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In Reply to: RE: How low are your standards? posted by Curious on July 23, 2014 at 08:20:29
What is your absolute bottom-line, entry level point on vinyl playback gear that you could live with, with relative satisfaction?
I could happily live with a Pioneer PL-12DII table with a Denon DL-160 cartridge and an integrated amp such as a Yamaha CA-610 or NAD 3020.
The older I get the easier my needs are met.
Dean.
reelsmith's axiom: Its going to be used equipment when I sell it, so it may as well be used equipment when I buy it.
Follow Ups:
My standards have dropped along with my hearing acuity.
I am very satisfied with my Empire 208 turntable/SME tonearm + Ortofon M20FL cartridge with LFD integrated amp/built-in phono stage. It's not my primary system, but it may soon be as I intend to move out of a big house and into smaller "retirement" digs at some point not that far in the future.
The budget system that I had for many years and would be happy with again was a Thorens TD-150 (various MM cartridges) + Audible Illusions Model 3 preamp/phono + Dynaco Stereo 70 (Welborne mods). With judicious shopping, I could recreate this system (excluding speakers) for less than $1,000 today.
"Knowing what you don't know is, in a sense, omniscience"
I get my hearing checked every year when I have my physical. As of this past January I heard out to 16kHz.
Not bad for 55 years old.
I'm just more easily satisfied as I get older.
Dean.
reelsmith's axiom: Its going to be used equipment when I sell it, so it may as well be used equipment when I buy it.
Nice! I'm about 10 years older than you and am only hearing out to 12-13k.
Having been an audio enthusiast my whole life (started building kits in the 1960's), I do not think I'm any less demanding. Instead, I think my expectations for what is possible have been lowered. Even very high-end systems just don't deliver the experience of live music. Considering just the past decade, I've spent over $60,000 on various high-end audio gear -- brands and models that are well thought of.
That experience, along with attending audio events and high-end demos has affected my hopes for what is achievable with today's technology. Maybe I'm experienced enough now not to expect that the next new gear or tweak will ever deliver more than a weak simulacrum of the actual event.
Or maybe I'm just delusional. If I could just stretch a bit to afford that Graham tonearm, my deck would finally deliver Nirvana...
"Knowing what you don't know is, in a sense, omniscience"
Does that track with our aging hearing? At 63 I believe I still hear pretty well but it may be whistling past the graveyard. :-)
-Wendell
And I was flirting with a cute 40 something at the grocery store this A.M.
Why give up?
63 is the new 20KHZ...: )
Or at least 14KHZ.
"Hope is a good thing. Maybe, the best of things. And no good thing ever dies."
Actually, low frequencies still are easy to hear. It's the highs that have receeded a bit, to the point where cartridges that were excessively bright and used to send me screaming from the room are now quite acceptable.
What's interesting in this aging process is how well I still can discriminate what sounds like real music, probably based more on tone, pace and harmonics. I know an older recording engineer (now age 73) who still has incredible music acuity, despite loss of hearing. FR is certainly only one small part of the story.
"Knowing what you don't know is, in a sense, omniscience"
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