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Post by MikeMusic on Oct 8, 2018 8:59:34 GMT
Been playing Gerry Rafferty's On a wind and a prayer in the car*
Going off it so brought it inside for one play in the kitchen diner** before putting away
Except it sounded wonderful. It stays where it is.
Shows how little money and not much space can give a great sound.
*Pioneer CD player, standard Saab speaker I think. With the car when I bought it 2nd hand.
Pioneer PD-S703 CD player 2nd hand on Ebay for around £50
SMSL Integrated Amp new on Ebay for about £75
TDL Speakers which I have seen going on Ebay for £10
Not *hi*fi but what a great sound.
Can you beat that ?
Shall we have a bake off sometime ?
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Oct 8, 2018 11:00:15 GMT
There are so many options out there to create a good starter system for not a lot of money. I would start with something like this.
Streamers: Raspberry Pi
DAC: Beresford Caiman SEG (or one of Stan's earlier, you can't better them for the price!)
Amplifier: Amptastic Mini-1
Speakers: Wharfedale Diamond IV or equivalent
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Post by MartinT on Oct 8, 2018 12:52:33 GMT
I am running Wharfedale Diamond 9 speakers in my AV system either side of the TV. They are remarkably good, bearing the twin traits of decent detail resolution and not having a noticeable tonal tilt. Diamonds of various vintages can be found on Gumtree and eBay without too much trouble and they can be driven well from a small T-Amp or SMSL Q5 if you need a DAC/Amp. They are the makings of a decent inexpensive starter AV or Hi-Fi system.
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Post by Slinger on Oct 8, 2018 13:19:42 GMT
My primary music studio setup...
PC -> SMSL Q5 -> Celestion DL4 sII + Eltax 8" Sub.
The home-built PC whacks the price up to semi-ridiculous, but the rest was as cheap as pommes frites. The Q5 was bought new, like Mike's, before SMSL increased their prices. The DL4s were the first pair of "proper" speakers I ever bought and were sitting around doing nothing, and the sub was about fifty quid on eBay.
I also use this system for listening to (free) Spotify and YouTube.
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seanm
Rank: Trio
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Post by seanm on Oct 8, 2018 19:04:48 GMT
Around 15 months ago, I put together a small system based around re-working an existing Raspberry Pi with an Allo boss DAC. It had to be small/light since it was coming to Northern Cyprus with me in my luggage. I added a Allo Volt D class amp granddaughter board and the smallest bookshelf speakers I could find quickly and cheaply (Mordaunt short M10s).
As well as the obvious need to fill my apartment with reasonable quality music, I wanted a system which followed the philosophy of the kit left back in blighty. In particular, my music collection is FLAC based on a NAS and I wanted new additional music to slot in with this approach. In addition, Volumio or Moode is used, typically driven from a mpd client on my phone. A 4TB USB3 portable HDD hangs off of my router and does a good job of pretending to the NAS. The stands came back with me after my first trip back to the UK.
There are obvious tweaks which could be done, better speaker cable and DAC PSU spring to mind. However, it is impossible to source stuff here.
Over this summer I acquired an Amazon echo dot which fits inside a better powered speaker with rechargeable batteries built in. While the sound quality is not a patch on the system above, I have to say the combination of portability, voice navigation and music streaming is very convenient. I will critically review my approach when I next move.
Cheers
Sean
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Post by MartinT on Oct 8, 2018 20:55:03 GMT
That's good improvisation considering, Sean. I take it that streaming services are limited or non-existent, too?
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seanm
Rank: Trio
Posts: 162
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Post by seanm on Oct 9, 2018 4:16:16 GMT
I can get most if not all of the streaming services.... but there are a few issues.... Spotify offers me a bargain rate in Turkish Lira but will not let me pay with a UK credit card or paypal linked to a UK card
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Post by ChrisB on Oct 9, 2018 5:18:34 GMT
Happy birthday, Sean!
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Post by MartinT on Oct 9, 2018 5:21:20 GMT
Happy birthday, Sean!
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seanm
Rank: Trio
Posts: 162
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Post by seanm on Oct 9, 2018 10:49:18 GMT
Many thanks!
Cheers
Sean
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Post by MikeMusic on Oct 9, 2018 10:58:36 GMT
Happy birthday Sean
Have a good one
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Oct 9, 2018 11:41:36 GMT
Happy Birthday, Sean.
Hope you have a great day.
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Post by tony on Oct 9, 2018 14:19:51 GMT
My garage system is a mini t/whaferdale 9s and a lead to take 3.5mm out of a phone or i pod....all powered by solar/battery.
actually does soundstaging....great wee hi fi
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Post by MartinT on Oct 10, 2018 5:22:43 GMT
Let's not forget one of our favourites, the SMSL Q5 DAC/Amp. We've heard this potent T-Amp do amazing things at our own The ASBO show and it never fails to impress. I have one on my computer system. You can drive it straight from USB or another digital source and it sounds excellent.  |
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Post by MikeMusic on Feb 16, 2020 18:04:38 GMT
Tidying, decluttering etc I found some Monitor Audio R352I was given many years ago. How might they sound compared to the TDLs ? Wonderful TDLs sidelined The kitchen system now has the R352s £0 was a good price too |
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Post by jandl100 on Feb 16, 2020 18:49:10 GMT
a couple of current bargains ... PGA2311 Stereo Pre amp - £40  ebay linkand TPA3116 amp - £20  ebay linkBoth with genuine audiophile sound. Ridiculous. |
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Post by MikeMusic on Feb 16, 2020 20:39:41 GMT
Mad indeed Jerry
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