Your gear characteristics?

[GSyL]

New to the forum - thought to see how everyone would describe the subjective characteristics of their gear. Any sonic signatures you look for and have achieved? Best adjectives win. Here are a few of mine;

Marantz 300dc amplifier. Solid state monster. Punchy sound. Clear but not harsh on the highs. Very musical. Heavy. The wild girl at the bar who loves rock music. Car reference: Mustang Shelby.

NYAL Moscode 600 tube/hybrid amplifier. Power and clarity. Airiness, open. More musical than the marantz, especially on lighter music like jazz or classical. The wild girl at the bar you realize you can take home to meet the parents. Car reference: GMC Yukon.

Thorens 166mkii turntable with Nagoaka MP-200: Beautiful. Immersive. Very particular and sensitive due to the belt drive and suspended chassis. If you are willing to put in the effort, you will be rewarded with sonic bliss paired with the MP-200. The high maintenance girl you can't seem to part ways with. Bike reference: Harley Davidson

ADS L1530 speakers: Open, airy, full of body, warm. Seems to cover the musical spectrum. Has the ability to slay other speakers. Doesn't require a sub but when added they are even better. The keeper wife who just clicks. Power hungry. Cadillac Escalade

Linn Sara isobarik speakers: Punchy, tight, power hungry. Mid-range bliss when paired with a solid state amp. If you don't have the power these will leave you scratching your head. They need to be pushed in a bad way (rated at 4ohms, but has registered down to 2 at times). If you have the juice you will hear magic. Just don't approach this girl unless you have the energy to keep up. 69 Chevy Camaro.

 

[Al ears]

New to the forum - thought to see how everyone would describe the subjective characteristics of their gear. Any sonic signatures you look for and have achieved? Best adjectives win. Here are a few of mine;

Marantz 300dc amplifier. Solid state monster. Punchy sound. Clear but not harsh on the highs. Very musical. Heavy. The wild girl at the bar who loves rock music. Car reference: Mustang Shelby.

NYAL Moscode 600 tube/hybrid amplifier. Power and clarity. Airiness, open. More musical than the marantz, especially on lighter music like jazz or classical. The wild girl at the bar you realize you can take home to meet the parents. Car reference: GMC Yukon.

Thorens 166mkii turntable with Nagoaka MP-200: Beautiful. Immersive. Very particular and sensitive due to the belt drive and suspended chassis. If you are willing to put in the effort, you will be rewarded with sonic bliss paired with the MP-200. The high maintenance girl you can't seem to part ways with. Bike reference: Harley Davidson

ADS L1530 speakers: Open, airy, full of body, warm. Seems to cover the musical spectrum. Has the ability to slay other speakers. Doesn't require a sub but when added they are even better. The keeper wife who just clicks. Power hungry. Cadillac Escalade

Linn Sara isobarik speakers: Punchy, tight, power hungry. Mid-range bliss when paired with a solid state amp. If you don't have the power these will leave you scratching your head. They need to be pushed in a bad way (rated at 4ohms, but has registered down to 2 at times). If you have the juice you will hear magic. Just don't approach this girl unless you have the energy to keep up. 69 Chevy Camaro.

Not a Yank so cannot comment.

 

[record_spot]

My current main setup - Marantz PM80 MkII amp, Mission 751 speakers (the originals not the drab Freedom models that followed) and the Oppo BDP83-SE NuForce Edition universal player.

Just gives me sound the way I like it - clear, detailed, a very fine midrange, nice but not excessive treble and a balanced bass.

Altogether a better system than you'd believe for the money I spent and some yardage better than a fair few setups I've heard at audio shows in the last couple of years.

 

[abacus]

Never go for a sound characteristic as I like to hear the music as it was intended (Warts an all)
Within the limitations of the room my current system does a decent job at this.

Bill

 

[GSyL]

Never go for a sound characteristic as I like to hear the music as it was intended (Warts an all)
Within the limitations of the room my current system does a decent job at this.

Bill

Thanks to all for the replies so far - good point made here and I should have clarified in the OP is that the sonic signatures may or may not be desired. Most of mine were discovered just from general use over the years after swapping things in and out...and just a little tongue in cheek with the car and girl references.

 

[RJW232]

Equipment should not have any signature. As Peter Walker said: all well designed amplifiers should sound the same as long as they are used within their specifications. Differences in sound are mainly caused by loudspeakers and even in that case, differences shouldn't huge, again when used within their specifications. Of course a larger loudspeaker can produce more base, but in let's say the range of 70....20000 Hz, there shouldn't be much differences. If it needs to be punchy or smooth, the record producer and engineer have the final say in that. Otherwise we can ignore the fi in hifi.

 

[Noddy]

My system sounds like the music I play, so I suppose the sonic signature includes rock, blues, jazz, african and twentieth century classical. There was a background hum, but I added a mains conditioner.

As said earlier, an amplifier is a solved problem and should be neutral unless designed to be coloured. So the speakers are a weak spot. Even then many are close to neutral. And then we have the room acoustics. That is usually significant.

 

[Jasonovich]

Speakers will always sound coloured largely due to room acoustics and positioning.
The speakers I have in the bedroom and diner are compromised and yet, it doesn't get in the way of the music.

With the former the Dalis combined with the Atoll amp, always draws me in, it is Harry Potter magical.

The Adam A7V active speakers working in tandem with Focal subwoofer one, breathes music like oxygen, it goes anal on detail and never loses its integrity to deliver the perfect sound.
My diner and lounge setup, are more functional, and delivers in a multi format setup.

My headphone setup in the bedroom and study, is the great escape, it's personal, it is the closest to interacting with the artist.

 

[Fandango Andy]

Most people end up with a system either by auditioning components and keeping what they like, rejecting what they don't like.

Or by pot luck based on a review, what someone told them, what they read on a forum, recommend is shop, on sale, given to them.

They then either stick with what they have or change it using one of the above processes.

Anyone who tells you they want the most "resolving" or "analytical", or wants to hear the music "as the artist intended" is kidding themselves.

The idea that there is an ideal sound and anything that deviates from it is wrong is lunacy. If it were true everything would sound the same. All products have their own sound, some companies may have a "house signature" sound, others may differ from product to product, but things just sound different! Many people love B&W speakers, I have auditioned two pairs and didn't like them as much as my old Tannoy. I picked a pair of Triangle over B&W in a blind test. Maybe I don't like B&W, maybe the next pair I hear will be great!

We all go for what sounds good to us within the confines of our budget, hearing abilities, and rooms.

If the stereotypes are true my combination of Merantz and Tannoy suggests I like a "warmer sound". What I like about it:
Great clarity for voices.
Good sound stage when listening to Jazz.
Clean enveloping, not boomy bass on orchestral/classical.

 

[Gel]

I have always liked a so-called bright Pioneer amp with B&W speakers that are neutral. I have had this sound for about 22 years now and have recently bought the same again, so I must really like it! I mean some say B&W speakers are bright too but I have never found that. I like good bass and heavy rock 🎸 music.

I first audition this combination at my local home cinema shop where my dad took me as he was demoing for himself. And fell in love with the sound. And kept with it ever since.

 

[matthewpianist]

I think my system leans towards the neutral side now, certainly the digital sources, amp and speakers do. Vinyl can never be truly neutral because it isn't the nature of the beast, but set-up properly the 2mr Red is less falsely warm than many similarly priced cartridges - though far from perfect. I'm happy with that overall, because I listen to a very wide range of music, and it means my system doesn't favour one genre over another. It's also quite revealing, which is useful when I'm reviewing recordings for work, and the PMCs reproduce piano better than any other relatively affordable small speaker I have owned or heard (in a different class to the Spendor A1s I used to own, and perhaps that's partly down to the transmission line).

What isn't neutral is the room, and that's the limiting factor in any system, and the one that most of us can do the least about, because we live in the real world where we have no choice but to make compromises.

 

[Paul.]

I like my hifi because I don’t think about my hifi when I listen to my hifi anymore. Would you call that transparent?

 

[Gray]

Anyone who tells you they want the most "resolving" or "analytical", or wants to hear the music "as the artist intended" is kidding themselves.

I really don't think they're kidding themselves if they want that Andy.
It's what hi-fi means to me.

The idea that there is an ideal sound and anything that deviates from it is wrong is lunacy.

Well I'm a lunatic then 🤪
Of course there's nothing whatsoever wrong people's personal SQ tastes.

Nobody's ever going to achieve true accuracy from reproduced sound. But deliberately trying to deviate from accuracy, to me, is a form of lunacy.

Surely most people would prefer that their money goes towards getting closer, to, rather than further from the sound of the original recording.

 

[Revolutions]

does “humble” count as a characteristic? Seen plenty of photos with that word as the description 😁

 

[Fandango Andy]

I really don't think they're kidding themselves if they want that Andy.
It's what hi-fi means to me.

Well I'm a lunatic then 🤪
Of course there's nothing whatsoever wrong people's personal SQ tastes.

Nobody's ever going to achieve true accuracy from reproduced sound. But deliberately trying to deviate from accuracy, to me, is a form of lunacy.

Surely most people would prefer that their money goes towards getting closer, to, rather than further from the sound of the original recording.

Sorry, I don't think I expressed my point very well. I understand that most people want the clearest sound with minimum distortion. Every piece of equipment and every room both in the recording and playback will introduce a degree of distortion.

You summed it up far better than me:

"Nobody's ever going to achieve true accuracy from reproduced sound."

 

[Jasonovich]

does “humble” count as a characteristic? Seen plenty of photos with that word as the description 😁

It's a pretext to, Not to offend 😂!

 

[Gray]

"Nobody's ever going to achieve true accuracy from reproduced sound."

That fact really hit me the first time I heard a full orchestra at fairly close range at the Albert Hall.
The effortless, natural sound has to be experienced to put hifi into perspective.

 

[matthewpianist]

That fact really hit me the first time I heard a full orchestra at fairly close range at the Albert Hall.
The effortless, natural sound has to be experienced to put hifi into perspective.

I agree entirely.

For even better, more natural orchestral sound, visit Bridgewater Hall in Manchester (if you haven't already), which has a far better acoustic than RAH.

 

[Jasonovich]

That fact really hit me the first time I heard a full orchestra at fairly close range at the Albert Hall.
The effortless, natural sound has to be experienced to put hifi into perspective.

I've been to RAH a few times, an incredible experience.
I'm holding on to my Ronnie Scott vouchers a while longer, I'll treat my missus when it's her birthday.

 

[RTHerringbone]

I haven't had enough Hi-Fi kit to really be able to assign specific audiophile waffle to each component. One thing I know for sure is that when I moved from an Arcam A25 to the Naim NAIT 50 and then from KEF LS50 Meta to the Neat Petite Classics, on both occasions I got a far more engaging sense of fun and rhythm.

Perhaps my Hi-Fi ears aren't as well tuned as those of others, but I do feel a bit suspicious when people reel off a detailed appraisal of component A versus component B. The limit of my assessment is usually: "Does this sound better and captivate me more than the last thing?"

 

[Fandango Andy]

I agree entirely.

For even better, more natural orchestral sound, visit Bridgewater Hall in Manchester (if you haven't already), which has a far better acoustic than RAH.

Not been to either, but have been to Symphony Hall Birmingham which is amazing.

 

[matthewpianist]

Not been to either, but have been to Symphony Hall Birmingham which is amazing.

I went there for the first time last week, to see Emmylou Harris on her European Farewell Tour. A wonderful night, and a venue I certainly want to return to.

 

[JoelSim]

I've got two systems albeit the same source and the same location.

I'll start with the smaller sound signature. Primare i32 into Sonus Faber Lumina 1 speakers - punchy, fast yet can listen for the whole day with no issues. Generally used for electronic music - car would be a Mini John Cooper Works.

The larger system - Leema Tucana 2 in Sonus Faber Sonetto 2 speakers is for scale and red wine listening! The sound is detailed and enveloping, beautiful with acoustic and electronic, perhaps a touch soft with rock as it takes the edge off, but then again I don't really listen to rock - car would be cossetting, luxurious and comfortable, but with oodles of power, a Jaguar XJS or a Maserati.