Explain Set- up and installation, please !

1) The most important thing to be careful about is the interconnection between the CD Player, Pre-amp, Power Supply and Power amplifier. Check the manuals for details on these.

2) Loudspeaker position is one of the most important.
a) Make sure the back of the loudspeakers are up against a solid back wall (like a bricked wall rather than a room divider).
b) Positioning the loudspeakers so that they are firing down the length (rather than width) of the room will make best use of the bass response.
c) Different 'speakers have different positioning requirements. Many of the ones recommended here are positioned about 1 inch away from the back wall. Others tend to be free-standing.
d) Changing the spacing between the loudspeakers will change the sound - including musicality.
e) If using stands, make sure that they do not wobble *whatsoever* and are level (use a spirit level). If you happen to need to bolt the stands together, then make sure the bolts are as tight as you can make it.
f) Zig-zag extraneous 'speaker cable, do not coil.
g) There should ideally be more than 18 inches between the loudspeaker and side wall (or adjacent object).
h) Do not place anything (including fireplaces and pot plants) between the loudspeakers.

3) When setting up stands
a) Make sure the stands are bolted together as tight as possible.
b) The stands must be level (use spirit level) and be stable (test this by rocking it on diagonal corners) by adjusting the spikes.
c) Position the equipment as far away from the loudspeakers as possible, and never position between the loudspeakers.
d) Slight adjustments in positioning the equipment supports can improve matters - there are particular areas of the floor boards that are less susceptible to vibration.

4) Equipment
a) Position power amplifiers and power supplies as far away from the pre-amp as possible.
b) Try to separate signal cables from mains leads.

Don't be afraid to experiment. This procedure should take no longer that 1-2 hours - the benefits would last for years.

What do mains conditioners do? In general they fuck up the sound - robbing the musical vitality. A separate spur is an excellent idea though.

Andrew

Andrew Randle
2B || !2B;
4 ^ = ?;

Steve

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Andrew - do you charge for your time ?

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No problem, took me 5 mins. I spend much of my time writing consultative reports for work and every so often find the forum gives me a much needed break (while keeping the mind ticking over).

quote:

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My feelings (going down Andrews track) of £6000 for a source, with a budget of only £7500 are unsure, but mainly fear of spending so much on one (OK 2) box ('s) but we'll see !

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Give it a try. When you contact Grahams, tell them that you want to hear the CDS2/Majik/Speakers against CDX/82/180/Speakers. This will be extremely useful for you, and incredibly interest for us to read your final opinions on.

I noted that you said you have 1500 LPs and 1000 CDs. If you go for an LP player, such as the LP12/Aro/Cartridge, you will have a top notch source for less money (and more money to spend on the amps and speakers).

Seems like you want to go for the CD player though. The CDS2 option is not as silly as many would assume. When the cash is available you can easily upgrade the amp and speakers bit-by-bit.

Andrew

Andrew Randle
2B || !2B;
4 ^ = ?;

At audio-t
www.audio-t.co.uk/html/offers/
you'll find a lot of s/h naim gear
e.g CD 2 - 1400 GBP
NAC 102 - 795 GBP
NAP 180 - 795 GBP
SBL - 500 - 1500 GBP,
then check
loot.com:
Linn LP12 turntable, ittok LV3 arm, dynavector 10 x 4 cart, Lingo PSU - 725 GBP
a well balanced analog/digital chain which leaves
1800 GBP of your Budget
for HiCap (525 GBP - loot.com)
1000 GBP for Mana stands....
you could try....
much fun
Guido

I would support the set-up advice given above wholehartedly but at risk of confusing matters I would not spend £6000 on a CD player in the context of a £7500 system.

One of my priorities musically is scale and reproduction of a live musical performance. Whilst a CDS2 will retrieve every single nuance of the performance, the components downstream will in my view mask this information retrieval drastically if you skimp on their quality too much. I would urge you to ensure in particular that you do not compromise too heavily on your speakers if like me you value reproduction of scale. Let me give you an example:

If you listen to classical or jazz where there are cello's or double bass I would argue one of the things that convinces you that the instruments are in the room (and hence gives you the buzz that live music (and great hi-fi) is all about) is the feeling of size and scale of the instrument and hence the sound it produces.

To use another example take any rock track you like - the bass guitar and drums in particular all underpin the sound and provide groove to the music. Inadequate bass power and articulation due to compromised speakers will severely limit your enjoyment - in this case you certainly won't be fooled that Led Zep are live in your living room no matter how good the CD source is if you're playing through £300 of speakers.

The CDS2/72/180/Kan system recommended will give you a very tight, fast, clean and transparent sound. It will not however give you a particularly good tonal balance or scale ie put Bruce Springsteen 'Born in the USA' on and you won't enjoy it because the sound will be thin and weedy. Stick SBL's on the end of the system and it will sound better but still not ballsy enough, stick a pair of Dynaudio floorstanders on there and the sound will fill out (and slow down) sounding tonally kinder on the ears but less transparent. Speakers make a big differnce! If on the other hand you listen to well recorded female vocals, lightweight classical and soft rock then you will love the Kan system.

So in summary:

Go and listen to several ways of spending £7500 as the others have said.
Take music with you you which represents all genres you like listening to - make sure some of it is badly/averagely recorded - well recorded hifi discs prove nothing in a dem.
Consider second hand
Enjoy!

Jonathan