SM Audiophiles?

hashluck

Member
Messages
1,515
Personally I wouldn't go down the Linn LP12 route, both my father and I had them and both moved away and never looked back. I currently have an Pink Triangle Anniversary that was rebuilt and modified by its original designer a few years ago and it remains one of the best turntables I have ever heard in its current form. I also have a Voyd "The Voyd" and the plan is once things are back on track to get this fettled too and find a Helius Omega arm for it and then see how it compares to the PTA.

For a stylish alternative I know someone who rebuild Townshend Rock turntables and can finish them in any automotive colour (he will only use a colour once) so how about a Rock rebuilt and painted to match the SZ?

All very nice. I had a Dunlop SystemDek before my LP12 and also dabbled with an SME and Oracle as well
 

hashluck

Member
Messages
1,515
I would definitely recommend PMC, I have had a pair of their Fact 8 speakers for a few years and they are wonderful sounding things!
Certainly are though originally aimed at the studio market making them super neutral and transparent which some ears don't like! :)
 

Team GCR

Member
Messages
1,152
All very nice. I had a Dunlop SystemDek before my LP12 and also dabbled with an SME and Oracle as well

I would like to try an SME Model 12 turntable or similar in my system at some point, I have an SME V arm sitting around in its box doing nothing at the moment (used to be on the PTA).
 

Team GCR

Member
Messages
1,152
Certainly are though originally aimed at the studio market making them super neutral and transparent which some ears don't like! :)

Yes agreed but I think the fact I have lots of valves in my system probably creates a balance with them. I bought them when at the old house, when some liquidity returns I would like to try something bigger now I have a 'music room'. Most likely options will be bigger PMC speakers or something from Wilson as that is a classic combination with my amps.
 

Wack61

Member
Messages
8,764
I've had this naim unitiqute for a few months now and still like it , it does need to warm up though as it sounds a bit harsh cold

I almost bought a Sugden A21a after reading some really good reviews with spendor speakers but decided against it after reading how hot they get.
 

doodlebug

Member
Messages
913
Vinyl and valves for me, but I'm really old so my hearing is probably well-fecked.
To my ears, it sounds better than these new-fangled CDs, but I must admit some of the hi-res stuff sounds almost as good as a nice bit of BVD.
 

CatmanV2

Member
Messages
48,539
Vinyl and valves for me, but I'm really old so my hearing is probably well-fecked.
To my ears, it sounds better than these new-fangled CDs, but I must admit some of the hi-res stuff sounds almost as good as a nice bit of BVD.

I (Re)tried vinyl, as I used to love it. I found that the 23 minute before having to get up and the background noise stopped my enjoyment.

In some respects I miss CD's. One of the Volumio users has an idea of having album art 'chips' with NFC embedded in. So you get all the joy of sifting through a physical media, but drop it on the NFC reader and so it plays.....

C
 

Wack61

Member
Messages
8,764
I find streaming too easy to just flit about , if I put a CD on i'll listen to all of it , mostly because i haven't got a remote for the CD player :D but streaming , I'm all over the place
 

Team GCR

Member
Messages
1,152
I (Re)tried vinyl, as I used to love it. I found that the 23 minute before having to get up and the background noise stopped my enjoyment.

In some respects I miss CD's.
C

I never fell out of love with vinyl, I think I enjoy the physical involvement on top of the amazing sound. If background noise is a problem you probably need a record cleaning machine - works wonders!

I love CD too for certain things but again I think my experience is helped by a decent player with a valve output stage.
 

rossyl

Member
Messages
3,312
The joy of a CD or LP album was that a lot of effort was put in by the artist to ensure every song was good, as space was limited, and the whole album was an experience.

Unfortunately, I find that is mostly lost now. It is now a competition of releasing "singles" where more is more and you're better off releasing anything rather than nothing at all. Quality be damned.
 

Team GCR

Member
Messages
1,152
I find streaming too easy to just flit about , if I put a CD on i'll listen to all of it , mostly because i haven't got a remote for the CD player :D but streaming , I'm all over the place

I like streaming as a way to find new music but once I find something I really like I would then tend to want it on one of the physical mediums as even with a high end DAC streaming can't get close to vinyl or CD in sound quality - don't get me wrong it is VERY good but not the same.
 

CatmanV2

Member
Messages
48,539
I like streaming as a way to find new music but once I find something I really like I would then tend to want it on one of the physical mediums as even with a high end DAC streaming can't get close to vinyl or CD in sound quality - don't get me wrong it is VERY good but not the same.

I have suspected that for some time. Early days, cheap vinyl systems were better than expensive CD systems.
These days cheap and midprice digital has better quality than cheap and midprice vinyl.
But at the top.....

C
 

Team GCR

Member
Messages
1,152
I have suspected that for some time. Early days, cheap vinyl systems were better than expensive CD systems.
These days cheap and midprice digital has better quality than cheap and midprice vinyl.
But at the top.....

+

That is jolly kind! I think I still have vinyl. What I don't have is a deck, nor a suitable amp.

C

I don't think you have to go too far up the vinyl tree for it to at least equal digital in a hifi sense at least. Thing is a bit like our cars, most of us are not the 1st owners of our Maserati, hifi is the same you can own an amazing system by buying 2nd hand.

Maybe a SM audiophile weekend one day in the future and we can clean and play your vinyl. We said to Matt we would have a SM do here on Moncao or Bust trip but it has taken far longer than anticipated to get enough of the house renovated and this year hasn't helped. A more specialist hence smaller numbers thing is more doable - and hey who wants to travel to Wales lol