System Photos!

I think you may live too close to a black hole as your reality seems to be curving around a singularity.
:sweat_smile::rofl::joy::upside_down_face:

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Once I get my maggies set up, I’ll post an updated system pic

As the kids are both at Uni, we bought a new sofa in the winter sale. It’s also better for listening to music. It’s currently in slob mode, the seat backs are on pivots and lever forward about 18 inches for a normal seating position. Those two black plugs need to be changed to white.

What was the component audio unit now also contains the AV and a large collection of rugs. All the ethernet stuff is attached to the back wall. There is no need to access the audio system for digital as Roon turns it on and off.

IMG_20190417_134802_resized_20190417_024043575

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Do you mean these?

43%20AM

Thank goodness. I wouldn’t even go in there with it like that. Unacceptable. :crazy_face:

Seriously tho, really appealing room. Love it. You have Harbeths, right? (I think I remember this.)

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Those plugs really let the whole thing down. One is only a phone charger so can go. I phoned my decorator on Monday to send a couple of guys round to repaint. He was on a beach in Greece and is then going to Monaco. Can’t be bad. So will be fresh clean and plug changed by end of May. The cable will also be put in white sheath.

The speakers are Harbeth. I’m thinking of getting a local guy to make some stands from clear acrylic. Designed not to block the artwork (a couple of Bridget Riley and a Kadishman). If I didn’t have an audio system and was a zillionaire I’d have her do a larger version of the one on the wall above the left speaker.

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Very tasteful, and so admirably clutter free. My wife feels that any bare surface is an abomination against nature, and so we have 20+ cat sculptures. She returned home proudly this afternoon with a 3’ Japanese lacquer vase. God knows where we are going to put it. At least it is not a cat!

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Have you suggested the end of the garden? Do you have a potting shed for such things?

My wife likes Buddhas but knows how far she can push it.

We have dear friends with a house full of cr@p. The stuff is all over the place. They recently rebuilt/decorated and I assumed it would disappear, but it was all reinstalled on designer shelving. That stuff is like audio, the more money you have the more expensive cr@p that exists to collect. We were around some zillionaire friends for dinner last week and their cr@p is very expensive and in handmade glass cabinets.

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I still listen to the Beatles and don’t find them kitschy.

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I once had an acquaintance who made a similar, well-meaning, suggestion. I wordlessly took him down to our very large garden shed and opened the door (carefully) for him. He blanched and agreed that it was not an option :slight_smile:

a few changes.

Added an Onkyo SACD player (swore I didn’t need a transport, but it came up on my local craigslist for a song). Of course I had to pick up a few SACDs, and they aren’t cheap! But I have to admit they really sound great.

Also upgraded the stock Thorens tonearm to an SME 3009 SII Improved, installed on a red corian armboard. That cart is a Shure M95ED, but I’m also running a Grado Gold, which sounds superb. I also have a Shure V15 Type III that I need to get a headshell for.

I’ll probably paint/stain that homemade plywood shelfy thing, but it does the job for now.

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Sick, SME tonearms are awesome. How are you liking it so far?

Are SACD discs expensive?
To get a better sound, we’re ready to spend many thousands on better amplifiers, speakers, cables, … SACD makes a big difference, and it costs not so much. Not every music is on SACD, but it’s worth looking for. During the year, I replaced about 50 CDs with SACD, I also bought about 70 new ones with classical music, which I listen to more and more. In a few days I will receive the next 5 SACDs from the Living Stereo series - excellent, great-sounding recordings from the 50/60 years.

Well, if you are going to keep a foot planted in the 20th Century, that’s the way to do it. The Audiolab 8000A is a cracker, probably unknown to those who don’t understand that a steering wheel goes on the right hand side of a car. A local store does refurbs.

I trust you have one of these on the end of the deck.
Red coloured plastic UK 3-Pin 3 Amp plug
Nice to see you don’t waste money on furniture.

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I love it.

As nice as the TT was with the stock TP-13 arm, this is luxury. It makes me want to play records that much more. Grado Gold is a great cartridge for the arm, but you need to be selective. They need to be fairly light cartridge-headshell combo (6-7grams for cart; 12-13 with headshell), as there’s not tons of weight behind it on this version of the 3009.

I looked at swapping out the stock SME headshell with a more versatile Ortofon (like 14g on its own), but it was just too heavy.

I just love the way the tonearm looks, and with old analog stuff, the aesthetics are half of it, amiright?

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I do not have one of those goofy plugs on the end, and the steering wheels here in America are on the correct left side.

But yes, I love my 8000A. I did have a Sprout100 in there, but the 8000A is just so much richer and fuller. The perfect system for my small office.

haha on the furniture. I did build the walnut Thorens plinth, so I do like nice things. But that ugly shelf was a quick fix to get the other equipment off the top of the CD player.

you are right. The cost of an SACD disc is maybe three times the cost of a regular CD, but totally worth it.

I’ll spend $30 on a guitar pick, so it’s all relative. :beer:

$30 for a guitar pick, seriously? The (original) Red Wiggle gave me one of his guitar picks many years ago, that would have to be worth $100 now. I’d better find it.

He also gave me his Qantas boarding pass, but that is another story.

$35 actually. And not even tortoise shell.

http://www.bluechippick.net

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Worth it?

[tried to quote you, but it automatically deleted the quote.]

anyway, is a $35 guitar pick worth it?

Probably the way speaker wire is worth it. A few appreciate it. Many don’t care.

It’s expensive-to-make plastic, and it does produce a really nice rich tone. (I play mandolin, and i swear by them.)

They never wear out, so you make sure you’re not careless with it. In eight or nine years of using them, I’ve never lost one, knock on wood. Misplaced for a while, but usually because one went into the wash in my pants pocket.

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