Your lottery win hi-fi.

[chebby]

Blah weather, post Christmas blues, jobs under threat, economic gloom.... etc..

Let's just allow ourselves some gratuitous (hifi) fantasy. It's cheap.

You have just won the lottery jackpot. (Or a researcher has found you are the sole living rightful heir to a fortune left by a Rothschild you never even knew you were related to!)

You have bought the new house with the dedicated listening room (in the converted barn?) all ready and waiting to install a wonderful new system.

So what are you going to get?

I now 'have' my rebuilt EMT broadcast turntable with 12" Ortofon RS-309-D tonearm and Ortofon SPU Royal GM MkII cartridge, and a whole raft of Audio Research valve amp/phono-stage gear, Tannoy Westminster Royal SE speakers, dCS Scarlatti DAC and upsampler, Sooloos music server.....

What are you 'buying'?

 

[plastic penguin]

I don't know chebs. There would, however, be other things to take priority, like a vintage car for the weekend, a smart houseboat and a bigger house.

I'll come back later once I've decided what hi-fi kit I would blow on a lottery win - it would'nt exceed more than 5 grand.

 

[Anonymous]

The Denon D-M37DAB. The yacht's not going to be that big.

 

[Anonymous]

(For the "listening room"): KEF Muon with (as Chebby said) Audio Research Ref3/Ref210 pre/monopower amplification, along with (as Chebby said also) dCS Scarlatti CD player system. Then I'd get the world's greatest LP12, just to boast that I have the ultimate LP12 and some serious cabling.

Then for the living room, I'd get the ultimate in Vintage Hi-Fi: Marantz 2600 receiver for the pre-amp with original rebuilt QUAD IIs for the power amps. Then for the speakers, it would have to be the B&W Model 70 and for the turntable, a Marantz TT1000. Then I'd have that Sooloos system for ripped CDs and a really good projector. Then to top it off (and it would be the centre of attention on its own dedicated plinth, I would have a Marantz 10B tuner...because it's my dream hi-fi item. Just look at it:

Then I'd get a Rolls Royce Phantom droptop and a Porsche 911 Carrera RS from 1973 and a yacht in Monaco with a B&O soundsystem on it.

 

[ElectroMan]

How about this little lot - makes everything mentioned so far look cheap!!!

 

[Anonymous]

Conrad Johnson for me. No idea which speakers though.

Not sure about source either but I'm sure there's plenty of suitable DACs to fulfill the lossless streaming requirement.

 

[matthewpiano]

Mine would look something like this:

Thorens TD550-1 Turntable
Denon DCD-SA1 CD Player
Denon PMA-SA1 Amplifier
Monitor Audio PL100 Speakers

Cable wise I'd stick with my current Chord Company Chameleon Silver+ and Chord Company Rumour 2. I'd also keep my current Denon TU1800DAB tuner.

I'd then have a seperate home theatre system in another room, comprising of:

Sony Bravia KDL-55X4500
Sky + HD
Denon A1UD Universal Blu-Ray Disc Player (imminent)
Denon ACP-A1HD
Denon POA-A1HD
2x Monitor Audio PL300 Floorstanding Speakers
4x Monitor Audio PL100 Standmount Speakers
Monitor Audio PLC350 Centre Speaker
Monitor Audio PLW15 Subwoofer.

I'd retain my Sony RDR-HXD995 recorder for freeview recordings, and use Chord cables throughout.

Finally, for the bedroom, I'd have a Sony KDL-40Z4500 TV with a BDP-S550 Blu-ray player. For music in this room I'd have a Linn Classik Musik with Epos M12i speakers.

IN MY DREAMS!!!!

 

[Anonymous]

Just won a tenner on tonights lottery, so of to RS for an Eltax CDP70 CD player (put the rest to from my christmas box), gonna keep getting my £2 aweek lucky dips and who knows, maybe an amp to follow.

Leahandanna

 

[Messiah]

For Movies it would be this:

and for stereo too. The best of both worlds!!!

Weblink

 

[john dolan]

Kondo

 

[Thaiman]

Kondo!

 

[Anonymous]

Forget the hi fi - money easily spent. I need to pay some staff to look after the kids, do the jobs, etc., so I can actually listen from time to time...

 

[floyd droid]

Kondo ksl-m77 pre,a couple of gakuoh power jobbies.Zanden 2000p /5000mk iv sig dac.Clearaudio master reference amg with TQ1 arm and goldfinger v2 cartridge (and why not !!) Topped off with Grande Utopias of course. Diminishing returns ? Well would that realy matter,nope i dont think so either.

 

[Anonymous]

I totally love the sound of the big B&W 800's. A pair of 802d's or 803d's would suite me just fine. I would, however, have to put the stereo into a bigger room.

 

[floyd droid]

WestCoastFun:I totally love the sound of the big B&W 800's. A pair of 802d's or 803d's would suite me just fine. I would, however, have to put the stereo into a bigger room.

You could always buy/design the house to suit your system with the win . Dream on eh .

 

[the record spot]

Here goes, well, this is what it would be today anyway. Tomorrow's choice could be different...!

Turntable: Garrard 501 from Loricraft Audio, SME V arm, Ortofon Kontrapunkt C cartridge, or one of the Koetsus if I'm seriously flush!

CD Player: Audio Research CD7

Amp: McIntosh MC2775

Tuner: Leak Troughline 2 (modded by One Thing Audio) and the best damn aerial money can buy!

Speakers: Quad ESL 2905 OR Rockport Mira Grands

Cabling: God knows, but suitably expensive. QED 79 strand as a reserve obviously...

 

[chebby]

the record spot:Turntable: Garrard 501 from Loricraft Audio, SME V arm, Ortofon Kontrapunkt C cartridge, or one of the Koetsus if I'm seriously flush!

Now someone is on my vinyl wavelength! I opted for a rebuilt EMT but a Loricraft Garrard 301 (premium restoration) and Ortofon or Jelco arm with a top level Ortofon SPU cartridge was my first thought.

I guess if pushed to buy brand-new then this would be it....

http://www.thorens.com/uploads/tx_templavoila/teaser-td350-1.jpg

I would opt for good arms with removable headshells so I can have a rack of cartridges (already headshell mounted and aligned) ready to go in an instant depending on choice of music and my mood!

 

[Anonymous]

At the moment i'd go for the Plinius Cd and Pre Power with some Pro-ac speakers, but that's not having listened to them. Just like the look

 

[the record spot]

chebby:

I would opt for good arms with removable headshells so I can have a rack of cartridges (already headshell mounted and aligned) ready to go in an instant depending on choice of music and my mood!

You've not been the same since you clapped eyes on that Japanese site! This was the AT or Nagaoka display wasn't it? LOL - busted!!

(But yeah, I mean, gadget heaven, but it looked the mutt's whatsits right enough...!)

 

[Anonymous]

the record spot:
Turntable: Garrard 501 from Loricraft Audio, SME V arm, Ortofon Kontrapunkt C cartridge, or one of the Koetsus if I'm seriously flush!

I feel that I'm missing out by not having a clue what that means. I haven't got the basics right yet so TT is but a twinkle in the night sky. Do you think TTs are genuinely worth striving to get right given the way lossless music is heading?

 

[Anonymous]

igglebert:Do you think TTs are genuinely worth striving to get right given the way lossless music is heading?

 

[matthewpiano]

igglebert:the record spot:
Turntable: Garrard 501 from Loricraft Audio, SME V arm, Ortofon Kontrapunkt C cartridge, or one of the Koetsus if I'm seriously flush!

I feel that I'm missing out by not having a clue what that means. I haven't got the basics right yet so TT is but a twinkle in the night sky. Do you think TTs are genuinely worth striving to get right given the way lossless music is heading?

YES YES YES!!! I'm currently only using a budget turntable (Project Debut III) but, having spent time aligning the cartridge myself, and making all the other necessary adjustments, it sounds heavenly even with the basic stock Ortofon OM5e cartridge.

NOTHING sounds quite like vinyl if the turntable is set up properly.

 

[the record spot]

igglebert:the record spot:
Turntable: Garrard 501 from Loricraft Audio, SME V arm, Ortofon Kontrapunkt C cartridge, or one of the Koetsus if I'm seriously flush!

I feel that I'm missing out by not having a clue what that means. I haven't got the basics right yet so TT is but a twinkle in the night sky. Do you think TTs are genuinely worth striving to get right given the way lossless music is heading?

Well, where to start my friend, where to start?!?

First off, lossless is a fine way to go for lots of people it's clear; convenience, sound quality (dig: well, it's getting there...!), flexibility and so on, I won't quibble with any of that.

However, for all the P3s under the sun - and I'm a fan of Rega TTs and kit in general, there's nothing out there to touch a high end turntable for the whole vinyl experience. Loricraft picked up the licence for Garrard which some Mexican firm had bought (!) and brought the line up to date and back to the UK.

Garrard turned out two of the best decks ever made IMO - the 301 and 401. These go for a few hundred on Ebay and that's just the platter and power/speed unit, usually not including a plinth, tonearm, cartridge, etc. so you need to factor all that in as well. They're not cheap decks, but most owners swear by them.

Loricraft started up a restoration and servicing service and then produced the 501:-

This shot does it no favours, but I kind of liken it to a luxury model against the flashy recent models which feature very stripped down contemporary designs. I think it costs around £4000 or so and they're built to order. They've just produced a 601 which fresh out the wrapper - doesn't look quite so good I think, but hey, I'm just glad to see this great old name still going and still relevant.

Are TTs worth trying to get right - for me, no question but everyone has their own preference. Even with my humble P3 and AT440 cartridge, it gave me a sound I could listen to all day without tiring of.

(Hope that answers helps your question, at least in part anyway!)

EDIT: Forgot to mention the arm and cartridges: SME - high end TT and playing arm manufacturer. Series V arms = not cheap. SME 20 TT = even more not cheap!

Ortofon make the Kontrapunkt A, B and C - the latter of which won't leave you a whole lot of change out of £1000. The 'A' is about half that...?

Koetsu are just ridiculous and you could probably get a good downpayment on a mortgage - the Koetsu Jade is a shade off £5000.

(Hope that's explained it a wee bit more!!)

 

[idc]

Ipod 120gb; £160. A Krell KID ipod dock; £1350. B&W 805S speakers; £1600. Partington Dreadnought stands £300. Kimber Monocle speaker cable (8 feet); £1419. Russ Andrews Mains Block with silencer and cable and mains unit ; £1330. Total; £6159.

A room 20' by 20' with a view of Arran, near to the Amazon distribution centre in Gourock, so that day delivery of CDs. Itunes full of losslessly imported CDs. Lots of books. Estimate; £500,000.

 

[Anonymous]

idc:
Total; £6159.

£6159! You've won the lottery dude, not the local Gala Bingo jackpot!!! Stick another zero on at least...