New Quad Vena

[Al ears]

There are Quad FM4 tuners on the bay.

Nnnnice

Plenty of Creek Tuners as well I would imagine. They too are class. Sometimes wish I had not sold mine now but, with current situation, rarely use FM now.

Owned a FM2 once which was probably the best I have heard without spending silly money, but needed a decent aerial.

 

[chebby]

There are Quad FM4 tuners on the bay.

Nnnnice

Sadly they are too big and a little pricey for what they do. (Expensive to repair as well.)

Plenty of Creek Tuners as well I would imagine. They too are class.

This is what a Creek AM/FM tuner looks like nowadays ...

(The size 'clue' is the gold plated 75 Ohm aerial socket poking out at the top of the module.)

I expect my Pro-ject Tuner Box S will look similar inside. Nothing much to go wrong and no faff.

 

[Al ears]

There are Quad FM4 tuners on the bay.

Nnnnice

Sadly they are too big and a little pricey for what they do. (Expensive to repair as well.)

Plenty of Creek Tuners as well I would imagine. They too are class.

This is what a Creek AM/FM tuner looks like nowadays ...

(The size 'clue' is the gold plated 75 Ohm aerial socket poking out at the top of the module.)

I expect my Pro-ject Tuner Box S will look similar inside. Nothing much to go wrong and no faff.

Multiple post, sorry.

 

[Al ears]

There are Quad FM4 tuners on the bay.

Nnnnice

Sadly they are too big and a little pricey for what they do. (Expensive to repair as well.)

Plenty of Creek Tuners as well I would imagine. They too are class.

This is what a Creek AM/FM tuner looks like nowadays ...

(The size 'clue' is the gold plated 75 Ohm aerial socket poking out at the top of the module.)

I expect my Pro-ject Tuner Box S will look similar inside. Nothing much to go wrong and no faff.

That's only a Creek tuner if you have a Creek amp to plug it in to.

 

[Al ears]

There are Quad FM4 tuners on the bay.

Nnnnice

Sadly they are too big and a little pricey for what they do. (Expensive to repair as well.)

Plenty of Creek Tuners as well I would imagine. They too are class.

This is what a Creek AM/FM tuner looks like nowadays ...

(The size 'clue' is the gold plated 75 Ohm aerial socket poking out at the top of the module.)

I expect my Pro-ject Tuner Box S will look similar inside. Nothing much to go wrong and no faff.

Multiple post, sorry.

 

[plastic penguin]

I've just realised (seeing the newly redundant FM aerial cable) that this is the first time - since the age of 18 - I have been without an FM tuner.

Second hand Sony ST-88 bought in 1981. (It was about 1975 vintage I think and was a favourite.)

Replaced a few years later with the QED T260 to match my QED A240 SA ...

Then the 'Rega Radio' that partnered an original 'clamshell' Rega Brio amp from 1996 until 2007 ...

Then the Arcam Solo Mini ...

And a Naim NAT05 that was used with a Nait 5i-2 and CD5i-2...

Until the M-CR603 that i've just replaced after four and a half years of excellent service.

I am somehow troubled by this lack of a 'proper' radio (despite having radio via all my iThings and iPlayer and via Freeview HD) and my finger is hovering over 'Add To Cart' for one of these ...

(About four inches wide!)

Agree with DM - don't give up on FM. I still love my Denon 260L MKII, and for £14.00 it has to be the best pound-for-pound hi-fi purchase.

Just harking back to the speaker situation. I know you've constantly mentioned over the years your appreciation for sealed boxed units. But your persuit of Wimslow HB1s or similar copies of the original HBs may leave you a bit flat in terms of SQ.

They may use same/similar drivers to the originals, and even assuming they are as good, you might be slightly underwhelmed by infinite baffle after years of ported units. Nostalgia gets to us all at times, and just concerned you could *possibly* be looking at these designs through rose tinted glasses.

I'm not trying to tell you what you should/shouldn't buy - just a friendly word of caution.

 

[matthewpiano]

I understand where you are coming from with your word of caution PP and I think for many people, infinite baffle might not give them the sound they want.

However, like Chebby, I would very much like to end up with some infinite baffle speakers. LS3/5a are still the most musical and enjoyable speakers I've ever heard, and that was relatively recently. I've heard new sealed designs by Harbeth, and also older sealed designs by a range of brands including KEF, Mordaunt-Short, and Linn. They all share a more natural sound without the often un-natural bass often provided in a ported design.

Time will tell.

 

[chebby]

Just harking back to the speaker situation. I know you've constantly mentioned over the years your appreciation for sealed boxed units. But your persuit of Wimslow HB1s or similar copies of the original HBs may leave you a bit flat in terms of SQ.

They may use same/similar drivers to the originals, and even assuming they are as good, you might be slightly underwhelmed by infinite baffle after years of ported units. Nostalgia gets to us all at times, and just concerned you could *possibly* be looking at these designs through rose tinted glasses.

I'm not trying to tell you what you should/shouldn't buy - just a friendly word of caution.

Firstly I have had a pair of mint/boxed JPW Sonatas (infinite baffle cabinets with 5" bass/mids) in the cupboard for a few years and they have come out semi-regularly for an 'airing' and to remind myself of what they sound like and to check they still work. (Although I replaced the tweeters for MNIB examples when I first bought them.)

Unlike my old - ported - Mordaunt Short MS20i Pearls, I can't quite bring myself to sell the Sonatas, so they are boxed away as 'spares'. ('Just in case' etc.) There is enough of that gorgeous sealed enclosure mid-range to justify keeping them for an occasional fix. They are also reasonably usable @ 87dB with my moderate tastes in volume levels.

Secondly that sealed-enclosure mid-range character still 'lives' in my Rega R3s where the forward facing mid/bass driver is enclosed in its own sealed compartment (box within a box) inside the top of the cabinet. (Probably the reason it is located above the tweeter.

My Sonatas and the R3s have 'balanced' veneers (both have cabinets that are veneered inside and outside) which may also have some bearing on the respective loudspeaker's 'voicing' too. I am not sure if this is standard practice in the industry or not.

Either way I am looking into various options that include bespoke cabinets (balanced veneers or birch plywood etc.)

I want to get this right and it might include getting some shagged HB1s cheaply and having them re-foamed and re-crossovered just to test the concept before buying a smart, new pair.

I am convinced that pre-fashion, pre-WAF proportioned speakers still have something to offer.

 

[plastic penguin]

I'm assuming the 'Pearls' have now gone, is that right?

 

[chebby]

I'm assuming the 'Pearls' have now gone, is that right?

Ages ago. Got about double what I paid

 

[plastic penguin]

I'm assuming the 'Pearls' have now gone, is that right?

Ages ago. Got about double what I paid

Happy days.

 

[steve_1979]

Nice one Chebby. Enjoy.

Hope you're feeling better soon too.

 

[chebby]

Thanks Steve.

I still haven't unsealed the Apple TV box or the optical cable I bought the other day (for AirPlay) and I have decided to return them to John Lewis today.

Since installing the Vena I have been using it's Bluetooth as - so I thought - a stopgap measure until I could be bothered to setup the ATV. It got me wondering why bother? The Bluetooth sounds fine and there is b###er all difference when playing 320K AAC VBR files direct to the Vena's DAC with a Lightning --> USB connector or using Bluetooth instead.

The ATV would just mean three more cables (ethernet, power and optical) and for what? AirPlay has more range? Don't need it. I don't do multi-room. Any source I am going to use will always be within a few metres of the hi-fi. More quality? As above, plug it in directly to the Quad's own DAC. (Although i've already done the direct comparison and not heard any difference.)

So i'm off to get my money back. (I feel like 'gel' returning stuff to JL!)

 

[ID.]

Thanks Steve.

I still haven't unsealed the Apple TV box or the optical cable I bought the other day (for AirPlay) and I have decided to return them to John Lewis today.

Since installing the Vena I have been using it's Bluetooth as - so I thought - a stopgap measure until I could be bothered to setup the ATV. It got me wondering why bother? The Bluetooth sounds fine and there is b###er all difference when playing 320K AAC VBR files direct to the Vena's DAC with a Lightning --> USB connector or using Bluetooth instead.

The ATV would just mean three more cables (ethernet, power and optical) and for what? AirPlay has more range? Don't need it. I don't do multi-room. Any source I am going to use will always be within a few metres of the hi-fi. More quality? As above, plug it in directly to the Quad's own DAC. (Although i've already done the direct comparison and not heard any difference.)

So i'm off to get my money back. (I feel like 'gel' returning stuff to JL!)

So not just returning it because of rumours of an imminent updated ATV then? Good to hear

 

[chebby]

So not just returning it because of rumours of an imminent updated ATV then? Good to hear

I didn't need most of the functionality of the present ATV (just AirPort audio I thought), so I certainly won't need the updated/new version.

This is not a swipe at Apple. (Just in case anyone needs it to be for their own agenda.)

I just don't need one any more, upgraded or not.

 

[steve_1979]

When I tried streaming via Bluetooth to my Nakamichi AV1 processsor it sounded exellent. I didn't do a direct A/B comparision with a wired connection but based on what I heard there isn't much, if any, difference.

 

[ID.]

So not just returning it because of rumours of an imminent updated ATV then? Good to hear

I didn't need most of the functionality of the present ATV (just AirPort audio I thought), so I certainly won't need the updated/new version.

This is not a swipe at Apple. (Just in case anyone needs it to be for their own agenda.)

I just don't need one any more, upgraded or not.

Mine is pretty much only used so I can stream from my iPhone or Mini using AirPlay, so I know where you're coming from.

Tried using it to let us show YouTube videos of kids shows, etc. to our toddler, but that was like crack for him so it was best for everyone for him to go cold turkey and the ATV just be a streamer for me.

 

[Snooker]

Chebby, I know you loved your Marantz MCR603 and I have the Denon Ceol N8, how much better sounding is your new system compared to the Marantz MCR603 ?

 

[chebby]

Chebby, I know you loved your Marantz MCR603 and I have the Denon Ceol N8, how much better sounding is your new system compared to the Marantz MCR603 ?

I'm not good at quantifying such differences.

At first it's a relief that it doesn't sound worse! By now - after a few days - it's a certain feeling that I have no need to unpack the Marantz to check.

The Quad sounds a little smoother and warmer and more 'gutsy' despite similar specifications on paper.

On the whole I believe i've made the right move. I'm not going to suddenly start playing my system louder or using inefficient speakers or move it all into a bigger room, so it wasn't necessary to get a powerhouse amp.

I am trying to avoid getting into nebulous terms like 'more musical'. I am not musically trained, so I don't feel qualified to get into that. I still find certain favourite music 'infectious' even on a 'no-fi', mono Ruark kitchen radio, so I don't think that property only belongs to certain kinds (or brands) of system. However, along with our kitchen radio, the Quad can bop too. Maybe, just maybe, a little more than the old Marantz? I think so sometimes, but I can't swear to it (and I am not unpacking anything now so it'll have to remain a feeling rather than a certainty).

 

[Snooker]

Interesting what you have said as the Marantz and Denon all in one systems really do sound excellent, and I think some people who have not heard them would be surprised in just how good they sound, and glad that you are now very happy in finding another suitable system *smile*

 

[chebby]

Now I know I really like it!

Been having a bit a Dr Feelgood afternoon and was on my feet at times (that hasn't happened for while!). I've certainly never played 'air harmonica' before...

 

[Al ears]

Now I know I really like it!



Been having a bit a Dr Feelgood afternoon and was on my feet at times (that hasn't happened for while!). I've certainly never played 'air harmonica' before...

You've obviously had a unadventurous childhood.

Enjoy!

 

[chebby]

I went to pick up the new Atacama SL600i stands today and saw a 'Unison Research Simply Italy' valve integrated amplifier in the shop. Placed near the door so no-one can can ignore it.

It is troubling me despite being a really stupid idea that I am really not not going to follow up.

 

[CnoEvil]

What price was it?

 

[drummerman]

I went to pick up the new Atacama SL600i stands today and saw a 'Unison Research Simply Italy' valve integrated amplifier in the shop. Placed near the door so no-one can can ignore it.

It is troubling me despite being a really stupid idea that I am really not not going to follow up.

Yes, really stupid. Unthinkable. Totally dismissable.

When are you going to listen to it?