beck wrote: ↑2020-02-08 12:02
Great clips Defender. The second position gives a feeling of effortless music compared to the first one.
Defender wrote: ↑2020-02-08 11:39
you are lucky Thomas - its great to have wonderful equipment on one side and on the other side the capabilities to hear and optimize small things to make it even better - some people have either one or the other or none.
Yes you are right Defender but my point has been to show that even “cheap” equipment can be very enjoyable if set up the right way.
So, if one only has a small cheaper system and do not know exactly what to listen for this is the place where you can find the knowledge that will help you get music out of the hifi you own.
I do indeed consider myself very lucky for being able to amass such a wonderful system over time that I would never be able to afford had I to purchase it all at once. I am even luckier to be able to work at a vocation I truly enjoy and that I seem to have some talent for, and to be able to join forces with Fredrik Lejonklou who not only consistently makes the best electronics I have heard but is also just a genuinely nice guy.
I am certainly quite fond of being able to put together inexpensive (not cheap) equipment that makes a joyful noise. We just recently picked up Cambridge Audio and PSB speakers at our store, mainly to give us a bit lower entry level point. I can now put together a vinyl playback system using a Rega Planar 1, Cambridge AXA35 and a pair of PSB Alpha P5 speakers for just a touch over $1300 including some K20s. CD player instead is $100 less or upgrade to a Planar 2 and add $200, We also carry used gear so sometimes it's just an older turntable, receiver and speakers for $500 or $600. One of my favorites a while back, even though it is not quite budget, was a gentleman who stopped in and after some listening and discussion bought a Rega Planar 3/Elys2, Rega Apollo, Rega Brio and a pair of Dynaudio Evoke 20 bookshelfs. With some Linn Blacks and K20 he had a $5500ish system that would be quite hard to beat. This was for his office. He liked it so much he came back and got a Rega Apollo, Rega Elex-R and Dynaudio Evoke 50 floorstanders for his house (he moved the Planar 3 over), then a few months later bought the original system but with a Planar 2 as a wedding present for his son and daughter-in-law. It is fun to make people happy with reproduced music, and he is a musician with both drums and guitars in his living room!
I had hoped to get more comments on the last clip (defender didn't even tell me which one he liked), But since we are on the subject of inexpensive upgrades, I might as well spill the beans. The only difference between the last two clips is the power cable going to the KRadikal. Clip 1 is what had been the most musical cable I had found and is what my whole system has been wired up for some time, also used at the various Hi-Fi shows - the older Linn US AC cable made by Longwell. Clip 2 is the latest Lejonklou US AC cable made by Volex which he sent me to try out several months ago. I had them hooked to my Quads for months just to burn in (as AC cables actually don't make any difference on Quads). I then swapped them for another cable and compared the Linn Longwell and the Lejonklou Volex. I did it late at night and felt the Lejonklou was better but sent the clips blind to Fredrik as a double check. He heard the same small but definite improvement in the feel of the music and real quality of the instruments, which I also heard again on the clips. So I posted them up here and those who commented are hearing the same thing. So Lejonklou now has the best sounding US AC cable I have heard! And most of you know I have listened to a bunch. Fredrik is seeing if he can get a whole bunch of the same ones so we're hoping they haven't changed anything. I think I will be able to offer them for the same $40US that the latest (and also pretty good) Linn AC cables go for. I'd say that qualifies as a pretty inexpensive upgrade!
As you can imagine I am trying to get a few more from Fredrick ASAP and am already burning in two more so that I can have a full Lejonklou AC cable loom already burned in for the show.
I almost forgot, I also like clip 2 from defender, it seems more musical to me.