System Pics 2016

Blue.Dog posted:

I need a better camera!

May I ask, how do you find the Roksan Caspian M2 integrated? Have you compared it with any Naim amplifiers other than the Uniqute 2, and what made you choose the Roksan? What are the distinct differences in house sound between the Roksan Caspian M2 and the Uniqute 2?

The reason I ask is I am still interested in getting a stylish and well-built integrated amp (despite failing to achieve this target every time).

Nice system by the way.

Here is my beloved Qb in its new home. To celebrate, I've treated it to an AudioQuest Forest Ethernet cable, to go with its AudioQuest mains lead. It seems very happy, next to its friends, the tomatoes. They are locally grown and organic. Lovely. 

Lewis posted:

Thelonious posted:

Lewis posted:

 

 I got the idea off a photo I saw online with a Nait 1 sitting on a piece of ply.  Just looked so damn good

Do you mean this one (from a german website)?

I knew this one and in fact after I've also seen your picture I thought there was some sort of tweak of which I was not aware LOL

Would have loved to try a Muso QB for my garage, but unfortunately a little over budget presently, so I thought I'd try this little fella!

It's a Sonos Play 1.  I have to say the sound certainly belies its size, it really is a feisty little thing, it sounds great and for the money, I just don't know how Sonos have done it, it's an absolute bargain sound for pound!  Really pleased with it....tunes in the garage have never sounded this good!

Update to my system since last system pic, added NAP100 to UQ

For some reason the speakers look like they are pointing outwards but they are toed in slightly, strange

HiFiman posted:

Update to my system since last system pic, added NAP100 to UQ

For some reason the speakers look like they are pointing outwards but they are toed in slightly, strange

Lovely set up! Speakers lovely without the grilles!

On the face of it, there is nothing new to see but behind the scenes.....300 now back from DR upgrade and service, whole system stripped down, cleaned and rebuilt, and Super Lumina speaker cables installed (ex dem, so well run in).  Finished the rebuild last night and then told by my beloved that we were going to friends for dinner so no time to listen then.  This morning was post holiday gardening before the forecast rain arrives and so I have only just now managed to sit down and listen to a couple of tracks; all I can say is WOW!  And this after the whole system has been off for around 4 weeks.  Given that most folk reckon the DR gubbins take a little while to get to full performance, I reckon a few days from now I'll be lucky if I can tear myself away from it!

Happy days indeed.

Ian

Hungryhalibut posted:

Here is my beloved Qb in its new home. To celebrate, I've treated it to an AudioQuest Forest Ethernet cable, to go with its AudioQuest mains lead. It seems very happy, next to its friends, the tomatoes. They are locally grown and organic. Lovely. 

I think I may need to treat mine to a red grill!

Very nice Hungryhalibut!

Clive B posted:

DrMark posted:

White plinth looks good too - if i ever got back into vinyl, I would definitely get a non-black plinth - really makes the TT pop IMHO. Wood grains or in the case of a modern looking one like this, a color.

What are you waiting for?

i assume the Tiger Paw Stiletto plinth wouldn't float your boat then?

I am waiting for selling what vinyl I have left - (about 25-30 titles) - need to reduce my "stuff" level as I head into my latter years. Selling lots of stuff so I can raise a little cash & be more able to move on short notice, since my job will likely be occupied by someone named Patel (or Shivalingiah, or Ayyappa, or Ramesh, or whatever) within the year, maybe even before year's end...but at least I will have the personal satisfaction of training my replacement to attempt to do my job at a quarter of the cost. The fact that they can only perform at about 10% of onshore effectiveness seems lost on our senior management.

For me to return to vinyl (which I wouldn't mind) would mean I came into stupid money - which seems very unlikely at this point. So if you ever see me posting vinyl play on here, you can rest assured I am loaded with long green!

Don't know what a Tiger Paw Stiletto plinth is - a google search was ambiguous to me. I have just liked some of the non-black plinths forum members have shown here, especially when they really jive with the room decor.

HiFiman posted:

Update to my system since last system pic, added NAP100 to UQ

For some reason the speakers look like they are pointing outwards but they are toed in slightly, strange

This is truly cool aesthetically. 

Thanks Artferg20 even though the AE301 only retail at £400 (I paid £200 ex demo) they sound great, plenty of detail and a fantastic sound stage and just enough bass to place a smile on my face. The designer of the AEs designed the 301s around the UQ and Supernait hence why they sound so good plus some of the great aspects of the AE1s have been passed down to this model.

Ian F posted:

On the face of it, there is nothing new to see but behind the scenes.....300 now back from DR upgrade and service, whole system stripped down, cleaned and rebuilt, and Super Lumina speaker cables installed (ex dem, so well run in).  Finished the rebuild last night and then told by my beloved that we were going to friends for dinner so no time to listen then.  This morning was post holiday gardening before the forecast rain arrives and so I have only just now managed to sit down and listen to a couple of tracks; all I can say is WOW!  And this after the whole system has been off for around 4 weeks.  Given that most folk reckon the DR gubbins take a little while to get to full performance, I reckon a few days from now I'll be lucky if I can tear myself away from it!

Happy days indeed.

Ian

Hi Ian,

Your system is remarkably similar, excluding the speakers, to mine, and I notice you mentioned SuperLumina speaker cables.

Have you done the swap for either, or both the HiLine, and the stock XLR's?

There's a few threads on this, together with others on the Chord Sarum alternatives.

I've now done the full SuperLumina thing, and it's well worthwhile, if a little expensive, but hey ho. 

Dave.

Hungryhalibut posted:

Here is my beloved Qb in its new home. To celebrate, I've treated it to an AudioQuest Forest Ethernet cable, to go with its AudioQuest mains lead. It seems very happy, next to its friends, the tomatoes. They are locally grown and organic. Lovely. 

Looks great HH, at least you will know when the tomatoes are ripe, now i fancy a ham and tomato sandwich :-) 

Hungryhalibut posted:

Here is my beloved Qb in its new home. To celebrate, I've treated it to an AudioQuest Forest Ethernet cable, to go with its AudioQuest mains lead. It seems very happy, next to its friends, the tomatoes. They are locally grown and organic. Lovely. 

HiFiman posted:

Hungryhalibut posted:

Here is my beloved Qb in its new home. To celebrate, I've treated it to an AudioQuest Forest Ethernet cable, to go with its AudioQuest mains lead. It seems very happy, next to its friends, the tomatoes. They are locally grown and organic. Lovely. 

Looks great HH, at least you will know when the tomatoes are ripe, now i fancy a ham and tomato sandwich :-) 

HH, what audible improvements have you noticed?  Would it be a worthwhile purchase for my Muso?

Tim

HiFiman posted:

Thanks Artferg20 even though the AE301 only retail at £400 (I paid £200 ex demo) they sound great, plenty of detail and a fantastic sound stage and just enough bass to place a smile on my face. The designer of the AEs designed the 301s around the UQ and Supernait hence why they sound so good plus some of the great aspects of the AE1s have been passed down to this model.

How are finding the NAP100?

That's looking great again HiFiman!  Without the grills the AE301 speakers also look very good.
(too bad there's no AE dealer in my area, as I'd like to audition them on my Unitiqute)

Can you describe the sonic improvement, the NAP100 brought to your Unitiqute ?

NAP100 took a few weeks to bed in even though it was ex demo but the additional power even though it's only 20watts over the UQ is substantial and the speakers sprung to life. Overall very pleased with the results plus they look great together.

The sonic improves are very noticeable when adding the 100 to the UQ, more of everything it's as though the UQ has grown up kind of reminds me of my early Naim days when I owned a 72/140 plenty of Prat and foot tapping moments 

Thanks for your quick response.  I'm also looking out for a s/h or ex-demo NAP100. 

NAP 140 were sold. NAP 180 is here. 102/180 has more Dynamic as 72/140 ;-)

I still like the looks (and signature sound) of Olive systems too - nice system. Do you plan to leave it stacked in that manner?

I hope Naim fraim comes later 

Ian F posted:
On the face of it, there is nothing new to see but behind the scenes.....300 now back from DR upgrade and service, whole system stripped down, cleaned and rebuilt, and Super Lumina speaker cables installed (ex dem, so well run in). Finished the rebuild last night and then told by my beloved that we were going to friends for dinner so no time to listen then. This morning was post holiday gardening before the forecast rain arrives and so I have only just now managed to sit down and listen to a couple of tracks; all I can say is WOW! And this after the whole system has been off for around 4 weeks. Given that most folk reckon the DR gubbins take a little while to get to full performance, I reckon a few days from now I'll be lucky if I can tear myself away from it!

Happy days indeed.

Ian

Hi Ian,

Your system is remarkably similar, excluding the speakers, to mine, and I notice you mentioned SuperLumina speaker cables.

Have you done the swap for either, or both the HiLine, and the stock XLR's?

There's a few threads on this, together with others on the Chord Sarum alternatives.

I've now done the full SuperLumina thing, and it's well worthwhile, if a little expensive, but hey ho. rolleyes

Dave.

Hi Dave,

Thanks for your reply.  I have auditioned all the SL options and felt that the speaker cables were the place to start.  I found the interconnect by itself to be a little too exciting in my system but it balnces wonderfully with the speaker cables, which do not in isolation upset the balance; hence my decision to go for them first.  The ic will follow when the coffers are sufficiently replenished but I will need to listen to the XLRs again.  I felt they were the least important link in the SL chain and that the cost seriously reduced their vfm - if indeed vfm is the correct term!

Cheers,

Ian

Good news on your upgrades Ian. My DR'd 500 is still revealing subtle sonic gains over five months after installation. And ......... don't worry if you hit a nasty negative bump in the road - it will soon clear. Several people are reporting (and I concur) that the peaks and troughs in performance during DR-settling seem to level off and become less dramatic as time passes.

As to Super Lumina; I can only report that a full loom really hits the spot for me in a deliciously 'less is more' sort of way.

Enjoy the ride.

John.

Novichok-1977 posted:

I hope Naim fraim comes later 

Novichok, what speakers are you running? If you said already I missed it, and your system is not in your profile.

I remember many pleasant hours listening to a 102/180 combo when I worked at a Naim dealer.