Author Topic: A modest little rig....  (Read 3833 times)

Offline RuralTom

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A modest little rig....
« on: December 31, 2013, 02:47:16 PM »
Greeting again Gentlemen,

        On 'house recommendation' I thought I'd list my little starter rig.

         NAD 304 Integrated Amp
         Music Hall 2.2LE, Tracker cart.
         NAD 502 CD player, modded
         Pioneer DV-563 CD player
         Klipsch KG 5.2

        All but the Pioneer is new to me in the last month and a half as I've been trying to take a few giant leaps forward in home sonic fun...  and things do sound quite a bit better now.

        I ran an Adcom GFA 5300 through an Adcom GTP 450 pre-amp/tuner, with the Pioneer (and an old 5-disc Technics) through Boston Acoustic A100iis for quite a few years.  (In fact I may try the amp with the NAD as pre only here in the near future) I was happy enough with that system, especially as I moved something like 15 times in the last 20 years, lol.
       The turntable was the first purchase, picked up to take advantage of a cache of vinyl I received.  The NAD came about when I decided the phono pre-amp I bought evidently sucked, and it did.  The 502 came up when I was searching for other stuff...  for a hundred bucks with new laser, new tray motor, sound dampening and other things I didn't even understand, lol, I figured why not? The Klipsch came from 8WoF on Sunday, so I'm still definitely grooving on their vibe.

       Not by any means a high end affair, but SOOOOOOOO much better than before!   I don't have any new plans in the near future (beyond the Crites' Ti diaphragms I ordered to install next week) except to get my but up to Pittsburgh and grab a bunch of music.   That being said, if anyone has good constructive ideas for next rounds of upgrades, do tell.

Happy New Year!
preamp: BAT VK-5
amp: Altec 944sa
DAC:  Bel Canto 2.5
CDP: Pioneer Elite DV-47a
Intel NUC server / iFi micro iUSB3.0 / Roon
Spendor FL9

Offline papabearjew

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Re: A modest little rig....
« Reply #1 on: December 31, 2013, 03:19:19 PM »
nothing wrong with what you've got dude. I'll bet it sounds quite nice

bmwr75

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Re: A modest little rig....
« Reply #2 on: December 31, 2013, 03:35:09 PM »
Nice rig!!

If it was me, the next purchase would be a tube amp or integrated cause Klipsch speakers pair well with tubes.  Then an external DAC that is better than what is in the CD or DVD players.  Am not familiar with either CD/DVD player you own, so don't know how much money you would have to spend on a DAC to hear an improvement.

Offline RuralTom

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Re: A modest little rig....
« Reply #3 on: December 31, 2013, 04:07:45 PM »
I definitely thought 8WoF's tube amp through the Klipsch Chorus' sounded incredible, and made me think I should look into that option at some point...  perhaps even DIY kit.

Neither player is particularly high end.  I'm really familiar with DACs, but I'm imagining it needs the player to have some kind of 'digital out' line?  I'll have to look and see, but I'm not sure if either have such.. though I've never checked!
preamp: BAT VK-5
amp: Altec 944sa
DAC:  Bel Canto 2.5
CDP: Pioneer Elite DV-47a
Intel NUC server / iFi micro iUSB3.0 / Roon
Spendor FL9

Offline RuralTom

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Re: A modest little rig....
« Reply #4 on: December 31, 2013, 04:08:55 PM »
NOT really familiar with DACs, I meant to say!
preamp: BAT VK-5
amp: Altec 944sa
DAC:  Bel Canto 2.5
CDP: Pioneer Elite DV-47a
Intel NUC server / iFi micro iUSB3.0 / Roon
Spendor FL9

Offline RuralTom

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Re: A modest little rig....
« Reply #5 on: December 31, 2013, 04:16:52 PM »
nothing wrong with what you've got dude. I'll bet it sounds quite nice

Thanks PBJ  I must say I'm pretty happy... I just get all bashful when I see systems on these forums that run WAY more than my mortgage.  I've stopped even looking up pieces I see in other folks rigs, lol.
preamp: BAT VK-5
amp: Altec 944sa
DAC:  Bel Canto 2.5
CDP: Pioneer Elite DV-47a
Intel NUC server / iFi micro iUSB3.0 / Roon
Spendor FL9

Offline MasterBlaster

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Re: A modest little rig....
« Reply #6 on: December 31, 2013, 04:27:29 PM »
nothing wrong with what you've got dude. I'll bet it sounds quite nice

Thanks PBJ  I must say I'm pretty happy... I just get all bashful when I see systems on these forums that run WAY more than my mortgage.  I've stopped even looking up pieces I see in other folks rigs, lol.

Everything I own is second hand. I haven't paid retail in quite a while.
Many folks here have parlayed their way to the systems they have now.
HT: Audiocontrol Maestro M3, Sunfire 5*200,  Tannoy Mercury MX , SVS PB-12 Sub

Head-Fi: FUBAR IV Plus DAC, Grado SR225

Living Room: Dynaco ST-70 (R&R work done by NATOE), Dynaco PAS Preamp, Jamo C607 towers, MCS 6710 Turntable

Offline hewlew1

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Re: A modest little rig....
« Reply #7 on: December 31, 2013, 04:56:01 PM »
Boston A 100's are nice I have 5 of them. 2 pair plus one single orphan.

bmwr75

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Re: A modest little rig....
« Reply #8 on: December 31, 2013, 06:12:10 PM »
NOT really familiar with DACs, I meant to say!

You were correct in your previous post.  Your CD or DVD player will need a Toslink optical out or RCA coaxial digital out to feed an external DAC (digital to analog converter).  If you get into computer based music management, a DAC with a USB input will be nice.

Offline F1nut

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Re: A modest little rig....
« Reply #9 on: December 31, 2013, 08:56:49 PM »
Congrats!

I agree a tube amp would be nice with your Klipsch. How are you fixed for cables?

Be aware, the rabbit hole is deep, very deep.
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Offline RuralTom

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Re: A modest little rig....
« Reply #10 on: January 01, 2014, 10:23:11 AM »
NOT really familiar with DACs, I meant to say!

You were correct in your previous post.  Your CD or DVD player will need a Toslink optical out or RCA coaxial digital out to feed an external DAC (digital to analog converter).  If you get into computer based music management, a DAC with a USB input will be nice.

After a little scouting, I can say both have a digital out.  Given that neither player was exactly top of the line, I imagine they could benefit from better conversion.  Thanks for the tip, I'll start nosing around.
preamp: BAT VK-5
amp: Altec 944sa
DAC:  Bel Canto 2.5
CDP: Pioneer Elite DV-47a
Intel NUC server / iFi micro iUSB3.0 / Roon
Spendor FL9

Offline RuralTom

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Re: A modest little rig....
« Reply #11 on: January 01, 2014, 10:24:28 AM »
Congrats!

I agree a tube amp would be nice with your Klipsch. How are you fixed for cables?

Be aware, the rabbit hole is deep, very deep.

Ah cables....  another piece of the 'great divide'.  I think I'm OK on those for the time being!
preamp: BAT VK-5
amp: Altec 944sa
DAC:  Bel Canto 2.5
CDP: Pioneer Elite DV-47a
Intel NUC server / iFi micro iUSB3.0 / Roon
Spendor FL9