record_spot
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Tell that to Dougal
Thread 'My modest collection' https://forums.whathifi.com/threads/my-modest-collection.135757/
Al ears
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Angle Poise-Lamp
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Nostalgia is often very inaccurate. People frequently have a rose-tinted view of the past.
record_spot
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That depends on what you're looking to recall. I agree when it comes into this notion that everything was better in the 40s and 50s (it wasn't) but not for a whole bunch of other stuff.
I pulled the trigger yesterday at just before 15:00 expecting it to arrive tomorrow, turned up at 10:30 this morning.@Shrek look forward to hearing your thoughts on Planars & the JT7 once you've got to know them 😊
It's a nice looking unit 👍
Its a really solid unit I think because of the side wooden panels and the face plate , then the feet really grab at the shelf when you set it down its sat down, if that makes sense.
Connected it coax out to my amp (NAD M17v2i & NAD M23) straight out of the box it sounded congested and confused by bass lines so I turned off the amp and stuck it on repeat for a couple of hours to warm up. (When I say warm up I mean reach operating temperature.)
I've been listening to it for the last 3 or 4 hours and I'm really happy with it, sound stage is wide , high and deep. instruments are well placed and distinct .
I've played a couple of "test" discs and then after that I've been feeding it with a lot of 80&90s compilation CDs because they're party CDs and badly scratched and abused its played them all.
The remote feels like you found it in a Christmas cracker but it has a good angle of response.
I say don't be put off by the discounted price its a genuine bargain.
nopiano
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No, they’re not. I’ve got my Sonus Fabers in use, with the ATCs tucked away to one side. Upstairs I’ve QA and Mission bookshelf types for the occasional use.
nopiano
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Al ears
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I am quite nostalgic about kit I once owned but got rid of, and shouldn't really have done so. Nothing rose-tinted about that.....
Jasonovich
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Hell has just frozen over on my grave, I just purchased an Apple product!!!!!
Please I need to be institutionalized 🙂
I'm enjoying a lot of Apple TV shows like Silo on my IPTV service, and there's 3 month subscription free if you own an Apple product and they're selling refurbished 4K units for under £80 with remote, what's there to lose?
Please I need to be institutionalized 🙂
I'm enjoying a lot of Apple TV shows like Silo on my IPTV service, and there's 3 month subscription free if you own an Apple product and they're selling refurbished 4K units for under £80 with remote, what's there to lose?
Al ears
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jjbomber
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Jasonovich
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Hopefully watching it on AppleTV box will give me better 4K quality than IPTV VPN and I get to join the Apple Cool brigade ooooooh ah.... ha ha ha 😎 ........I hate that emoj reminds me of Bono!
£80 quid, less than a meal in a restaurant with the missus 🙂
Shrek
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Jason ouch thought you wasnt buying any thing else 🍩
That aside i dont understand why people slag Apple products .Ive got a 24 inch 2012 iMac been faultless2012 iPhone faultless 2013 Macbook Air faultless.
But i do think you rushed into this buy the 3rd Gen is much better faster chip and colour calibration & Dolby have a look here .With warranty and a good price.
The picture on Apple TV 4K is just amazing defo best TV streamer by far.
CeX
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Jasonovich
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Yeah better deal with CEX and comes with warranty.Jason ouch thought you wasnt buying any thing else 🍩
That aside i dont understand why people slag Apple products .Ive got a 24 inch 2012 iMac been faultless2012 iPhone faultless 2013 Macbook Air faultless.
But i do think you rushed into this buy the 3rd Gen is much better faster chip and colour calibration & Dolby have a look here .With warranty and a good price.
CeX
uk.webuy.com
Oh well,
£115 is more than the £80 I paid but would have paid extra for the better hardware.
Thanks for the heads up Shrek 🙂
Shrek
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You understand you still have to buy that meal tomorrow night don’t you 🙂 You should have 3 months free Apple Music , atmos via the HDMI out.
Welcome to the Dark side
Jasonovich
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I've already booked the restaurant James!😎
Thanks for the heads up on Apple music 👍
jjbomber
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nopiano
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In my ongoing hunt for a traditional tape monitor loop, for connecting my 3-head Nakamichi, I came upon this used Arcam FMJ C31 preamp after returning the faulty Roksan amp.
I connected the Arcam the other night and it’s been faultless so far. Must be getting on for twenty years old, but it’s in nice minty condition. The fluorescent display is clear but a bit patchy so I guess that’s the only sign of age, along with the main LED that shows red for off, amber for checking, and green for go. The green is a bit faded, so maybe it was left on permanently in the past. I must write to Arcam with the serial number to check its age.
Brand new original remote too, which funnily came with AAA batteries that expired a few years ago, plus the original box and manual.
Am using the Linn DSM as streamer, DAC and phono stage, hence it has Tascam and Technics connected. Everything else goes into the Arcam. Five sources isn’t too common I’m sure!
Lots of hidden settings, such as three ways to display the volume, three lighting settings, input level trim, etc. No phono stage fitted, but it was an option.
Original spec here, plus manuals for anyone curious. I always like a manufacturer who archives such things, so congratulations to Arcam. I’ve a hunch their FMJ series was one of their finer phases, some years before the Harman-Samsung takeover.
www.arcam.co.uk
I connected the Arcam the other night and it’s been faultless so far. Must be getting on for twenty years old, but it’s in nice minty condition. The fluorescent display is clear but a bit patchy so I guess that’s the only sign of age, along with the main LED that shows red for off, amber for checking, and green for go. The green is a bit faded, so maybe it was left on permanently in the past. I must write to Arcam with the serial number to check its age.
Brand new original remote too, which funnily came with AAA batteries that expired a few years ago, plus the original box and manual.
Am using the Linn DSM as streamer, DAC and phono stage, hence it has Tascam and Technics connected. Everything else goes into the Arcam. Five sources isn’t too common I’m sure!
Lots of hidden settings, such as three ways to display the volume, three lighting settings, input level trim, etc. No phono stage fitted, but it was an option.
Original spec here, plus manuals for anyone curious. I always like a manufacturer who archives such things, so congratulations to Arcam. I’ve a hunch their FMJ series was one of their finer phases, some years before the Harman-Samsung takeover.
Arcam - FMJ C31(Discontinued) - Stereo Pre-amplifier
The C31 is a superbly transparent music preamplifier and provides a level of performance and flexibility that will delight even the most demanding ...
www.arcam.co.uk
Attachments
record_spot
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I knew it wouldn't take long. Suddenly, I remembered all those amps I really fancied trying years ago and one popped its head above the parapet in my memory at the weekend. The Marantz PM80, or in this case, the Mark II version from the turn of the 90s through till about 1995 or so.
It's a bit of a monster amp - just under 19kgs in weight, it sold for around £400-£500 in 1994 (or at least, it sold in Germany for 1200DMs, which converted to the Sterling value of the day gets you to the GBP value, or slightly under). Today, that clocks in at around £1,000 when you take inflation into account.
I'll be honest, I've always wanted to try one of these out; I thought they just looked immense and wondered how they compared to the likes of the popular and junior PM-44SE of the day. Might as well buy one and find out!
Inputs are plentiful - four line-in (CD, tuner, 2xAux, 2xTape, MM/MC Phono stage capability and giving away its 1990s beginnings, even DCC - remember that?!) and the power isn't lacking either - 110wpc at 8 ohms and 160 at 4ohms.
Like a later marantz variant, the PM7000/7200, it'll also give you around 25wpc in pure Class A mode. Of this Marantz series of the day, it sat one below the PM-82 which was the TOTL in the range - I think - in Europe and sold for around 1,000DMs more, or whatever that is in UK money. Japan had the PM90 and maybe other models exclusive to that market, which wasn't unusual at the time.
Things to watch out for, I've read there were issues with some of the finishing internally, sometimes shoddy workmanship according to a couple of user reviews I've seen, so this might need a trip to a service centre for a tech to look into, but the seller says it's working well and all in good shape, so we'll see.
Really looking forward to getting this and comparing to the recapped NAD3120 - maybe not so much getting it out the box and set-up. I might need a physio appointment afterwards! I'll report back later and likely after the Bristol exhibition.
EDIT: Oh, that was the other thing - compared to other integrateds, this thing has an insane Damping Factor (which is the capability of the amp to control the physical excursion of your speakers' drivers). At an 8 ohms load, the MkII has a Damping Factor of 200. This was in a sub-£500 amp remember. Typically, you'd get maybe 70-90 at a push in the latter case, in domestic gear.
It's a bit of a monster amp - just under 19kgs in weight, it sold for around £400-£500 in 1994 (or at least, it sold in Germany for 1200DMs, which converted to the Sterling value of the day gets you to the GBP value, or slightly under). Today, that clocks in at around £1,000 when you take inflation into account.
I'll be honest, I've always wanted to try one of these out; I thought they just looked immense and wondered how they compared to the likes of the popular and junior PM-44SE of the day. Might as well buy one and find out!
Inputs are plentiful - four line-in (CD, tuner, 2xAux, 2xTape, MM/MC Phono stage capability and giving away its 1990s beginnings, even DCC - remember that?!) and the power isn't lacking either - 110wpc at 8 ohms and 160 at 4ohms.
Like a later marantz variant, the PM7000/7200, it'll also give you around 25wpc in pure Class A mode. Of this Marantz series of the day, it sat one below the PM-82 which was the TOTL in the range - I think - in Europe and sold for around 1,000DMs more, or whatever that is in UK money. Japan had the PM90 and maybe other models exclusive to that market, which wasn't unusual at the time.
Things to watch out for, I've read there were issues with some of the finishing internally, sometimes shoddy workmanship according to a couple of user reviews I've seen, so this might need a trip to a service centre for a tech to look into, but the seller says it's working well and all in good shape, so we'll see.
Really looking forward to getting this and comparing to the recapped NAD3120 - maybe not so much getting it out the box and set-up. I might need a physio appointment afterwards! I'll report back later and likely after the Bristol exhibition.
EDIT: Oh, that was the other thing - compared to other integrateds, this thing has an insane Damping Factor (which is the capability of the amp to control the physical excursion of your speakers' drivers). At an 8 ohms load, the MkII has a Damping Factor of 200. This was in a sub-£500 amp remember. Typically, you'd get maybe 70-90 at a push in the latter case, in domestic gear.
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