S-800's

Tom-in-Amsterdam posted:

Hungryhalibut posted:

An £8,000 system mid-fi! Really? 

I'd call that low-fi. From observations in real life and both this forum... things can get so much crazier than that. So my scale
0-5000 entry level
5000-10.000 lower end
10000-20000 mid
20000-40000 serious enthousiast
40000- ....  unknown territory

That is just utter rubbish -- and I fear you don't live in the real world!

There was a topic on the SL2 recently mentioning how many of them has been produced. Does anyone know the numbers of the s800's?

I am pretty impressed with my little toy. Considering that in the 80s I spent in actual dollars, (not inflation adjusted) about as much on my turntable and step up transformer, today's foray is amazing value. I get to hear a friend's set-up that is pretty close to where I was in the mid 80s and I think I have a better, (for me), system in many ways.

But there is something not quite there in my set up. And that is the jaw dropping "ahhh" factor. Maybe being a bit misty eyed and audio memory is notoriously fickle. And I am a different person now. But I remember being so excited by my music that an evening of playing albums would fly by, and the records would pile up. Suddenly it would be 5am and my wife would be saying maybe we should go to bed. I would be saying just a few more tracks...

That's not where I am now. I do enjoy what I have, no strong urge to upgrade, and have started collecting albums again. But I wouldn't kid myself as to where I am in the pecking order.

The relationship between music, equipment quality and satisfaction is hard to define, but it iseasy to know when you hit the zone. I am almost there, so that's why I call my effort mid fi.

I am thinking front end improvements down the track. A 272 and a power supply first. Or a 252 and a decent streamer. Then a 300. Already grabbing as many HR albums as possible, and haven't ruled out an LP12. 

That's where I think hifi begins.