My First Post.

[Gio-G]

I've been excited to join the forum and learn what I can. I'll say this right off, I'm out of my depth here and likely won't know a lot of the terminology so please forgive me if I have some "stupid questions". I'm more interested in keeping my mouth shut and learning so I won't have many or any earth shattering posts.

I started with my very first real higher end system in 1999. Trial and error and some pretty good audio sales reps set me up with a system that I have just recently started to replace/upgrade the gear.

The system is almost all Bryston gear except the CD player which is a California Audio Labs CL-10. I recently replaced/upgraded my aging Bryston BP-25 preamp with the Bryston BP-19 preamp. They offered me very good trade in and trade up incentives. I've been very happy with their equipment for almost 30 years. The amps are next and that's likely it. I'll hopefully still be around in 30 years but my hearing will not be good, and if the new equipment is as good or better than the old, I won't need to do anything again. My kids can take over the system if they choose to do so.

The "isolator feet" you see are only for my own bling purposes and I can actually clean under the equipment. I used to take everything down to get the glass clean but these feet negate that and I like the look.

I love and still have my first (technically 2nd) pair of speakers. NHT 3.3s. I had the 2.9s first but the 3.3s were and are still a nice fit here with great bass.

They are second string now however.

I packed them up last week.

The Audioholics videos and reviews moved me into a direction I wasn't certain I would go. I adored the NHTs but I worry about age. Maybe it isn't something to be concerned about, but the other factor was something I'd read and heard about more than once. The speakers make the most significant difference in a system. I decided to go after a pair of speakers that received great reviews here.

I went with a pair of Perlisten S7Ts. I find them incredible.

I also ditched my Transparent Cables. They were free as a demo models thrown-in when I bought all of my gear. They were very thick and had black boxes hanging off them behind the speakers. I decided to overkill things a bit and bought 10 gauge Blue Jeans cables with the welded banana posts. They are less intrusive and work every bit as well as the boutique Transparent cables. The amplifiers are going back to Bryston in the fall and although the newer models won't be exactly an even trade, I'll still get a great trade for the current ones.

If the CD player ever fails, I'll ask around here about a good measuring rig that hopefully is "affordable".

I figured I'd say hello here.

Thanks for looking!

 

[Squishman]

Welcome to the forum! I am not familiar with any of your equipment, but it looks like an impressive system.

 

[dolynick]

That's some serious gear. And a very tidy clean setup. Congrats.

 

[Bucknekked]

I've been excited to join the forum and learn what I can. I'll say this right off, I'm out of my depth here and likely won't know a lot of the terminology so please forgive me if I have some "stupid questions". I'm more interested in keeping my mouth shut and learning so I won't have many or any earth shattering posts.

I started with my very first real higher end system in 1999. Trial and error and some pretty good audio sales reps set me up with a system that I have just recently started to replace/upgrade the gear.

The system is almost all Bryston gear except the CD player which is a California Audio Labs CL-10. I recently replaced/upgraded my aging Bryston BP-25 preamp with the Bryston BP-19 preamp. They offered me very good trade in and trade up incentives. I've been very happy with their equipment for almost 30 years. The amps are next and that's likely it. I'll hopefully still be around in 30 years but my hearing will not be good, and if the new equipment is as good or better than the old, I won't need to do anything again. My kids can take over the system if they choose to do so.

The "isolator feet" you see are only for my own bling purposes and I can actually clean under the equipment. I used to take everything down to get the glass clean but these feet negate that and I like the look.

I love and still have my first (technically 2nd) pair of speakers. NHT 3.3s. I had the 2.9s first but the 3.3s were and are still a nice fit here with great bass.

They are second string now however.

I packed them up last week.

The Audioholics videos and reviews moved me into a direction I wasn't certain I would go. I adored the NHTs but I worry about age. Maybe it isn't something to be concerned about, but the other factor was something I'd read and heard about more than once. The speakers make the most significant difference in a system. I decided to go after a pair of speakers that received great reviews here.

I went with a pair of Perlisten S7Ts. I find them incredible.

I also ditched my Transparent Cables. They were free as a demo models thrown-in when I bought all of my gear. They were very thick and had black boxes hanging off them behind the speakers. I decided to overkill things a bit and bought 10 gauge Blue Jeans cables with the welded banana posts. They are less intrusive and work every bit as well as the boutique Transparent cables. The amplifiers are going back to Bryston in the fall and although the newer models won't be exactly an even trade, I'll still get a great trade for the current ones.

If the CD player ever fails, I'll ask around here about a good measuring rig that hopefully is "affordable".

I figured I'd say hello here.

Thanks for looking!

Welcome to the forum Looks like you have a great start on the gear.

 

[lovinthehd]

Welcome to the forum and the decision to get rid of the Transparent cables! Altho I consider BlueJeans overkill (good, but I can do as well for myself).

 

[Gio-G]

Welcome to the forum and the decision to get rid of the Transparent cables! Altho I consider BlueJeans overkill (good, but I can do as well for myself).

I still have the Transparents but I started to really dislike the boxes on the cables near the speaker connections. The Blue Jeans are certainly overkill. They were so affordable and I'm not a DIY type so I figured, why not?
Thanks for the warm welcome!

 

[MrBoat]

I've been excited to join the forum and learn what I can. I'll say this right off, I'm out of my depth here and likely won't know a lot of the terminology so please forgive me if I have some "stupid questions". I'm more interested in keeping my mouth shut and learning so I won't have many or any earth shattering posts.

I started with my very first real higher end system in 1999. Trial and error and some pretty good audio sales reps set me up with a system that I have just recently started to replace/upgrade the gear.

The system is almost all Bryston gear except the CD player which is a California Audio Labs CL-10. I recently replaced/upgraded my aging Bryston BP-25 preamp with the Bryston BP-19 preamp. They offered me very good trade in and trade up incentives. I've been very happy with their equipment for almost 30 years. The amps are next and that's likely it. I'll hopefully still be around in 30 years but my hearing will not be good, and if the new equipment is as good or better than the old, I won't need to do anything again. My kids can take over the system if they choose to do so.

The "isolator feet" you see are only for my own bling purposes and I can actually clean under the equipment. I used to take everything down to get the glass clean but these feet negate that and I like the look.

I love and still have my first (technically 2nd) pair of speakers. NHT 3.3s. I had the 2.9s first but the 3.3s were and are still a nice fit here with great bass.

They are second string now however.

I packed them up last week.

The Audioholics videos and reviews moved me into a direction I wasn't certain I would go. I adored the NHTs but I worry about age. Maybe it isn't something to be concerned about, but the other factor was something I'd read and heard about more than once. The speakers make the most significant difference in a system. I decided to go after a pair of speakers that received great reviews here.

I went with a pair of Perlisten S7Ts. I find them incredible.

I also ditched my Transparent Cables. They were free as a demo models thrown-in when I bought all of my gear. They were very thick and had black boxes hanging off them behind the speakers. I decided to overkill things a bit and bought 10 gauge Blue Jeans cables with the welded banana posts. They are less intrusive and work every bit as well as the boutique Transparent cables. The amplifiers are going back to Bryston in the fall and although the newer models won't be exactly an even trade, I'll still get a great trade for the current ones.

If the CD player ever fails, I'll ask around here about a good measuring rig that hopefully is "affordable".

I figured I'd say hello here.

Thanks for looking!

Welcome. Great choices. Getting rid of the gimmicky cables was a good start.

If you like CD (my favorite format), I would consider (if you haven't already) adding a streaming/streamer to your upgrade path. Not so much as an upgrade in sound quality (although, very good, IMO), but as yet a more efficient way to discover new music, at the least. Take this from someone who swears by CD, and is typically stubborn with change. I'd even go as far as to say that streaming, has been one of the most useful upgrades to all of my systems.

Streaming does a couple things. Makes new music discovery much more fluid. If I am listening to an internet radio and something I have never heard 'hooks' me, I can just hit the like button and surf it out later. Often times, this leads me down some pretty extensive artists rabbit holes and some really excellent finds. The other thing that it does, is that it can give us that random and spontaneous radio experience, without the ragging out the top 100 of hits that have been ragged out for the last 60 years, or since radio was invented, really. Not to mention, no ads. Streaming, is also the best way to get the kids on board.

 

[Eppie]

Congrats. That's pretty much a dream setup for me. Maybe when I get too old to travel I can consider something like that. Love the Perlistens.

 

[Gio-G]

Welcome. Great choices. Getting rid of the gimmicky cables was a good start.

If you like CD (my favorite format), I would consider (if you haven't already) adding a streaming/streamer to your upgrade path. Not so much as an upgrade in sound quality (although, very good, IMO), but as yet a more efficient way to discover new music, at the least. Take this from someone who swears by CD, and is typically stubborn with change. I'd even go as far as to say that streaming, has been one of the most useful upgrades to all of my systems.

Streaming does a couple things. Makes new music discovery much more fluid. If I am listening to an internet radio and something I have never heard 'hooks' me, I can just hit the like button and surf it out later. Often times, this leads me down some pretty extensive artists rabbit holes and some really excellent finds. The other thing that it does, is that it can give us that random and spontaneous radio experience, without the ragging out the top 100 of hits that have been ragged out for the last 60 years, or since radio was invented, really. Not to mention, no ads. Streaming, is also the best way to get the kids on board.

Thank you!

That sounds nice, and I have thought about it. You are also correct about the "stubborn to change" part. I had and still have an extensive vinyl collection and I was upset when CDs came around. way back when. I replaced almost everything vinyl with CDs. I love physical media and I'm not sure that streaming will work for me or not. I have a very basic analog system. No vinyl involved just my CD player.

How easy is it to hook up something like that (streamer) to a Bryston BP-19 (No DAC) and run it with mono block amps? I'm trying to avoid purchasing anything else other than my replacement amps. The good news is I find a lot of my undiscovered music/artists on YouTube which has been quite easy and fun. I typically hit Ebay if I find something I like after a Tube visit.

One other purchase that I may consider although it is significant, would be adding a couple of Perlisten subs to my system. The subs are not cheap, and from what I gather I'll need a MiniDSP or some type of crossover and that will add another bit of $$ to the cost. I did speak to Erik at Perlisten and he said their subwoofer software and their app could negate the need for the things I just mentioned. Is that accurate or did I misunderstand him? If I actually decide to go the dual sub route, which is not a sure thing, I'd like to keep things as simple and inexpensive as possible.

I have a lot of time to decide where I go. So far I'm enjoying the new speakers.

Cheers.

 

[j_garcia]

You can hook up a WiiM Ultra to an analog system with no issue, as it has analog out. I had a temporary system that was an analog only setup before I moved the main rig in here and the Ultra worked out very well. I still use it in the main system now.

I have my albums still, but no TT currently. Most of what I have are CDs these days, but I do stream quite a bit now, mainly for background music around the house.

 

[Gio-G]

You can hook up a WiiM Ultra to an analog system with no issue, as it has analog out. I had a temporary system that was an analog only setup before I moved the main rig in here and the Ultra worked out very well. I still use it in the main system now.

I have my albums still, but no TT currently. Most of what I have are CDs these days, but I do stream quite a bit now, mainly for background music around the house.

Apologies, I had to look that up. I'm probably behind the times a bit. That does appear to be an affordable streamer. Thank you for the pointer. If I decide to go the streaming route, which is unlikely but, if I do, that certainly seems affordable enough.
I'll look into things a bit more after I get the newer amps in here. I love my CD player and having a CD to look at while I listen. I really miss the vinyl artwork the most. That was one of the best parts of a new record.

Putting the record on and looking at the artwork while listening was a really cool experience. I still do it with CDs and now cheater glasses so I can actually read the print and see the artwork.

I really like the remixed/remastered Pink Floyd anniversary additions. Animals has a booklet with the old cover and the new version.

I guess I'm old school sort of. But I have seen music only available for streaming so I'm not against it. I just don't want to add much more to the system and that includes subs and whatever goes with that however that is possibly the next step after the amps get here in the fall.

I appreciate the advice and the fact you checked out my post.

 

[j_garcia]

The 50th anniversary Wish You Were Here and Dark Side of the Moon are frequent listens for me I bought the Atmos versions, but I am currently back to 2.1.

*I did not have Animals, just ordered it.

 

[lovinthehd]

I still have the Transparents but I started to really dislike the boxes on the cables near the speaker connections. The Blue Jeans are certainly overkill. They were so affordable and I'm not a DIY type so I figured, why not?
Thanks for the warm welcome!

The boxes are just full of audiophile fantasy let alone the silly prices. BlueJeans are good construction but I can make one as good for less....much more affordable that way. No magic in wire.

 

[Gio-G]

The boxes are just full of audiophile fantasy let alone the silly prices. BlueJeans are good construction but I can make one as good for less....much more affordable that way. No magic in wire.

Good to know. I'm not a DIYer and I thought the Blue Jeans were a very good deal especially with the welded banana posts but I'm sure you could do your own for even less. I looked at what the modern day Transparent version of what I have is, and I laughed. What a completely ridiculous joke.

BTW, I went for massive overkill with the Blue Jeans. I went with 10 gauge but what I find funny is they are still much thinner than the Transparent cables. I don't know if they were 16, 14 or 12 gauge but they were obviously shrouded in thicker casing to make them appear high end. They did the job well I suppose but I'm thankful they were "throw in demos" after I spent the mother load back in 1999.

The Blue Jeans seem to be priced right and I don't mind a company making a profit. I do have a problem with spending thousands on speakers, amps, preamps and front end gear and then having some sales rep at the store tell me that in oder to make all of that high priced equipment you just bought worth it, you have to spend X of amount of $$$ on cables.

I'm no engineer or anybody remotely qualified to to argue with people on this forum, but I was highly skeptical back then, and after reading a lot here, I know my initial doubts back then were correct. I believe I read somewhere that somebody opened up one of the "network boxes" on a Transparent cable and it was mostly a bunch of epoxy slathered over some other worthless pieces inside.

Anyway, I'm quite happy knowing I'm set for life with the cables I paid under $200 for. They are 12 footers and I probably didn't need both to be 12 feet nor did I "need" 10 gauge cables. Either way, I am quite pleased with them.

 

[lovinthehd]

Good to know. I'm not a DIYer and I thought the Blue Jeans were a very good deal especially with the welded banana posts but I'm sure you could do your own for even less. I looked at what the modern day Transparent version of what I have is, and I laughed. What a completely ridiculous joke.

BTW, I went for massive overkill with the Blue Jeans. I went with 10 gauge but what I find funny is they are still much thinner than the Transparent cables. I don't know if they were 16, 14 or 12 gauge but they were obviously shrouded in thicker casing to make them appear high end. They did the job well I suppose but I'm thankful they were "throw in demos" after I spent the mother load back in 1999.

The Blue Jeans seem to be priced right and I don't mind a company making a profit. I do have a problem with spending thousands on speakers, amps, preamps and front end gear and then having some sales rep at the store tell me that in oder to make all of that high priced equipment you just bough worth it, you have to spend X amount on cables.

I'm no engineer or anybody remotely qualified to to argue with people on this forum, but I was highly skeptical back then, and after reading a lot here, I know my initial doubts back then were correct. I believe I read somewhere that somebody opened up one of the "network boxes" on a Transparent cable and it was mostly a bunch of epoxy slathered over some other worthless pieces inside.

Anyway, I'm quite happy knowing I'm set for life with the cables I paid under $200 for. They are 12 footers and I probably didn't need both to be 12 feet. Either way, I am quite pleased with them.

I think you're on the right path with cables now. Yes, overkill on the gauge for the length but still better than anything from Transparent. I had a similar pic, that I've lost track of, of innards from similar boxes by another cable charlatan called MIT Cable, and epoxy/glue slathered over worthless pieces sounds about right! Salespeople I don't listen to much.

Might like to review content here http://www.roger-russell.com/wire/wire.htm

 

[Gio-G]

I think you're on the right path with cables now. Yes, overkill on the gauge for the length but still better than anything from Transparent. I had a similar pic, that I've lost track of, of innards from similar boxes by another cable charlatan called MIT Cable, and epoxy/glue slathered over worthless pieces sounds about right! Salespeople I don't listen to much.

Might like to review content here http://www.roger-russell.com/wire/wire.htm

We are on the same page for sure. Common sense seems to disappear in the "audiophile" world. I love to experiment with positional tweaks and understand the hobby can be more than just great measurements. That said, at the end of the day, equipment that measures well regardless of price is rules.

There's simply no other way to compare without measurements and the "trust your ears" comment falls dead here. I've abused my hearing and I'm lucky to still be where I am on the hearing scale. I don't trust my ears. As a matter of fact I loved my NHT 3.3 speakers. I still have them but if I 100% trusted my ears, I'd have never looked at the world class measuring Perlisten speakers. They are excessively awesome and they do reveal details in the upper mids and certainly the higher frequencies that the vintage NHTs could not reveal. The technology advanced and the Perlisten group took advantage of the advancing technology but kept it within their wheelhouse and they continue to move forward.

This forum and another that I frequent lately are really great.

I WILL overspend on my next Bryston amps and I know it but they are the latest models of what I already have. I'm OK with the price after trade in as it is reasonable, at least for where I'm at financially but the newest gear seems promising and a good bit less expensive by comparison.

Other than subs possibly, I'm at the very endgame with everything.

I'm listening to albums (CDs) start to finish again and I'm enjoying it all.

 

[Gio-G]

The 50th anniversary Wish You Were Here and Dark Side of the Moon are frequent listens for me I bought the Atmos versions, but I am currently back to 2.1.

*I did not have Animals, just ordered it.

Good for you!

I may order the original because it has a completely different sound and there are actually parts that are not on the remix. I think you'll love the newer mix of Animals.

 

[lovinthehd]

We are on the same page for sure. Common sense seems to disappear in the "audiophile" world. I love to experiment with positional tweaks and understand the hobby can be more than just great measurements. That said, at the end of the day, equipment that measures well regardless of price is rules.

There's simply no other way to compare without measurements and the "trust your ears" comment falls dead here. I've abused my hearing and I'm lucky to still be where I am on the hearing scale. I don't trust my ears. As a matter of fact I loved my NHT 3.3 speakers. I still have them but if I 100% trusted my ears, I'd have never looked at the world class measuring Perlisten speakers. They are excessively awesome and they do reveal details in the upper mids and certainly the higher frequencies that the vintage NHTs could not reveal. The technology advanced and the Perlisten group took advantage of the advancing technology but kept it within their wheelhouse and they continue to move forward.

This forum and another that I frequent lately are really great.

I WILL overspend on my next Bryston amps and I know it but they are the latest models of what I already have. I'm OK with the price after trade in as it is reasonable, at least for where I'm at financially but the newest gear seems promising and a good bit less expensive by comparison.

Other than subs possibly, I'm at the very endgame with everything.

I'm listening to albums (CDs) start to finish again and I'm enjoying it all.

LOL common sense and audiophile world haven't been aligned for a while. Room/placement will make a lot more difference than electronics/wire generally, let alone the speakers themselves. Your ears may show the way to a preference, but not particularly to reference. The other forum ASR? Meh on Bryston myself, but haven't needed a new amp in quite a while nor am I Canadian, but Buckeye with Hypex modules would probably be up next if I were shopping. My last several subs have been diy, tho.

 

[MrBoat]

Thank you!

That sounds nice, and I have thought about it. You are also correct about the "stubborn to change" part. I had and still have an extensive vinyl collection and I was upset when CDs came around. way back when. I replaced almost everything vinyl with CDs. I love physical media and I'm not sure that streaming will work for me or not. I have a very basic analog system. No vinyl involved just my CD player.

How easy is it to hook up something like that (streamer) to a Bryston BP-19 (No DAC) and run it with mono block amps? I'm trying to avoid purchasing anything else other than my replacement amps. The good news is I find a lot of my undiscovered music/artists on YouTube which has been quite easy and fun. I typically hit Ebay if I find something I like after a Tube visit.

One other purchase that I may consider although it is significant, would be adding a couple of Perlisten subs to my system. The subs are not cheap, and from what I gather I'll need a MiniDSP or some type of crossover and that will add another bit of $$ to the cost. I did speak to Erik at Perlisten and he said their subwoofer software and their app could negate the need for the things I just mentioned. Is that accurate or did I misunderstand him? If I actually decide to go the dual sub route, which is not a sure thing, I'd like to keep things as simple and inexpensive as possible.

I have a lot of time to decide where I go. So far I'm enjoying the new speakers.

Cheers.

The thing about streaming is, you can still do all the other things, too. If for nothing else, it replaces advertisement riddled radio. Sometimes, I like to be surprised by the algorithm, instead of deciding which song/album I want to hear. Otherwise, I get 'listeners block' sometimes, where I don't know what I feel like hearing, but want to hear something. It seems as if said algorithm knows me a little. Even crossing genres on me, mid flight, to still somehow fit the vibe of the session.

I was so happy when CD came out. I had flogged vinyl since the mid '60s. CD, has been the most audible upgrade to audio in my lifetime. I did side-by-side comparison between CD, vinyl and tape, until the CD catalog got populated enough, so it was well into the 2000s by the time I could go strictly CD and internet. In other words, I had plenty years of cross referencing the different formats to make a personal choice.

My day job is tactile enough. By the time I get home, I am ready to interact with something that doesn't need my physical input. What I did enjoy about vinyl, and CD was, reading the liner notes and lyrics, even if I knew them by heart.

My garage system is a streaming only system that was never meant to be. Now there is a comfy chair and ottoman , a side table, and an ipad. That's something else I never would have done, is to use a tablet or phone for music. I started out using the phone at work. Screen and text is too small so is why the tablet for the bedroom and garage. Streamer/DAC > preamp > amp > speakers. That is where I can be found, most weeknights, and into the wee hrs, because the damned algorithm keeps selecting great songs before I can hit the stop button. Same thing happens with the streaming system in the bedroom, when I really should be up.

I started with youtube, then Pandora, and later, amazon Alexa/echo dot at work. Not saying this is for everyone, but has been a great source of fun for me. Have already re-romanced the vinyl, CD, tape and vintage equipment scene, albeit briefly. All that did was remind me of how much I had really run that into the ground, back then. I still have it. Knowing it's there in case I want to use it is enough.

 

[Kingnoob]

I've been excited to join the forum and learn what I can. I'll say this right off, I'm out of my depth here and likely won't know a lot of the terminology so please forgive me if I have some "stupid questions". I'm more interested in keeping my mouth shut and learning so I won't have many or any earth shattering posts.

I started with my very first real higher end system in 1999. Trial and error and some pretty good audio sales reps set me up with a system that I have just recently started to replace/upgrade the gear.

The system is almost all Bryston gear except the CD player which is a California Audio Labs CL-10. I recently replaced/upgraded my aging Bryston BP-25 preamp with the Bryston BP-19 preamp. They offered me very good trade in and trade up incentives. I've been very happy with their equipment for almost 30 years. The amps are next and that's likely it. I'll hopefully still be around in 30 years but my hearing will not be good, and if the new equipment is as good or better than the old, I won't need to do anything again. My kids can take over the system if they choose to do so.

The "isolator feet" you see are only for my own bling purposes and I can actually clean under the equipment. I used to take everything down to get the glass clean but these feet negate that and I like the look.

I love and still have my first (technically 2nd) pair of speakers. NHT 3.3s. I had the 2.9s first but the 3.3s were and are still a nice fit here with great bass.

They are second string now however.

I packed them up last week.

The Audioholics videos and reviews moved me into a direction I wasn't certain I would go. I adored the NHTs but I worry about age. Maybe it isn't something to be concerned about, but the other factor was something I'd read and heard about more than once. The speakers make the most significant difference in a system. I decided to go after a pair of speakers that received great reviews here.

I went with a pair of Perlisten S7Ts. I find them incredible.

I also ditched my Transparent Cables. They were free as a demo models thrown-in when I bought all of my gear. They were very thick and had black boxes hanging off them behind the speakers. I decided to overkill things a bit and bought 10 gauge Blue Jeans cables with the welded banana posts. They are less intrusive and work every bit as well as the boutique Transparent cables. The amplifiers are going back to Bryston in the fall and although the newer models won't be exactly an even trade, I'll still get a great trade for the current ones.

If the CD player ever fails, I'll ask around here about a good measuring rig that hopefully is "affordable".

I figured I'd say hello here.

Thanks for looking!

Wow spectacular setup , I’m sure your old speakers can be fixed if needed and used in another room today something like that would cost a lot !!! I’m still using cheap Klipsch in one room and a mismatch of brands upstairs.. I dream of getting better gear but just can’t afford it yet . I’d think upgrading my avr & tv would have More effect as my Klipsch sound fine to my ears , could spend a lot more to get an actual upgrade 1k+ per speaker…
Thinking maybe paradigm if I can ever afford them . Klipsch rp look nice too ..