General Asylum

Posted by kuma (A) on April 30, 2006 at 10:36:41

In Reply to: Fed up with system, starting from scratch. posted by Frank25 on April 28, 2006 at 10:41:29:

Your friend's system consists of just one brand.

Not surprising because system upgrade or building becomes much easier when you stick to one brand since they are all supposed to work together.

Mixing and matching different brands to get a desired result can be an interesting exercise and I thoroughly enjoyed the experience but it wasn't particularly cost effective.

A year ago, I sold a Nagra amp and got a little Nait 3R. Basically, I ditched everything except speakers and started over.
Ever since I have been experimenting with this Nait 3R based system. So far changes I made within the *brand* or tried and true partnering gear has been pretty much a sure thing whilst every time when I introduce something *foreign* to the system, almost always it throws the system balance off kilter. A new piece of kit might enhance some aspects of hifi, yet a musical coherence usually goes out of the window. I do get lucky sometimes but that's by pure luck, really.

Like when I realised the LP12/Nait combo actually works better with a WATT 6 than Naim's own or Linn Kan in this room. I guess you still have to figure in the speakers/room compatibility and make necessary adjustments.

The one-make *prefab* type of approach might not be the most exciting thing for aspiring audiophiles, but it's the easiest way to get to the goal ( presumably, enjoying the music and not listening to a hardware ) if a listener finds the brand with a voicing he/she can agree with.

A vinyl playing is an excellent way to stretch a dollar. It certainly makes sense if the music you want to listen to is readily available in the media. I've observed that few folks get into it solely for the sonic reasons without much music to play on. Then find out later that it's too much of a hassle. Not all of us are born tinkers nor slaves for a record cleaning.

I've started out with a rebuilt LP12 for a 850$ including an arm, a cartridge and a set-up. ( my direct-drive days are over )
I am surprised how much this record player gets its use everyday.

Good luck finding a system that will give you a musical satisfaction for a long time.