I think I'm over being an Early Adopter. I am now convinced never to buy software before version 3 or after version 4. Wait until the hardware I like is superseded by the latest megagiga whatsit ... and the item is in the remainder pages.
Having said that, I have been fairly lucky on the early adoption front in many respects; Sansui AU-317 amplifier, the Rio Karma, wifi and my old RioVolt PSX100 cd/mp3 player, as examples.
Yes ... Rio again ... whatever happened to them? They produced some of the best and most loved music player hardware around and still went bust ... Oh well.
Anyway, my RioVolt PSX100 is still going strong despite being at least eight years old. It has even been possible to upgrade the firmware because iRiver still use a compatible chipset in their models, so everything's still up to date.
*See my hifi / media index here.
Friday, 14 March 2008
Stuff 02 : RioVolt PSX100
Tuesday, 11 March 2008
HiFi 07 : Sennheiser HD580 Headphones
When the Sennheiser HD580 headphones came out in the UK they had a couple of bad reviews.
Consequentially, a few months later I just popped into my local hifi store and was offered these at an absolute bargain price. I mean, a fraction of their original cost. How could I refuse?
Well, I found nothing wrong with them. In fact they went on to be regarded as one of the top high-end headphones and are still regarded as classics. So much for hifi reviews. In the end, trust your ears.
These are great 'phones. Extremely comfortable, incredible sound, fantastic dynamics ... and even my Rio Karma can drive them.
At the moment I'm using them direct from my Marantz CD5001. Not quite as dynamic as through the Sansui, but still pretty good for recreational listening.
Vastly superior to your average .mp3 player and ear buds.
Thursday, 28 February 2008
HiFi 06 : Marantz CD5001
I like hifi, but those mega-buck systems generally leave me cold. I mean, the music is the message, isn't it?
Okay, I know a system has to be good enough to convey the nuance, subtlety and dynamics of the sound so that the music can be appreciated, but many high-end systems seem to me to have more in common with a SUV rather than a Prius ... Yes, you could say Maserati rather than an Aztec, but high-end systems rarely strike me as masterpieces of Italian engineering, rather more like a blinged-out hummer.
Until recently, the single disc CD player was a dying breed. Like the record turntable before it, it was in turn being superseded by the latest multi-format disc players with a price point up in the stratosphere.
However, I'm glad to say, that like the record turntable, the basic CD player is also making a comeback, presumably as people discover that the latest and biggest home-entertainment rigs do not reproduce music as well as a modest dedicated stereo system can.
For my system I have chosen a Marantz CD5001. It has everything I want, digital output, head-amp and most importantly, a great sound. Plenty of bangs per buck.
I have it connected to the Sansui AU-317 via QED Silver Spirals - hmmm ... exotic hifi connectors ... there's another topic - which seems to work well as far as I can tell through my Sennheiser HD580s.
*See my hifi / media index here.
Monday, 26 November 2007
HiFi 04 : Sansui AU-317 MkII
I bought this Sansui AU-317 MkII integrated amplifier in 1978. If I recall it was about ukp400.00; about the price of a good example on eBay today.
The Sansui is very nicely built - virtually aircraft standard - and to me sounds great.
A useful feature is that the preamplifier and the amplifier can be separated. They are linked via a set of RCA connects on the back. It also has a phono-stage for connection to a record turntable and a sub-phono filter feature. This is necessary because the amp's frequency response runs down to dc and the filter stops your bass speakers transporting in and out with the warps on your lp records.
It can drive two sets of speakers either separately or together which I hope will enable me to have a play with bi-wiring at some point.
The problem I have here is that my particular amplifier was made for the European market. It has a voltage selector on the back, but this switches between 220v/240v @50Hz - rather a fine distinction.
Fortunately, I found this device, the Quick 220, which in practice supplies about 235v@60Hz. The amp seems to run well on this and so far, I haven't found the 60Hz supply to be a problem. I anticipated some extra heat, but this doesn't seem apparent.
There are some snags with the amp, mostly of a consequence of the time it was built. The RCA plugs are not gold-plated, appearing to be made of nickel-silver which has dulled over the years. But they're clean and otherwise uncorroded and I can't detect any performance issues as a result.
More seriously, the speaker terminals are of the quick-fit variety rather than nice stud-type terminals. However, if you take care over the insertion of the speaker cables, it doesn't appear to be a problem.
Lastly, I managed to find the amplifier's product manual in .pdf format and now available here. It also includes details of the AU-117 and AU-217 amps.
*See my hifi / media index here.
Wednesday, 24 October 2007
HiFi 03 : 110v/220v
I've managed to bring to the US two really nice items; a Sansui AU-317 MkII amplifier which I bought way back in 1978 but which still sounds good, and a ProJect Cherry turntable.
The problem is that Europe uses 220v/50Hz mains voltage and the USA uses 110v/60Hz. Actually, it is possible to get 220v into a US house for stuff like heavy duty heaters/machines, etc, but I want to avoid a major wiring job at the moment.
Both these components have particular and different requirements from their mains feed. The Sansui actually has a voltage switch but from 220v to 240v, which seems fairly academic to me. The turntable is motor driven and is controlled by the mains frequency so it is not just a case of stepping up the voltage.
Anyway, I did manage to find one of these; the Quick 220.
I got this one a couple of years ago so the newer ones look rather different. But in use, you plug the unit into a mains outlet with one cable, then try plugging the second cable into any other outlet in the house until the indicator light on the front changes from red to green.
I assume the unit uses two different phases of the mains supply to produce the 220v. Fortunately, the room I'm hoping to use as a listening/reading room seems to have different outlets on different phases so there is no need to trail leads around the house.
Now, although the voltage has been stepped up, the frequency remains at 60Hz. I think that this should only mean the amp may run a little warmer, but since the volume dial almost never goes past 10 o'clock, I'm not anticipating cooling to be an issue. As you can see in this image the unit seems to be producing 234v.
In addition I also use a mains conditioner I bought at Maplin's while in the UK. Despite the dirtiness of the US mains supply, I haven't noticed any artifacts coming through on the sound side, but this may yet happen ... winter is nearly here.
All of this didn't solve the turntable issue ... more in my next HiFi article.
*See my hifi / media index here.
Monday, 15 October 2007
HiFi 01 : Phonostage
Ah yes ... phonostage ... but what is it?
Nowadays, virtually all hifi amplifiers use line-level electrical connections between components. This works out at about 150mV.
But vinyl record cartridges on a record turntable turn out about 5mV as a maximum and some types less than 1.5mV.
Now my old Sansui AU-317 MkII amp has a phono-stage built in, but if you want to use a turntable with a modern amplifier you will have to get a separate phono-amplifier and run it through the AUX input.
Some newer turntable designs now include a built-in phono-stage and even USB connections. But more about all that later when I tell you more about my hifi adventure in compiling a modest yet fine sounding hifi with bits from my bits-box ... well, almost.
*See my hifi / media index here.
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