What component have you smuggled in....

Roadie Simon posted:

Adam Zielinski posted:

I found a good way of actually getting new purchases signed off - I start testing and auditioning and of course insist my wife auditions with me. As her attention span is shorter than mine when it comes to all things HIFi , by the 4th iteration she just let's me get on with it, having of course clearly expressed her preference (which most of the time is the same as mine to be honest).

Ahh the old bore them in to submission eh?

Perhaps not 'submission' as such, but definitely 'bore' part works well

Adam - you are a naughty boy starting this thread ... obviously bored with the sick leave?

All is passed by the wife before purchase and her thoughts as to whether she can hear any difference is a final arbiter; she doesn't have much of an ear but if she can't at least hear a difference then it ain't worth it.

It was she who finally persuaded me to get the 803D3 speakers - I was rather guilty about their cost but she argued that other people get a car when they retire so why shouldn't I get speakers instead - love her

Allan

I can think of worse ways to spend your money so why not?

None, ever. I don't live that way.

Allan Milne posted:

 

Adam - you are a naughty boy starting this thread ... obviously bored with the sick leave?

 

All is passed by the wife before purchase and her thoughts as to whether she can hear any difference is a final arbiter; she doesn't have much of an ear but if she can't at least hear a difference then it ain't worth it.

It was she who finally persuaded me to get the 803D3 speakers - I was rather guilty about their cost but she argued that other people get a car when they retire so why shouldn't I get speakers instead - love her

Allan

 

How do you know she hasn't swapped your fancy Naim gear for a nice little midi system? 

Chris - good shout - I would never hear the difference so I'd better go and have a feel about ...

Have I ever smuggled anything in?

I couldn't possibly comment as I get email alerts from this place and SWMBO has full access to all emails. I guess this is an admission of guilt so please nobody 'like' this as I will get an email and might have to find somewhere to stay tonight!

In reality, I home demo everything I am considering and the flow of equally sized white boxes with Naim on the side is a bit of a giveaway so I am an honest boy these days. Even Naim cables come in boxes these days so I have no room for manoeuvre.

Ho hum.

Cables and invoices and I got big but big discount on Naim!  range of 95% to 50%! 

The must difficult item is power Supply! 

nigelb posted:

so please nobody 'like' this as I will get an email and might have to find somewhere to stay tonight!

I'm desperately trying not to press that little 'heart' symbol.... but I think I'm failing.....

Cables (power, ethernet, din upgrade etc), linear power supplies, microRendu, etc. Pretty much anything that resides  in the back of the cabinet or the server closet downstairs. Turntable and new speakers impossibility of course. I wouldn't say 'smuggling' though. More like my wife really couldn't be bothered with this hobby. To her, her old NAD setup sounded just fine. She does admit the hifi now sounds fantastic. And I've finally settled on a control app for the rendu  that works and is easy to navigate (iPeng) - that part of not knowing how to play something was driving her crazy. For Xmas she's gifting me the Uptone power supply for the mR. I sure hope there's a sound difference from the current power supply or it will be hard to explain the need after the fact! 

I have also to confess that in our household we split the running costs into revenue and capital. I cover revenue costs and M covers all capital costs. We could not possibly claim that hi-fi is a revenue cost, hence she pays for most of it; I cover repairs and replacement of degrading items, such as the cartridge, and cables as they have little intrinsic value once purchased. I am having a bit of trouble getting her to listen to a 500, but once the new kitchen has been in-situ for a couple of months and she has 'forgotten' the cost......... 

Adam Zielinski posted:

nigelb posted:

so please nobody 'like' this as I will get an email and might have to find somewhere to stay tonight!

I'm desperately trying not to press that little 'heart' symbol.... but I think I'm failing.....

And all the trouble I went to to get those Vertere links and a naim chips, you would do that to me! It's cold in the UK this time of year. Don't fancy sleeping in the garden.

Actually, I have been (mostly) honest with the wife.

charlesphoto posted:

 And I've finally settled on a control app for the rendu  that works and is easy to navigate (iPeng) - that part of not knowing how to play something was driving her crazy.t! 

Good point re: control. My wife is generally very patient when it comes to my 'cables' as she calls it. One thing that really unnerved her was 4 different remote controls just to watch her favourite TV programme ('Dog Rescuers' aired on Animal Planet)

Found a brilliant solution - Logitech programmable remote control.
Now there are only two - Logitech for everything video (it also switches a NAIM amp into an AV mode) and a Uniti remote for the NDX.

nigelb posted:

Adam Zielinski posted:

nigelb posted:

so please nobody 'like' this as I will get an email and might have to find somewhere to stay tonight!

I'm desperately trying not to press that little 'heart' symbol.... but I think I'm failing.....

And all the trouble I went to to get those Vertere links and a naim chips, you would do that to me! It's cold in the UK this time of year. Don't fancy sleeping in the garden.

Actually, I have been (mostly) honest with the wife.

Well... I haven't pressed it Those Vertere links are actually very good. Somehow cannot bring myself to test alternative speakers - I like those MA300s.
Perhaps I could convince my wife to audition Monitor Audio PL300 II next year.....

I still have my bankaccount which I got when I was a kid. Very useful.

SWMBO is remarkably tolerant of my unfortunate hi-fi habit. A few hints dropped, then mention of the item as a throwaway comment, expressing little interest (when I desperately want one), hoping I'll be asked about the thing. A bit of quid pro quo negotiation and I usually manage to gain tacit agreement. If the price is asked, things can get a bit awkward...

The only sneaky thing I did was when I decided I needed to replace my REL subwoofers with a pair of somewhat a larger (ahem) Dynavectors. SWMBO's only concern was that the new ones didn't stick out any further into the room. Having assured her they would not I then proceeded, daily over the course of a few weeks, to gradually move the RELs further away from the wall. I then showed her the measurements and explained the Dynavectors would be able to sit further back, unlike the RELs which just wouldn't work properly hard against the wall. She was suspicious.

For all those who feel the need to justify to another their expenditure on their HiFi habit:

It's no more expensive than a heroin or cocaine habit, but ultimately this one's not self destructive.  Which habit would they prefer you to have?  

Huge posted:

For all those who feel the need to justify to another their expenditure on their HiFi habit:

It's no more expensive than a heroin or cocaine habit, but ultimately this one's not self destructive.  Which habit would they prefer you to have?  

I will try that one, but I have my doubts she'll wear it! 

Nothing so far and my upgrade plan over the next 12 months may be too obvious to allow for smuggling! 

However..... depending which route I take could an xpsdr be mistaken for a flatcap? 

tonym posted:

SWMBO is remarkably tolerant of my unfortunate hi-fi habit. A few hints dropped, then mention of the item as a throwaway comment, expressing little interest (when I desperately want one), hoping I'll be asked about the thing. A bit of quid pro quo negotiation and I usually manage to gain tacit agreement. If the price is asked, things can get a bit awkward...

The only sneaky thing I did was when I decided I needed to replace my REL subwoofers with a pair of somewhat a larger (ahem) Dynavectors. SWMBO's only concern was that the new ones didn't stick out any further into the room. Having assured her they would not I then proceeded, daily over the course of a few weeks, to gradually move the RELs further away from the wall. I then showed her the measurements and explained the Dynavectors would be able to sit further back, unlike the RELs which just wouldn't work properly hard against the wall. She was suspicious.

Correction - please read Velodyne for Dynavector. Well, they do kind of sound the same.

We have joint accounts so no hiding for me. She knows me well, protests and the always enjoys the improvements rendered with each upgrade.

My 12 year old daughter is the one to watch. I recently purchased a SL cable loom an when she saw the invoice she yelled - How much?...they're just bits of wire!!!! I could have got pairs and pairs of UGG boots and Superdry hoodies for that!!!!!

Not Worth even thinking about smuggling with my wife. When I mentioned recently that Naim had just today launched a whole new line, she immediately said "what are you after then?" So my cover blown before I even got started!

best

David

David,

be careful, be very careful ...

Mentioning the new line from Naim may lead to some more questions which may ultimately lead to the "... well what the hell have we got all those boxes for when we can get it all in one box ..."

Allan

Allan Milne posted:

 

David,

be careful, be very careful ...

Mentioning the new line from Naim may lead to some more questions which may ultimately lead to the "... well what the hell have we got all those boxes for when we can get it all in one box ..."

Allan

No I'm past that stage fortunately. She knows the stack goes in the sitting room and the single boxes go in other rooms......

best

David

David Hendon posted:

Allan Milne posted:

 

David,

be careful, be very careful ...

Mentioning the new line from Naim may lead to some more questions which may ultimately lead to the "... well what the hell have we got all those boxes for when we can get it all in one box ..."

Allan

No I'm past that stage fortunately. She knows the stack goes in the sitting room and the single boxes go in other rooms......

best

David

Same here - serious listening 'must' equal many boxes.