Topic: What's every body listening on at home?

[F.O.Bean]

Main system:
Turntable: Thorens TD160
DAC: Mytek Stereo96DAC
DVD-A: Mcintosh MVP851
CD: Jolida JD100 (modified)
Integrated amp: Mcintosh MA6500
Headphones: Sennheiser HD600
Speakers: Legacy Audio Focus HD
Power conditioner: Richard Gray S400 and Richard Gray Power Company
Mostly homebrew ICs
Mothballed/Need to sell: Cary SLM100 monoblocks and Conrad Johnson PV11 pre

Damn, that's one HELLUVA setup Stu I'm sooo jealous

[page]

DAC: Mytek Stereo96DAC

Damn, that's one HELLUVA setup Stu I'm sooo jealous

i want that mytek, at-least to audition....

[F.O.Bean]

DAC: Mytek Stereo96DAC

Damn, that's one HELLUVA setup Stu I'm sooo jealous

i want that mytek, at-least to audition....

I'm just not a Mytek guy. I'd LOVE a Grace DAC tho diff strokes for diff folks I guess. But I'm still jealous stu

[kingkita]

DAC: Mytek Stereo96DAC

Damn, that's one HELLUVA setup Stu I'm sooo jealous

i want that mytek, at-least to audition....

Good Choice Page

[0vu]

System 1 (for general listening by anyone at home)
Sony CDPX55ES (CD player)
Sony DTC77ES (DAT recorder)
Sony ST-S505ES (FM/AM Tuner)
NAD 1000S Monitor Series (Pre-amp)
Quad 606 (Power amp)
Dynaudio BM15 (Speakers.)
Meier Audio Corda Cantate (Headphone amp)
AKG K701/702 (Headphones)


System 2 (is a bit more selective and the kids don't get to play with it!)
Sony SCD-XA5400ES (SACD/CD Player)
Audiolab 8000T (Tuner)

Grace m904 DAC/Preamp
or
dCS950 (DAC)
ATC SCA2 (Pre-amp)
(depending upon what's needed on recording duties)
Chord SPA 1032 (Power amp)

ATC SCM20ASL- Pro or Quad 989 (again depending upon what's out on recordings)
Sometimes with ATC SCM 0.1-15 Sub (partly dependent on use elsewhere and partly on whether I can be bothered to carry it in and set it up!)
Stax SR 007 Omega-II with SRM-007t (Electrostatic headphones with valve energiser)
(and/or AKG K701/702 via Grace m904)


System 3 (Mono radio only, currently packed away as I have nowhere to set it up that a child won't trash it)
Quad FM1 (mono valve FM tuner)
Quad AM1 (mono valve AM tuner)
Quad QC1 (mono valve preamp)
Quad II (mono valve power amp)
Quad ESL (electrostatic speaker)


Other bits kicking around that get used all over the place for listening in other rooms, or on small location recording setups, or for transferring old recordings include:
CD/other sources Linn Classik Music, Marantz PMD 331 CD player
DAT machines: Sony PCM 7010, 7030, 7040, 2000, 2500, Studer D780
Sony F1 format PCM processors: PCM601/701
Cassette: Nakamichi Cassette Deck 1, Dragon
Open Reel: Revox PR99-II, Studer A80, Studer A807, B67, Telefunken M15, M21
amps: NAD 3020i, Omniphonics S300B, Chord SPA 608, Bryston 4B
speakers: Acoustic Energy AE1 Mk1 (currently awaiting re-coned drivers), Rogers LS3/5A, ATC SCM100ASL (usually reserved for larger scale location recordings and never set up at home as they're a bit ..er... "imposing" in domestic spaces and last time I tried them my wife came close to the 'it's them or me' discussion)

[Stagger]

See Sig.


I've posted pics in the past but much of the system is in storage till we move into a bigger place. Wife was willing to try and fit the 2ch system, but there was just no way we could fit it in our little downtown condo.

For comp audio & writing music (which I've been getting back into): more DAWs than I can count > Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 > hybrid tube headphone amp > HD-600s

[phil_er_up]

IMO - Playback is more important then the recording rig. If you can't hear your recording correctly then how could you master it properly.

I record to listen to the music. Probably listen to my recording more then anyone else. Since I am home all day I have a spent many many hours/money investing in a quality playback system. From upgrading the AC to many 20 amp dedicated lines, using SPL meters and frequencies files (20, 30, 40... HZ) to build custom bass traps and treatments for the walls, spent time using Many Power conditions - Richard Gray, Furman, PS Audio . Have a AC/DC regenerator. That takes your AC power turns it to DC then back to CLEAN AC with 2000 watts of clean power.  Tested and spent a lot of time investigating different types of wire (copper, silver, gold, platinium) for my interconnects, speakers cables, recording cables and power cables.  Have many different sound cards with HQ AD on them.  Have read 1000's of hours online about different products and it took me over 5 years to get the system that I finally am happy with.

Have 3 DAW's. 2 dedicated DAWS only. Full back up systems for HD. 2 full systems in living room and dining room. Dining room is my mastering system. Then I take it to the big system in the living room to listen to the final product. My main system has speaker capable of being able to reproduce the full freq of 20 - 20000. Then have another video/audio system that is medium quality. Then have the car system with the only system I have with a sub-woofer. I take my masters and listen with a CD on all 4 systems when I really am working on that recording to get it sound good.

[page]

Dining room is my mastering system.

are you married?

they must be a saint.

[phil_er_up]

Dining room is my mastering system.

are you married?

they must be a saint.

Lets put it this way. I told my wife I get the living room for audio only - no TV and I would build my wife her own TV/audio room which I did. She have a full room decicated to TV with one of my audio systems and 2 large screen tv's.  Luckily she loves music and the same music I do.

Many of you know what I run as my rig...I have spent a lot more on my home systems. When I die I told my wife you will get a lot of money for all I have invested in. Bought many products that do not lose much value over a period of time - such as McIntosh.

Music is my life...think I was a musically note in some other life...LOL

[page]

 

[Stagger]

IMO - Playback is more important then the recording rig. If you can't hear your recording correctly then how could you master it properly.

Yes and no. Don't get me wrong, I agree with pretty much everything you said and I have taken a similar journey. I was into audio, live shows, recording and playback since my dad brought me to my first Dead show at 13 and my cousins brought me to my first Phish show (both in 1990). I've done stints doing FoH in smallish rooms, multi track recording from choirs to rock, and selling both mid to (very) high end home theater and high(er) end 2ch (both digital and analog systems). My point isn't to toot my horn... rather, just to say that I know where you are coming from in terms of investing a lifetime chasing "that sound".

Like I said, I pretty much agree with everything in your post but I'm not sure the first sentence *always* plays out. I have always seen my recording rig and playback rig as an extension of the same system. Up until last week, when I chose to downsize (down cost?) the back end of my recording rig, I would say that I had built each part of my system to work with one another. The c34>V2 tended to be  brighter and very "present" which, in the best of circumstances, resulted in a clear top end and tight super defined bass. When I messed up, it was just bright.

Needless to say, my playback rig was built to compliment that. It has a warm tube presence that doesn't get sloppy in the bottom end. The sub has helped but it wasn't something I bought or would have ever thought to spend my money on (it was a sales reward/point thing with Martin Logan). I guess what I am trying to say is that it is all about building a system to your specific likes, but everything you put between the original vibration and your ears in reproduced music makes a difference. Some have fairly minimal effects (cables... though it certainly isn't zero as some like to claim) and some have more. But I think taken as a whole, your recording rig and playback system, so long as both meet what would normally be thought of as the necessary requirements for "hi-fi", aren't something that I can place in a hierarchical order.     

[OOK]

Computer: HP> E-mu1212 Balanced out soundcard> KRK RP6's
                HP> E-mu1212 Optical out> ZeroDac OPA627> JVC IEM's

Bedroom: Dennon 710's 3head decks, Tascam 130 3head deck, Tascam 301mkII Minidisc, TASCAM CDRW700> Carver CT6 preamp> Carver TFM-15cb amp> Paradigm SE3MkII monitors
               (at the moment I looking to upgrade to either an OPPO>Burson Soloist> a pair Music Fidelity M1's> into the Paradigms)
                                                                              or
               (OPPO> Audio GD Master10 Integrated amp> into the Paradigms )

Living room: Sony Blu-ray + Sony CDP-275> Sony STRDN1030 7.1 Receiver> Polk Audio R300's main, R150 surrounds, CSR center channel, PSW10 sub.     
                   (looking to upgrade to an oppo player here are well)

Looking at it all I feel blessed to have what I have.... I am firmly based in the midfi world but very happy.
 I have way to much invested between recording and playback.... way to much

[Frequincy]

Dining room is my mastering system.

are you married?

they must be a saint.

LOL

[OOK]

Dining room is my mastering system.

are you married?
they must be a saint.

LOL

He is not the only one....  Thank god for the ZeroDAC

[thunderbolt]

Two systems:

Main:
VPI HW-19 Mk. 4 (26# platter) with Graham 2.2 tonearm, stand-alone motor
Conrad Johnson pre- and power amps
Onix CD-1
Nakamichi cassette decks
Onix Reference One Mk. 2 loudspeakers
Sennheiser HD600 and AKG 702 cans.
VPI HW-17F record cleaning machine.
power conditioner

Man cave:
Tweaked Technics SL-1200 with custom arm board, feet replaced with cones, Rega RB-300, modded to include 78 rpm.
Marantz 1060 integrated (with phono stage)
Tascam CD-RW 901
Nak cassette decks
B&O Beovox S45-2 loudspeakers (owned since new in 1979) (one of the few good speakers they ever produced; respectable, but not high-end)
power conditioner