x better but definitely better. I seldom use the CD tray as I've ripped most of my CDs to FLAC and just use the DAC in the CDP to stream local files on a hard-drive.

I actually believe the Ruby CDP is the star of my curent system... of course the amp is tremendous too.

Edit: The above isn't intended as a brag by any means as I got the system at 40% off. Someone earlier was referring that expensive CDPs aren't worth the cash, or where does the cash go? Performance!

 

[plastic penguin]

I'll chime-in. Two years ago I replaced a £1K CDP with a £4K CDP... was there a difference? You bet there was! Not 4x better but definitely better. I seldom use the CD tray as I've ripped most of my CDs to FLAC and just use the DAC in the CDP to stream local files on a hard-drive.

I actually believe the Ruby CDP is the star of my curent system... of course the amp is tremendous too.

Was your previous CDP the Pearl Lite?

I bet your system is great for vinyl.

 

[Noddy]

I don't think you can go into a shop, even on a tight budget and buy a system that will make your ears bleed. Most modern kit sounds half decent. You spend a bit more and it improves and then you spend a bit more and again, you get a better sound.

…

I'm hoping to upgrade to a £3125 Leema Quasar (£2125 after trade in) and I know this is a lot to pay, but I think it will sound better than my Omnia and it is powerful and should last. I'm hopefully not going to regret it, but I certainly resent paying £2125 for this device. Anything more than this would be a complete waste of money.

I am sure it is beautifully made, and performs equally well, but do you need 180W into 8 Ohm per channel? A large part of the cost, perhaps most, goes into providing the huge power output.

On a similar note, are you familiar with the Bob Carver challenge, and the budget amps he produced as a result of that experiment?

That said, I spend about £3,000 a year on skating and hockey, and your amp is not a huge outlay in that context. And just think of all the exercise you will get, dancing round your room in a state of transcendant ecstasy.

 

[WayneKerr]

Was your previous CDP the Pearl Lite?

I bet your system is great for vinyl.

Yep, Pearl Lite pair, just sold the amp, might keep the CDP as it's SACD.

To be honest PP I've probably spun the turntable three times over the last two years as digital sounds so damned good. However, Gray brought over a mint 12" single and I've never ever heard anything sound so good in my lounge, incredible

 

[plastic penguin]

Yep, Pearl Lite pair, just sold the amp, might keep the CDP as it's SACD.

To be honest PP I've probably spun the turntable three times over the last two years as digital sounds so damned good. However, Gray brought over a mint 12" single and I've never ever heard anything sound so good in my lounge, incredible

Doesn't seem worth keeping the turntable.

Some records can sound stunning

 

[plastic penguin]

I'm hoping to upgrade to a £3125 Leema Quasar (£2125 after trade in) and I know this is a lot to pay, but I think it will sound better than my Omnia and it is powerful and should last. I'm hopefully not going to regret it, but I certainly resent paying £2125 for this device. Anything more than this would be a complete waste of money.

It's a plain looking amp, so I'm hoping the money will go on solid engineering and parts with fine tolerances etc. I know it's a lot and I have decided it's my last fling with HIFI. The daft stuff, like £8k fuses, I will leave the the uneducated with deep pockets.

If my Pulse or Tucana is a yardstick the cream of the Quasar should rise to the top. You'll have to decide whether it's single, double or whipped cream. Then you'll understand where the money has gone.

 

[podknocker]

The Leema Quasar will be most expensive item I've ever bought and I do hope it's easy to use, reliable and the networking side is robust and holds onto a cable free signal. My Omnia is stable and is working perfectly, but I don't use the CD player and as I've said earlier, the sound is far too safe, flat and lifeless. I'm hoping the Leema will be very quick, clean and ruthlessly revealing, with a good dose of PRaT! Be a speaker upgrade then and it's going to be the final purchase. My QA3030i are budget speakers, but they might sound better, with the Leema to kick them up the backside. We'll see.

 

[plastic penguin]

The Leema Quasar will be most expensive item I've ever bought and I do hope it's easy to use, reliable and the networking side is robust and holds onto a cable free signal. My Omnia is stable and is working perfectly, but I don't use the CD player and as I've said earlier, the sound is far too safe, flat and lifeless. I'm hoping the Leema will be very quick, clean and ruthlessly revealing, with a good dose of PRaT! Be a speaker upgrade then and it's going to be the final purchase. My QA3030i are budget speakers, but they might sound better, with the Leema to kick them up the backside. We'll see.

The Leema will certainly make your little QAs sound alive. But you won't hear the full potential unless you go up the QA ladder or some other brand.

Mine sounded impressive with £600 RS6s but up to Dali Rubicons and they've taken the level up considerably.

 

[podknocker]

I must have standmounts with screw in stands and the Dali Rubicons don't offer this. Compact floorstanders are an option, but I'm wary of that upper bass lift and I really want to avoid the 'honk' and 'drone'. I never thought speaker selection would be this difficult!

 

[plastic penguin]

I must have standmounts with screw in stands and the Dali Rubicons don't offer this. Compact floorstanders are an option, but I'm wary of that upper bass lift and I really want to avoid the 'honk' and 'drone'. I never thought speaker selection would be this difficult!

Why screw in stands?

Don't understand the the upper bass lift. Leema doesn't have any roll off, it's crisp throughout the frequencies but never bright or brittle.

No hi-fi is "perfect", and I'll be staggered if you find a amp that will cater for all your sonic and connectivity needs than the Quasar.

I've had had 4-5 people who purchased the Pulse on my recommendations over the years and all of them have loved it, only changing it to the much better Tucana or Leema pre/power amps.

The latest was someone who's a confessed box swapper and upgraded to a Tucana.

Just listen to the darn thing and you decide.

 

[WayneKerr]

'ere, Pod, yesterday I got several replies on this thread from you notified to me in my email inbox. I come on the site to read them thoroughly and they're not here? Do you delete them or do they somehow get lost?

 

[podknocker]

Why screw in stands?

Don't understand the the upper bass lift. Leema doesn't have any roll off, it's crisp throughout the frequencies but never bright or brittle.

No hi-fi is "perfect", and I'll be staggered if you find a amp that will cater for all your sonic and connectivity needs than the Quasar.

I've had had 4-5 people who purchased the Pulse on my recommendations over the years and all of them have loved it, only changing it to the much better Tucana or Leema pre/power amps.

The latest was someone who's a confessed box swapper and upgraded to a Tucana.

Just listen to the darn thing and you decide.

If I can listen to one at Richer Sounds, with the QA3030i, or speakers very similar and I'm not staggered by the sound, then I won't be getting one. I'll see if RS can stick something better on the end of it and I'll ask for a lengthy listen.

 

[plastic penguin]

'ere, Pod, yesterday I got several replies on this thread from you notified to me in my email inbox. I come on the site to read them thoroughly and they're not here? Do you delete them or do they somehow get lost?

Who knows?

I won't mention Leema anymore. I doubt it will happen.

 

[plastic penguin]

If I can listen to one at Richer Sounds, with the QA3030i, or speakers very similar and I'm not staggered by the sound, then I won't be getting one. I'll see if RS can stick something better on the end of it and I'll ask for a lengthy listen.

As I said you won't hear the best of any 2k plus amp with £250 speakers, however good they might be.

 

[podknocker]

I'd call the QA3030i 'easy listening' regardless of music played through them. I think an upgrade will be required.

 

[WayneKerr]

Who knows?

I won't mention Leema anymore. I doubt it will happen.

Who knows?

I won't mention Leema anymore. I doubt it will happen.

Sorry PP, my question was directed at Podknocker.

 

[plastic penguin]

Sorry PP, my question was directed at Podknocker.

I know. Thought I'd interject. Seems like he's left the forum with a line through his username.

Quite sad really.

 

[WayneKerr]

I know. Thought I'd interject. Seems like he's left the forum with a line through his username.

Quite sad really.

Cheers, PP Think the line through username just means he's logged out.

 

[plastic penguin]

Cheers, PP Think the line through username just means he's logged out.

Not sure what the line means. Do you see a line through my username when I log out? Also, there's little info, including "last seen".