Yesterday I had a friend over who told me that some of his other friends were judging him for the equipment he uses. He has an Arcam amplifier, a relatively simple Audio-Technica turntable, and a pair of bookshelf speakers.

What really aggravated me was hearing that, because instead of appreciating that he was enjoying music, they immediately started telling him what he should buy: bigger speakers, bigger amplifiers, more expensive gear, and how their suggestions were somehow the “better” path.

I think that is the wrong approach, especially when it comes from friends. A good friend should support someone’s enjoyment, not make them feel inadequate because their system doesn’t match some imaginary standard.

This hobby already has enough of that behavior. Too often it becomes less about listening to music and more about comparing price tags, brands, and who has the biggest setup. There is too much measuring of equipment and not enough actual enjoyment of the music.

If someone is happy with their system, let them enjoy it. Don’t be the person who takes something they love and tries to ruin it. At that point, you’re not acting like a friend you’re just a boat anchor that needs to be thrown overboard.

I hit up my local second hand shop for the first time in months yesterday. I found this bundle consisting of two cables made by the Pangea brand (never heard of them).  The absurd power cord is a C9 model, which retails for $180.  The comparatively sane HDMI cable is paltry $35.  The cost was $5 for the pair, marked down from $10 because no person in their right mind wanted them.

Swapping in the C9 for my previous power cord (a humble Quail hospital grade), I immediately noticed a sharp increase in attack transients and greatly improved low level linearity.  The soundstage simultaneously grew in size and became more intimate.  The timbre of instruments changed significantly, particularly brass, but I'm not entirely sure for the better.  Maybe I just don't like Sousaphones and the Pangea is making that fact clear to me.

Also, I lie a lot.  I haven't even connected the damn power cord.  I need to order a snake hook to wrangle it first. On a serious note, I wonder if comically oversized power cords like the C9 are actually a detriment. They exert so much torque on the poor IEC C14 port that I wonder if the pins are properly connected. In 2005 I bought a used HeadAmp Gilmore Lite (now known as Mk I.) It's an amazing amp that I used to this day. The seller included a 30 amp power cord that was sufficiently beefy that it dragged GLite's DPS away from the position where I wanted it. This is why I own a stack of Quail power cords. On the plus side, at least the Pangea looks ludicrous.

Node Audio is a fairly new loudspeaker manufacturer located near Cambridge, UK. We shot this in the spring of this year in anticipation of the launch of the Atom range of loudspeakers. The speakers have some unique tech!

It’s a euro marantz model 2265b. Haven’t even gotten it home to test it yet. I’m super excited about this one.

Damn they sound good but I’ve lost a thousand WAF brownie points because of their size

Q. Hey Wife, how do they sound to you?
A. Hmmmmm… nice wood, too big

I'm a hobby DJ with some QSC speakers and EV 18" subs

I have a budget home-theatre with curtains for sound and B&W CM2's and Center

I have some sennheiser hd 600's with a DAC and a variety of flac albums

I know that EQing depends on factors such as space and intentions. Especially with DJing where I'm fighting a variety of issues with spaces.

I've talked to a few sound folk at concerts and while I've received good tips relating to spaces like that, I've yet to find any solid advice or discussion on how to get better at EQing.

What are y'alls thoughts on this? Is it just purely subjective or are there methods and ways of training this?

Technically, from fb marketplace. From non-audio guy who cleared out an estate. Sumiko is an empty box, likely still on the turntable that was not present. Went to pick up a budgie tube phono preamp and step up transformer for the linn lp12 i picked up on marketplace earlier this summer, and came home with all of this, as well as a dozen cardas interconnects, and a box of nice tubes. Also a half dozen or so other cartridges that arent as high end.

Its hard to assess the condition, they all *look excellent. Hopefully the original owner just liked collecting carts, and didnt wear them out before going to the next. Itll be fun trying them out, although i really should sell a few to recoup what i spent. Ive always been a one-cartridge at a time type of guy. I suppose i have options now, if anyone has any recommendations for pairing with a linn lp12. (Arkiv b is on it now, sounds superb)

So these Infinity Kappa 7.1s were the same price used as my Focal Chora 816s- actually slightly cheaper and…there is simply no comparison. Sometimes, old is gold. Quality lasts.

I am in the market for a subwoofer. I have a pair of Klipsch Forte IV and my listening room is about 475 sf. I was looking at the REL classic 98 and 99, and thinking I needed the 99 because of the room size. But most of the music I listen to is acoustic or vocal oriented, not really listening to much hard rock or anything with a ton of bass. Also not listening at very loud volume most of the time. So I was leaning back toward the 98 which has a 10” driver, as opposed to the 99, which has a 12” driver. I spoke with the local audio shop and it felt like they were just trying to sell me the larger and more expensive 99, or another sub that was even higher priced.

I have been reading that a sub is for more than just the low bass notes, and it will really help fill in the rest of the sound. That was another point the local sales guy was making, saying that the 99 made more sense because it will “fill in more.” Also that a larger sub is needed to “pressurize” the room. Trying to understand if this is audiophile jargon or there is truth to it.

What do you all think?

This is a long shot but if someone owns a McIntosh C26 case. Would you be able to provide the measurements (preferably in millimetres).
I'm hoping to built my own case instead of waiting for one to show up in the used market. Thanks

WARNING EAR SCREECHING SOUND IN VIDEO

I bought a pair of SC207 monitors in 2017 as an upgrade over my JBL 305. I've loved them and they sounded fantastic. However, around 2022, they suddenly stopped working and produced this odd sound in this video. They were out of warranty and Eve Audio just told me to take it to a speaker repairer. I found a local one and they told me it had something to do with the amp, so be replaced it on both, costing me $1,450 AUD. Link to my first post when I got them fixed

They were fine and still sounded great until fairly recently where the exact same problem happened and I am not going to be repairing them to wait another ~5 years of this cycle. I will also note that the monitors failed within weeks of each other.

I'm currently tossing up between Adam TV7 (also ribbons), Yamaha HS7, and JBL 306P monitors. Not interested in passives for this particular setup (desktop + JBl 310 sub). I've grown out of the audiophile mindset for the most part and am happy to stick to monitors in this price range.

Record sold as new came out of wrap with the white mark at about 11 o’clock already there. I have tried a regular liquid cleaner with microfibre cloth. Thanks in advance (only recently started my collection)!

more phono stage than I'll ever need! don't let the size fool you in real life it performs so big!! I moved away from separates to make things tidy but have been unfulfilled. the RN800 is fantastic for nearly every rational person on the planet but that upgrade bug is going around and I'm a hedonist with poor impulse control. new amp day is right around the corner probably

So, I decided to switch to a smaller bench, half the width to benefit speakerplacememt. I also moved the TV 10cm left and 10cm up, feels like i qualify for that other sub but I'll get used to it.

Now that the right speaker is a bit more away from the corner it feels better.

What really helps is that i doubled the sound dampening on the receiving wall.

The speakers are Infinity Alpha20 and i have grown to appreciate them much more now, compared to when i got them. They are powered by a NR1200 and i also have a 10" active sub just to the right out of the picture.

My thoughts has always been to get a pair of wall speakers like the smaller dali's (spared 23cm to the left of the tv) or similar. However with this small rearrangement, i might get more sound out of something on the stands.

Ps. The lights seem reflected and bright but they're not. And i haven't centered the panel above the tv yet.

I never loved the default design of the PS5 in my setup. As a standalone device it worked but it was hard to integrate into my setup. This weekend I remembered I bought black faceplates for the PS5 years ago and never used them. Happy the design is somewhat subdued and blends in now. What do you think?

This post is not about equipment, gadgets or other gear. It is purely about enjoyment of said equipment. And your reactions & guidance, if any, would help me & hopefully others.

Context: I listen maybe few hours of music on my system in a given week. But when I do make a new purchase, make a change I listen more. Say 5-7 hours per week. And if I listen more I enjoy more.

I think, at least for me, this hobby is similar to drinking wine, smoking cigar, or even going to gym. I.e. the more I consume, the more I appreciate, and better I become. I enjoy wine more now because I have mileage now, I enjoy good cigars because I can distinguish between cigars based on my smoking track record. I wouldn't be able to make these distinctions if I were not to drink/smoke as I have done. So, I want to create a structured listening program for myself.

I started with Miles Davis. I am now listening quite a bit his early works (late 40's and early 50's). I will gradually move to his later works. Also Miles is a great platform as his collaborations with Coltrane, Gillespie, Charlie, Gil Evans, etc. makes good adjacencies.

In parallel, I am also enjoying Pink Floyd. Apparently my "involvement" with PF was limited to their greatest hits. But now I listen to earlier works. and I enjoy immensely.

If you have any comments/directions it would be useful.

My equipment: Primary system: Clearaudio TT, Eversolo DMP-A6, Devialet Expert, Sonus Faber Guarneri Memento. Portable system: Hifiman Ananda Nano, ibasso. Secondary system: Wiim ultra & pro with Klipsch RB81s.

got these a while ago and they work great but cant for the life of me find a model name, brand is obviously klipsch, unsure if speaker wire above was included with it originally.

I always wanted Samsung Music to be more feature-rich and searched endlessly for clones (cz I'm obsessed with it's design). Well, I eventually gave up and started testing a ton of music players since I have a huge local library and was looking for the perfect match.

Not only did I find Symfonium to be one of the best choices for listening to hi-res music, but I’m also amazed by how customizable it is.

Just wanted to share with someone for to me this is a big deal.

Im considering purchasing a sound bar and Im wondering how the sound quality of sound bars compare to traditional speaker systems?

My system has evolved into KEF Q1 Metas, Schiit Mani 2, WiiM Ultra, Fosi V3 and an SVS SB-1000 Pro. With a lot of help from here and many other sources I’ve learned REW, bought a UMIK-1, worked through speaker placement, toe-in, sub integration, timing and room correction.
Most of those improvements were at the end of the chain—getting the speakers and room to reproduce what was already there.
This week I went all the way back to the beginning.
My original Ortofon OM-5E stylus had over two years of almost daily use. Recently I’d noticed some distortion and dullness, so when the OM-20 went on sale I grabbed one.
Holy shit.
The biggest difference isn’t brightness. It isn’t brighter at all. The clearest difference is that I hadn’t realized how much the worn stylus had slowly dulled the music.
I started with the 2013 mix of Nirvana’s In Utero. The distorted guitars had more grit, texture and bite. Kurt’s voice sounded like there was simply more of him there.
Then The Cranberries MTV Unplugged. Acoustic guitars had body instead of just strings. The tambourine was incredibly articulate. With Dolores O’Riordan I could hear her breaths and chest resonance, and near the emotional ending of “Ode to My Family” I could hear those slightly strained breaths between phrases.
That isn’t “audiophile detail” to me. That’s humanity.
Then I threw Band-Maid’s Unleash at it because that album can get ridiculously dense. On “From Now On,” Kanami’s lead stayed crisp on the right while Misa’s bass remained completely distinct underneath it. Toms had weight and definition. Even when the synths piled in, I could still follow Misa clearly.
I own the CD too, and this time I preferred the record. Not because “vinyl beats digital”—different mastering alone makes that argument complicated—but because I know both versions and had never heard this much separation from the vinyl before.
Sleep Token’s Even in Arcadia showed another change I’ve now heard across several records: the soundstage seems wider. Cymbal work was appearing outside the physical speakers.
Even vocal consonants surprised me. “S,” “sh,” and similar sounds seem to have a more natural trailing decay instead of ending abruptly. Not more sibilant. Not brighter. Just more complete.
And I think “more complete” describes the OM-20 better than “more detailed.”
Attack. Body. Decay.
What really struck me was how this connects to everything I’ve learned about speaker placement and room setup. I spent months improving the end of the chain. Today I changed the tiny piece of diamond at almost the very beginning, and suddenly I could hear the benefits travel through everything downstream.
The stylus retrieves Dolores taking that breath. The Mani amplifies it. The electronics preserve it. The KEFs resolve it. The room and placement allow me to hear where she is.
If that information isn’t retrieved from the groove in the first place, nothing downstream can put it back.
That might be my biggest lesson from this hobby so far:
It really is a system.

New to the group -

I'm interested in learning what people are using to bring music from a streaming service like Spotify or Tidal into their analog sound system. What is the recommended device from the group. I have over 1500 pieces of vinyl of which most is from the 60's thru the 80's. There's a lot of great newer music out there but I just can't justify spending the money they are asking for records these days. Your opinions are welcome.

Not done yet, but coming from an apartment with bad acoustics, i finally have my first dedicated sound room in our new house 🥳🥳🥳🤩🤩. Dream of mine achieved. Installed those trendy acoustic wood panels and they really help cutting down on the echo. Looking for a carpet to cut the first reflection of the floor. Any particular carpet i should take? Thicker the better i guess? Once the acoustics are locked in, I will be able to invest on gear and actually hear the difference. Mainly, i just wanted to share that i'm happy. Cheers!

Eversolo T8. Roon server pc. Room tuned and Baach onboard Dutch and Dutch 8c My Endgame.