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Has anyone in this thread messed around with the Willsenton R8 and/or R800i from China Hifi Audio? It's getting rave reviews from the usual suspects on YouTube for being an affordable yet solid quality tube amp, and I'm still on the fence about going tube vs getting a nice used and/or vintage solid state amp.
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Aug 31, 2021 06:38
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Yeah, like I just picked up a set of Linn Tukan speakers that are about 15-20 years old that sound absolutely incredible for $200 recently, but that was after a lot of digging around at antique stores and thrift shops and the like. You probably have a few places in your city that sell vintage audio gear, and there are online hifi gear classified sites like Canuckaudiomart that people tend to list their older stuff up on. I'd recommend checking it out within your price range, and doing research on the nicest 5 speaker sets you see to find the ones that suit your audio tastes.
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Sep 23, 2021 13:25
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The Postman posted:I'd be willing to tack on a subwoofer. I don't know how much the space will necessitate one if I'm just listening to records by myself, but it sounds like the speakers in my price range might at least make one "nice to have". A small subfrequency focused 6.5"-8" unit, probably sealed instead of ported would add a lot of body and bass extension for music with a smaller set of bookshelf speakers that have great mids and treble but weaker bass output, without being offensive to the neighbours/housemates. You can find active units that have a speaker-level input in the $100-$400 range that would sound great. Just be prepared to move the sub all over the place in the room to find the spot where it's the least boomy and blends into the speakers the best. You shouldn't be able to tell where a well-placed subwoofer is in the room. Try to avoid home theater ones if you can, as they're designed for a different set of auditory conditions
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Sep 23, 2021 17:36
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Fantastic Foreskin posted:My brother wants to upgrade his vinyl setup but keeps running into audiophile woo when he researches how to upgrade. I can tell him to ignore the woo, but I don't know any good resources for how to actually get the most out of vinyl. Do y'all know anywhere I could link him to? What gear does he have, and what does he find is lacking that he wants to improve by upgrading? What kind of room is he playing in, small, medium, large, asymmetrical, etc. . Ask him those questions and we should be able to get him on a productive path minus all the woo woo
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Sep 27, 2021 00:11
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Fantastic Foreskin posted:He's got a SL-BD20D hooked up to some cheap-rear end computer speakers in a huge room with lots of odd, hard surfaces; this isn't going to be a maximally hi-fi setup and we're basically starting from scratch. He's mostly looking to get an amplifier and some floor standing speakers but he's run across people talking about fancy pre-amps and cartridges while researching this stuff, and while he's on board when I tell him to ignore the audiophiles I don't know analog gear enough to say if any of them are actually worth getting. He definitely needs to upgrade the turntable with it's fixed tracking force, the main things you'll want to see on a used/vintage TT are adjustable tracking force and anti-skate, ideally speed control but that's not 100% necessary, and the technics style H-4 headshell is a nice feature too. As for a cartridge, I've tried the cheap Grado Black 3 and found it very lacking in the high end, and recently upgraded to the Nagaoka MP-110(MP-110H if you want it premounted on a headshell), which is still a reasonable price and sounds incredible for the money. The Ortofon 2M Red is also very highly regarded but I personally find it a bit too bright, and there are some AT carts that are supposed to be good but I don't have much experience with them. As for an amp, any stereo integrated amp in the $500-$1000 range is probably going to do a great job. The phono stages on some modern cheap Amps aren't going to be great or they won't even be present, but the Schiit Mani or the iFi Zen Phono sound great and are affordable. Same for the DAC, the iFi Zen DAC and Schiit Modi DAC will reproduce digital sources (ie. a PC/streamer/etc.) beautifully for a fair price, but some Amps have good DAC's built in so it's kind of a wash. Cambridge Audio CXA61, Rega IO, Marantz PM6007, Yamaha AS-701, vintage receivers, all are going to do a good job here. As for speakers in his huge room, a floorstanding speaker is probably going to give him the best result, something like a Elac Debut 2.0 F5.2 or Wharfedale Diamond 12.4, or some nice vintage/older units on the used market in that price range would fit the bill nicely. So, something like a $200-$300 vintage table with a $160 Nagaoka MP-110 cartridge, an $800 Yamaha A-S701, a $160 iFi Zen DAC, $130 Schiit Mani and some $500 Wharfedale Diamond 12.4 for around $2K would be an amazing setup. If he doesn't mind a little bit less sound quality out of the DAC and Phono stage by using what's built-in to the Amp, then that opens up $300 for better speakers. If he's patient and does his research, he could find some vintage floorstanders, a suitable vintage amp (which usually had nice phono stages), a used DAC, and a used turntable/new cartridge for about $1000
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Sep 27, 2021 04:30
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I think I must've lucked out big time picking up a vintage fully adjustable S-Arm belt drive Hitachi TT for $50 this year that only needed a new RCA cable soldered in to fix, because yeah, now that I'm browsing the local ads vintage TT prices are insane. As for the phono/DAC stage, I only mention it because I did notice a sound quality improvement(clarity, filled out mids and bass) on my $~600 Onkyo amp by going with discreet units for $150 each used, but as you say, the Yamaha may already be more than sufficient especially if they move up to the 801. To be honest, I simply don't know if the money is better spent on the speakers vs. the front end, which I why I mentioned both.
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Sep 27, 2021 13:22
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Yeah just because someone has good taste and actually keeps their house clean unlike many goons, does not make them rich. Lol.
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Oct 2, 2021 19:41
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I'd love to have houseplants but our cats seem to think they're herbivores
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Oct 2, 2021 19:59
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Oh, I think I know what would do the trick nicely for you. It's a little pricy but I guess the DAC in it sounds nice and it handles Bluetooth, NAS, Spotify/Tidal/Amazon Music/etc. All in one box. https://www.crutchfield.com/p_813NODEWH/Bluesound-NODE-White.html?tp=63339 Mederlock fucked around with this message at 16:28 on Oct 3, 2021 |
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Oct 3, 2021 16:25
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Just get the Bluesound Node if you're rich and want an easy way to solve your problem, or some of the other cheaper but more limited options other people posted upthread 
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Oct 3, 2021 16:53
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It's purrfect
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Oct 3, 2021 21:21
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I really like my first gen iFi Zen DAC , doubles as a headphone amp too. Highly recommend it
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Oct 5, 2021 13:12
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JHomer722 posted:Thanks for the feedback! I’ve been using Bluetooth to transmit the audio, and the initial thinking for the DAC was to support hi-res audio. But generally I’m an entry level hobbyist and am just curious how different system components interact and affect the sound. Bluetooth is not considered a hi-fi standard, aptx HD being the only BT codec that sorta comes close and it's still a lossy format(4:1 compression). Totally fine for Spotify and party jams and the like, but once you're looking at CD qualit, TIDAL/Qobuz FLAC streaming, etc. The Bluetooth can't handle the lossless data stream. Better to use a USB from the laptop to a DAC, then into your amplifier. You'll get a noticeable bump up in clarity, presence/sound stage, balance, and maybe a quieter noise floor, from good audio gear, and depending on how the DAC is tuned it may be neutral sounding, or be bumped up a little in the bass/treble/mids according to the manufacturer's desired sound signature(a V-curve, ie. Bass and trebles accentuated is pretty common, and I believe flat with a bump in the upper midrange is pretty common in "audiophile" gear) I'm of the opinion that your front end (phono stage, DAC, CD player, etc.) Should be tuned to be neutral, transparent, and not colour the sound all that much, and leave it up to the Amp to get the sound signature you find pleasing. Any $75-$200 DAC that's been posted since you asked your question should do the job really nicely, as you'll be getting a nice improvement from going from lossy Bluetooth to lossless over USB, and getting a bump up from getting a nice DAC over whatever was processing the Bluetooth stream. E: That Topping D10s would be a great choice, for instance ^ Mederlock fucked around with this message at 18:01 on Oct 5, 2021 |
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Oct 5, 2021 17:59
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DoesNotCompute posted:DACs are also a fantastic piece of gear to get used from audiophile snake oil addicts as their constant need to "upgrade" and complete disconnect from reality about the value of money means they'll sell them second hand fairly cheap. Yeah I got my iFi Zen DAC for half what it's MSRP was up here in Canuckistan. Check out USaudiomart.com or It's regionally associated sister websites, that's where most of the audiophiles dump their gear, as well as The Usual suspects like eBay and craigslist/local classified sites.
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Oct 5, 2021 23:42
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strtj posted:That's just straight up not true. 30ips 2" tape masters? Of course, yes, that's super high quality. 3 3/4ips home recordings? Anywhere from "acceptable" to "ugh" depending on the source, tape, etc. Obviously there's a whole spectrum in between there. Or to use your analogy, the best studio reel to reels are like 70mm prints and the average home use reels are like super 8, or maybe 16mm if you're lucky. Most audiophiles are on the 7-1/2 or 15 IPS reel to reel tapes, not the 3-3/4 IPS ones.
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Oct 6, 2021 23:44
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Ok Comboomer posted:tell us about what it does to the speed, Mederlock Nothing? E: if you're referring to what I meant by balance, I meant between bass/mids/treble, not channel balance and "speed" and that nonsense. The DAC built-in to my Onkyo home theater receiver just didn't sound as good as the $150 iFi Zen DAC, you can  and  all you want if you think there's no difference at all.
Mederlock fucked around with this message at 17:37 on Oct 12, 2021 |
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Oct 12, 2021 17:33
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You're better off fixing the old turntable, and saving the extra money for more music, better speakers, or something like that. Think about what a turntable does, it just needs to spin at a consistent rate and apply consistent force down on the cartridge. Unless you've noticed some inaccuracies in the speed of rotation that adjustments haven't fixed, I can't see how the U-turn would be an upgrade.
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Oct 22, 2021 15:55
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polyester concept posted:It’s an upgrade in that it’s new and comes with customer support. Not everyone loves to tinker and repair True. But most larger cities have guys who specialize in this sort of work and can fix it for you, if time is limited, and it'd still be a lot cheaper than buying new.
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Oct 22, 2021 16:54
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Bape Culture posted:I’m having an issue with my setup atm. Did it work before and only recently start having this issue? Are you using the stock cartridge that came with the turntable? Are you 100% sure the phono preamp is actually getting power?
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Dec 2, 2021 21:30
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Bape Culture posted:Honestly i can’t remember. Yeah, exactly what I was going to recommend! :P It kind of sounds like your receiver is only picking up the phono signal straight from the cartridge, without the preamp doing its job
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Dec 3, 2021 00:46
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What do you guys do for static reduction? We're getting into winter now which means a lot of static in my dry climate, and I'm getting to the point where my records are lifting up the rubber pad on the turntable platter when I pull the record off. On some of them I can even hear staticky pops when I'm playing the record. I use a spin clean with a sorta homebrew cleaning solution, I use microfiber towels to dry them (lay it on one towel and press from above with the other to dry, let them air dry in a rack and then put them in new plastic lined paper sleeve when I get them from the thrift stores/hifi store 1$ an LP bin. I also use an allegedly "antistatic" carbon fiber brush to get the dust off before I play a record too.... Despite all of that I still have this massive static issue. Halp Mederlock fucked around with this message at 20:53 on Dec 13, 2021 |
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Dec 13, 2021 20:31
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polyester concept posted:People swear by carbon fibre brushes. Apparently if you hold/use them the right way, you can discharge all of the static into the ground wire. You can even get brushes with a wire that connects to the ground terminal to make it easier Yeah, I have one with "gold-plated" finger contacts and I hold onto the ground wire with my other hand when I use it. Maybe I should rig up a simple wire to the contacts and put it on the ground post and see if that works better... But so far I have not seen the improvement
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Dec 13, 2021 21:31
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Invest in your music collection :p I don't see any areas to majorly improve on for awhile unless you wanted to upgrade the receiver to like, a nice Yamaha dedicated 2.1 receiver or something. If you find your cartridge leans a bit more in the treble (allegedly a common description for the Ortofon Red sound) than you like, there's lots of options for up/side-grades to warmer or more neutral sounding cartridges too, but your's is still a very good choice. And speakers are going to be the major upgrade path from there. Mederlock fucked around with this message at 02:07 on Jan 2, 2022 |
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Jan 1, 2022 19:31
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Just be sure to not kill yourself with the stored energy in the caps. Read up lots on the safety guidelines
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Jan 3, 2022 22:03
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Why not just print a custom protractor on a piece of cardstock and save yourself the expense
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Jan 31, 2022 23:33
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RIP Paul Walker posted:I don’t trust my printer to scale things properly but maybe that’s just because I’m a grumpy old man who used to support printers and have a deep-seated mistrust of them. The good ones print off x and y axis reference marks that you measure with a ruler to see if everything is scaled correctly, and then you adjust it in the tool again and reprint till it's right. Took me 3 prints and I got mine perfect. Total cost is 30¢ of ink and paper Here's the tool https://www.vinylengine.com/turntable_forum/viewtopic.php?t=16849 Here's the calculator https://www.vinylengine.com/tonearm_alignment_calculator_pro.php And here's a guide https://www.vinylengine.com/protractor-user-guide.shtml E: Oh and also that tool can print off strobe discs so you can check if the RPM is correct and see if it needs adjustment. Mederlock fucked around with this message at 23:43 on Jan 31, 2022 |
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Jan 31, 2022 23:38
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I just use a spin clean and a carbon fiber brush, with a custom cleaning solution, and it works great
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May 4, 2022 02:34
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You're very likely going to need a different stylus on the cartridge to play the 78. And the tracking force probably needs to be readjusted too. Check the internet for the old user manuals for your turntable and see if the manufacturer has direct guidance on what needs to be done for that model. You may also be better served by buying one of the inexpensive cartridges that already is set up for 78's out of the box and switch between them. If you use a regular/conventional stylus, you'll damage the 78's, And possibly the stylus too.
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May 7, 2022 05:44
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RIP Paul Walker posted:I'd probably use the 2nd set of speaker outputs so you can switch the sub on and off with the receiver controls. You're all good tho, should be a kickass system if it's all working properly. Try to avoid the rabbit hole A large amount of vintage amplifiers cannot handle channel A and Channel B being run simultaneously, even if it's just being piped to a subwoofer. I've tried on multiple units and the sound quality usually suffers. Just use the high level in/out on the sub off of Channel A. That's what it's for.
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Jun 28, 2022 21:44
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It's as simple as walking to the sub and flipping the switch so. Should still pass through the audio
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Jun 28, 2022 21:49
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That's an incredible find! There's only one caveat.... I'd be SUPER loving careful with that spray in insulation inside the speaker cabinet. There's a very solid possibility that there is Asbestos in it, depending on this unit's age.
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Jul 4, 2022 04:04
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If it wasn't loose and breaking apart, I wouldn't worry too much. Just use some acoustically appropriate sealing product between the speakers and the box, and you're good. Maybe label the bottom of the speakers with a small note about the potential, too. Always good to give the next guy a heads up
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Jul 4, 2022 06:11
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E: I stand corrected. I didn't know Laserdisc didn't have S-video encoded directly on the disc, so it goes through some processing in the player. Definitely go with what the poster below me posted. I was going off what I knew of other formats that do S-Video properly Mederlock fucked around with this message at 17:08 on Jul 20, 2022 |
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Jul 20, 2022 16:55
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Mozi posted:I have an (Orbit) turntable with built-in preamp that works fine. I'm now connecting it to my new receiver and when I put it in the Phono inputs I get a horrible buzzing (with preamp on or off). I note the receiver has a ground terminal by the phono inputs. The turntable has no ground connection on it. When I plug the turntable into the generic RCA audio inputs instead, everything sounds great. Should I just leave it like that? If there's a switch to disable/bypass the built-in preamp in the Turntable, you should flip that and run the RCA into the reciever's phono input. If you can't, then you run the signal to any standard input. The phono input has a pre-amp built in, probably better than the one built-in to the turntable, and if you feed a signal that's already gone through a preamp into it, you're not going to get a listenable signal. Also, if you do have a way to bypass the built in preamp on the turntable, you should find a way to fashion your own ground connection so you can ground out the turntable and receiver together
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Jul 21, 2022 18:07
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Very nice find! I've got a couple units I should post in this thread, I'm about to start cracking them open and replacing some stuff for babby's first electronics projects
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Aug 8, 2022 17:51
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BigFactory posted:I think it goes store by store. You see a big spread in pricing. It’s easy to spot in records, some stores are .99 or now more like 1.99 across the board, some can randomly be like 4.99, and I’ve seen one store that tried to price the records individually based on someone’s crazy idea of what they might be worth. But I t’s definitely all luck whether you find something good or not. If you’re there the day it’s put out you win, a day later it’s gone. Yeah the Value Village/Goodwill records prices are /insane/ now. Like, $20 for a beat to gently caress, scratched up AC/DC album. Definitely a case of "we googled it on ebay and went in the middle of the price range" kind of pricing. The only stuff you get a good deal on anymore is stuff that's not easily identifiable
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Aug 8, 2022 19:56
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BigFactory posted:I don’t see that too often at the ones I hit up. The worst offender that I wrote about must have realized it was a mistake because a lot of records hung around for at least a couple of weeks that would have been gobbled up if they were 1.99. But it was like completely trashed Journey records that really weren’t worth the 1.99, let alone the $18 or whatever they were marked as. They don’t price records that way anymore. I don’t think, at least, I haven’t been to that one in a while. Yeah, I've definitely had more luck with the price/condition ratio on Classical and jazz music there
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Aug 8, 2022 21:40
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BigFactory posted:I almost never find jazz records unless it’s something like Benny Goodman or Al Hirt I've found more big band ensembles then smaller groups yeah, but I did get a near mint condition Kind of Blue for like seven bucks
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Aug 8, 2022 22:06
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Ok Comboomer posted:the pickings are much more slim now but some of the Goodwills/Sal-Ars/etc in some of the bougier parts of New England used to be a goldmine for audiophile classical records, usually in pristine shape Yeah I've got staaacks of fantastic LP's that I paid coffee money on. I mean, there's no doubt I'd get a better quality recording off my tidal subscription, and I do use Tidal a lot, but there's something in the feel of handling the physical media and a giant album sleeve with pretty art and detailed liner/back notes that I can read while I lounge back on my couch that I enjoy too. Also I buy good CD's when I see those too, my 5cd carousel Technics CD player with a digital out to my Onkyo sounds great too. They're a good balance of awesome sound quality and still getting that, *get off the couch and interact with your music and a neat piece of tech* vibe
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Aug 8, 2022 23:46
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I find it very interesting when I come across an old LP recording that was beautifully recorded and then mastered for vinyl that I struggle to hear the difference between it and the Tidal/CD rerelease of, and then finding other LP's from the time of the same piece and seeing how terrible either the recording or the master was. The quality was all over the place back then. Really shows that the quality floor has come up a lot these days, where your average podunk regional orchestra is putting out recordings that either match/exceed the masterfully done recordings of the past, or put average recordings from top tier orchestras of the past to shame.
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Aug 9, 2022 00:29
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