Listening setups
asstro
1,754 Posts
The tube amp thread got me wondering what kind of listening set-ups the Strut is running these days. Not your production/studio stuff, share what you use and your thoughts on your system.
Right now I'm using a standard Tech 1210 with an Ortofon 2M Blue cart, into a Rotel 975 integrated amp, thru a pair of Bose 301 Series III speakers. I'm constantly resisting the urge to get into more audiophile level equipment like tube amps or nicer speakers. I'd like to do it but i also have pretty bad tinnitus so I think I'd end up missing a lot of the subtle details that you get by going the audiophile route. I did just upgrade to the Ortofon from a Shure 44G cart and it made a real noticeable difference, especially now that the cart has broken in a bit. Well worth the money there.
So what are you guys/gals listening on these days?
Right now I'm using a standard Tech 1210 with an Ortofon 2M Blue cart, into a Rotel 975 integrated amp, thru a pair of Bose 301 Series III speakers. I'm constantly resisting the urge to get into more audiophile level equipment like tube amps or nicer speakers. I'd like to do it but i also have pretty bad tinnitus so I think I'd end up missing a lot of the subtle details that you get by going the audiophile route. I did just upgrade to the Ortofon from a Shure 44G cart and it made a real noticeable difference, especially now that the cart has broken in a bit. Well worth the money there.
So what are you guys/gals listening on these days?
Comments
In the house, for the last 20+ years, we have mostly listened to this boombox for CDs and Tapes.
For the radio I have a Columbia tube radio that came out of Japan. It has 3 settings, Hi-Fidelity, Mid-Fidelity and Low-Fidelity.
My amp is a old Mission Cyrus One:
2 Technics 1210 turtables with Stanton 890 SA cartridges
and a Rane Emapth Rotary mixer:
for the playback of audio files I'm using a Roland Quad Capture 2 x 2 interface
decent enough for me.
1200 turntable, dual-cassette player, dvd player, 5 CD changer, and PS3....and Airplay for streaming.
Jealous of those Orb records... :feelin_it:
Carts - M44-7
Mixer - Vestax 08Pro
Amp - ART SLA4
Monitors - Paisley Research
I think my set up is dope I have had those speakers fixed a few times (foam re-taped), but they seem to get better and better sound each time...
Works for my current purposes, will be getting better quality monitors as time and money allow
I have all of the early Orb stuff. The framed Little Fluffy Clouds was signed by Alex when we DJ'd together back in the 90s in Austin. Those records are still some of my favorites.
The current (now school), family-room, listening setup includes:
NAD 317 Stereo Integrated Amplifier.
NAD 553 turntable (along with a phono pre-amp).
Boston Acoustics VR960R speakers (with monster copper cables).
NAD C520 Compact Disc Player.
Yamaha KX-393 Natural Sound Stereo Cassette Player.
Peace,
Big Stacks from Kakalak
beautiful
Thorens TD-160 Super Turntable
PSE Studio SL pre-amp
PSE Studio 2 power amp
Dynaco A25 Speakers in original condition.
For style reasons, the PSE set-up will be replaced by either a Dynaco or a Marantz (pictured below) when I get them refurbished. Cords will also be re-routed soon.
Record Room:
Micro Seiki DD-40 Turntable
PSE Studio SL pre-amp
PSE Studio 5 Monoblock power amps (one amp per speaker)
JBL L-110 speakers
Nakamichi tape deck
Headroom headphone amp
Sennheiser HD580 headphones
Also shown as recent additions: Jolida tube amp and Denon tape deck
The piece of wood holding the amps over the speakers is a temporary mock-up while making a new permanent unit.
The storage and pending refurb area:
(4) Pioneer CS-88 speakers from a quad setup I bought.
Matantz 2230 amp
Dynaco SCA-35 amp
Marantz Car amp/equalizer destined for my 1978 Honda Accord
VPI record cleaner
Some replica JBL speaker stand I made out of walnut
A couple 1200s and an Ecler mixer for gigs
A wooden Sansui case that I want to make replicas of for sale
A Sansui quad amp I rebuilt and installed for my neighbor's restaurant and a Tandberg amp that I bought/sold:
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Most are from garage sales, some from Craigslist, and a few were donated by my father in law, who was a baller in the late 80s.