Very late to this thread.

 

In the late 80's I got into hifi, nothing major Rotel, Mission, Sony. 

 

Then I got into in car entertainment as it really took off in the late 80's and had a side business as an installer.  I gave up before it became all Max Power and sub boxes from Halfords.

 

From the mid 90's onwards I started to get into Home Cinema.   I have a running total and have spent close to £40k over the years and that's not counting buying media through the Laser Disc, DVD, HD-DVD, Bluray and 4k Bluray era's.

 

Currently run Denon Receiver, Emotiva Power Amps, 11x B&W speakers and 2x BK Elec Subwoofers.

1 hour ago, logiclee said:

Very late to this thread.

 

In the late 80's I got into hifi, nothing major Rotel, Mission, Sony. 

 

Then I got into in car entertainment as it really took off in the late 80's and had a side business as an installer.  I gave up before it became all Max Power and sub boxes from Halfords.

 

From the mid 90's onwards I started to get into Home Cinema.   I have a running total and have spent close to £40k over the years and that's not counting buying media through the Laser Disc, DVD, HD-DVD, Bluray and 4k Bluray era's.

 

Currently run Denon Receiver, Emotiva Power Amps, 11x B&W speakers and 2x BK Elec Subwoofers.

I'm currently running separate power amps for my home theatre and was thinking of going down the multi-output power amp route, as it's a bit neater. Although I will keep my Musical Fidelity Power amp for the front pair (it's a  beast), I was looking at the M-F multichannel power amp or possibly the Emotiva one, for the surrounds and Atmos, as I've heard good things about them. Do they drive low impedance loads well? Around 3Ω of just below 

6 minutes ago, Lady Elanore said:

I'm currently running separate power amps for my home theatre and was thinking of going down the multi-output power amp route, as it's a bit neater. Although I will keep my Musical Fidelity Power amp for the front pair (it's a  beast), I was looking at the M-F multichannel power amp or possibly the Emotiva one, for the surrounds and Atmos, as I've heard good things about them. Do they drive low impedance loads well? Around 3Ω of just below 

 

For difficult loads the XPA are good but I'd avoid the BasX range.  BasX are great for the money but can struggle below 4 ohm

On 14/08/2024 at 23:27, skomaz said:

They'd disintegrated to a thick black sticky mess

 

Well I planned an assault on the thick black sticky mess, armed to the gunwales with my weapons of choice; cocktail sticks, cotton buds and dental floss.  And I'm pleased to say with a positive outcome 👍  But my hand's really not designed for intricate work and I was quite nervous about the amount of dismantling required, particularly for getting the smaller belt past axle pins for pulleys and cogs 😓  Anyway, a picture (or two) paints a thousand words:

 

 

Better:

 

 

More gloop:

 

 

 

 

Chuffing messy work:

 

 

Flossing was nicely effective:

 

 

New belt:

 

 

And the fiddly little sucker:

 

 

And with much relief:

 

 

 

 

All's well that ends well 😁

 

Gaz

 

 

I was waiting ~26 seconds for some music to kick in before I noticed it was a 9 second clip  

 

14 hours ago, Lee01 said:

I was waiting ~26 seconds for some music to kick in...

 

Just for you Lee, just for you:

 

 

😁

 

 

I love that you have it in your (period correct) 'Tower of Power'

57 minutes ago, Lady Elanore said:

I love that you have it in your (period correct) 'Tower of Power'

 

It's a Target Audio five tier stand.  I know it should be on pins, but it's on castors as it's on a laminate floor 

 

G

I look at my hifi now and it is the exact opposite. I have amps all over the shop as I don't have the space for a proper "tower of power" and the current shelving can't support the weight  

4 hours ago, Lady Elanore said:

I look at my hifi now and it is the exact opposite. I have amps all over the shop as I don't have the space for a proper "tower of power" and the current shelving can't support the weight  

 

 

I had tower racks for a couple of decades.  

 

Switched out for low and wide AV stands that suits home Cinema better some years ago.

 

When my last unit didn't really fit my gear I wanted something more modular and build flexible.  I read thread after thread and I eventually settled on an Ikea Besta unit configured to my needs.  I don't do Ikea, this is the only Ikea thing I own, but I've been surprised by the build quality compared to the expensive bespoke units I've had in the past. (I have double skinned the base)

I've had to invest in  AC Infinity Aircom coolers though.

Edited 22 August, 20241 yr by logiclee

14 hours ago, logiclee said:

I read thread after thread and I eventually settled on an Ikea Besta unit configured to my needs.  I don't do Ikea, this is the only Ikea thing I own, but I've been surprised by the build quality compared to the expensive bespoke units I've had in the past. (I have double skinned the base)

 

You'd be surprised at the quality of some IKEA stuff - their kitchen units are supposed to be pretty good quality these days. Of course there's some not so great stuff such as Lack side tables for ~ €7 but even they aren't too bad if all you're after is a cheap side table that you only need for one purpose.
We've had PAX wardrobes that survived three house moves and were disassembled and reassemled each time. Still in situ in the UK even now they're about twenty five years old now.

Edited 23 August, 20241 yr by Lee01

I think how good IKEA units are is down to how well they are assembled.  We've got various wardrobes and bookshelves and they are solid, but then I've assembled them properly and added glue in various places to strengthen and stiffen them.

2 hours ago, skomaz said:

they are solid, but then I've assembled them properly and added glue in various places to strengthen and stiffen them.

Similarly; particularly I have a tendency to inject Evostik Resin W down screw holes in MDF components.

1 hour ago, Paws4Thot said:

Similarly; particularly I have a tendency to inject Evostik Resin W down screw holes in MDF components.

 

Snap...   Almost...   I also use the Evostik stuff

15 hours ago, skomaz said:

I think how good IKEA units are is down to how well they are assembled.  We've got various wardrobes and bookshelves and they are solid, but then I've assembled them properly and added glue in various places to strengthen and stiffen them.

 

Yep, I think some designs are more robust than others but you can certainly help the build

 

I found the Besta unit comes with additional fittings to cover how the unit will be configured. I double floored where the amps sit, only light electronics sit on the shelving. 

And as I left the back open for ventilation I put additional corner supports on the back and additional adjustable legs in the middle. 

 

I have sat in it Denon AVR X4800, Emotiva power amp, B&W centre, Panasonic 4k Bluray, PS5, SkyQ, and a couple of aircom coolers.  It feels absolutely solid empty and full.

 

My previous stand was four times the cost and was obviously better built but the options on the besta are the main reason i went for it, choose size then there's numerous options for doors, shelves, draws, colours, tops. etc etc.

 

7 hours ago, logiclee said:

 

Yep, I think some designs are more robust than others but you can certainly help the build

 

I found the Besta unit comes with additional fittings to cover how the unit will be configured. I double floored where the amps sit, only light electronics sit on the shelving. 

And as I left the back open for ventilation I put additional corner supports on the back and additional adjustable legs in the middle. 

 

I have sat in it Denon AVR X4800, Emotiva power amp, B&W centre, Panasonic 4k Bluray, PS5, SkyQ, and a couple of aircom coolers.  It feels absolutely solid empty and full.

 

My previous stand was four times the cost and was obviously better built but the options on the besta are the main reason i went for it, choose size then there's numerous options for doors, shelves, draws, colours, tops. etc etc.

 

Which B& W centre did you go for. I like the look of the bigger ones (71 S3), but the top mounted tweeter would cause me issues with my TV height, as well as the top shelf of my stand being a little overloaded in weight  The 8 series are simply not practice and rather pricy!! 

Edited 24 August, 20241 yr by Lady Elanore

14 minutes ago, Lady Elanore said:

Which B& W centre did you go for. I like the look of the bigger ones (71 S3), but the top mounted tweeter would cause me issues with my TV height, as well as the top shelf of my stand being a little overloaded in weight  The 8 series are simply not practice and rather pricy!! 

 

My speakers are 14 years old and I'm getting itchy to upgrade  I have 683 L&R, HTM61 centre and 4x 682 surrounds. 4x Cambridge Audio speakers for atmos.

 

7 Series are on my list and the CCM683 ceiling speakers.

I originally had B&W M1s for Atmos, but swapped them out for some small Focals, as I don't need any LF out of them and they are aesthetically a much better match for my room. 

22 minutes ago, Lady Elanore said:

I originally had B&W M1s for Atmos, but swapped them out for some small Focals, as I don't need any LF out of them and they are aesthetically a much better match for my room. 

 

Yes no need to go over the top for atmos. I originally had some Minx Min12's and they were really good for the size.

 

 

I've had five TV's and three receivers since the last time I swapped speakers.  Such is the progress of electronics.

 

By far the best upgrade I've done in recent years is to invest is REW and Audyssey MultEQ-X PC Software.  I was never happy with the alignment of my two subs and now I have the setup just where I want it.

 

 

With TV upgrades and electronic upgrades it's always easy to quantify the upgrade, you know what you're are getting extra.  Upgrading speakers is far more subjective. 

Edited 24 August, 20241 yr by logiclee

I sold my Epos M22s last year for a very fair price (along with a couple of Epos M5s) they were nearly 20 years old and still worked extremely well. I changed the tweeters in the M22s though, as they were of a design with a limited shelf life. in fact, I was lucky to buy the last stock at EPOS from what I gathered  

Just a quickie...  Has anyone dealt with dacapo audio the danish outfit?

 

I've had a few LPs skip today so I think I'm getting ready for a new stylus for my Ortofon VMS 20e mkii.

 

They seem few and far between, especially the OE ones, and I don't trust the eBay ones but dacapo do a Tonar replacement that seems to be recommended on Vinyl Engine...

 

So any thoughts??

 

Edit.  OK scratch that idea...  Dacapo have a mini order vale of £135 to the UK. 

 

The search goes on for a decent value replacement 

Edited 23 September, 20241 yr by skomaz

On 22/09/2024 at 21:56, skomaz said:

Just a quickie...  Has anyone dealt with dacapo audio the danish outfit?

 

I've had a few LPs skip today so I think I'm getting ready for a new stylus for my Ortofon VMS 20e mkii.

 

They seem few and far between, especially the OE ones, and I don't trust the eBay ones but dacapo do a Tonar replacement that seems to be recommended on Vinyl Engine...

 

So any thoughts??

 

Edit.  OK scratch that idea...  Dacapo have a mini order vale of £135 to the UK. 

 

The search goes on for a decent value replacement 

 

If you find something from an EU seller I'm happy to have it sent to me and I can forward it on when I'm in the UK in mid October to *ahem* a nod's as good as a 😉 

On 24/09/2024 at 22:08, Lee01 said:

 

If you find something from an EU seller I'm happy to have it sent to me and I can forward it on when I'm in the UK in mid October to *ahem* a nod's as good as a 😉 

 

Thanks @Lee01...   I appreciate the offer... 

 

Having emailed them they seem to be able to deliver to Northern Ireland without the minimum order value and, as I'm over there in a few weeks, visiting the MIL that might work.

 

If not I may be in touch. 

 

Cheers