The AUDIOPHILE Thread

[ZipZop]

Aloha!

Are any members here Audiophiles? This does not mean only those only interested in high-end equipment or only into severely critical listening. It means generically an Audiophile - Defined as someone who is generally enthusiastic about High Fidelity music reproduction.

I have been an Audiophile since I was in High School. I have a decent collection of McIntosh, Sony, Fisher, Infinity, Teac, Sanyo, Yamaha, Kenwood and Realistic equipment scattered about my homes. I am more into VINTAGE systems that I recondition than I am into new equipment (except for McIntosh), and am more into Vinyl than digital. Although I do digitally stream FM stations and music services like Apple Music frequently. I also have a very large FLAC (Free Lossless Audio Codec) collection of music as well as a large CD and Vinyl album collection.

My main interest in music is Jazz, and has been since I was a senior in high school. I also like Rock, Bluegrass, Classical and Folk. Not really into Country but I do like Johnny Cash and a few of the older Country stars.

To get the ball rolling, this is my actual COLLEGE Yamaha system that I worked all summer one year to afford. I bought it in 1980 and it's STILL sounding marvelous today. Here it is recently in a brand new equipment rack:



More pics to follow IF the thread continues. Any others interested in High Fidelity music reproduction? Even if it's a Bose Table Top Wave Radio, let's see what you have. And let's talk playing music on these systems.

Close-up of my Yamaha CA-810 with my new SMSL DAC for digital processing perched on top. Bringing the CA-810 to the next century of listening with a high end DAC (Digital Audio Converter);



Mahalo!

-Zip

[gssixgun]

Nikko Alpha I Power
Nikko Beta II Pre
Audio Source EQ I Spectrum Analyzer / Equalizer
Nikko ND 700 Cassette deck
Nikko Gamma IV FM tuner
Pioneer PD-5700 CD player
JVC Direct Drive Table Ortofon Cart
Audio Reference Liquid Cooled Speakers Poly-Drivers
Cerwin Vega subwoofer

At one time I actually had Klipsch LaScala horns hooked to it but sold them to a band

[Badgister]

Nice system Zip! You can't go wrong with Yamaha.

I have a pretty basic system that I enjoy very much.A pair of Tannoy autograph mini speakers, a Yamaha A-S1100 integrated amp, a NAD C 525BEE CD player and a AR turntable.

The oldest component is my CD player which I purchased in 2006 and still works perfectly.

I listen primarily to CDs and yes, I still buy them. Mostly classical and Jazz. I got into vinyl mainly because some recordings I wanted were not available on other formats.

Most of my vinyl is classical music. Not many people buy classical music on vinyl, and so great records can be had very cheap. That is until Hipsters start getting into classical music.

[ZipZop]

Nikko Alpha I Power
Nikko Beta II Pre
Audio Source EQ I Spectrum Analyzer / Equalizer
Nikko ND 700 Cassette deck
Nikko Gamma IV FM tuner
Pioneer PD-5700 CD player
JVC Direct Drive Table Ortofon Cart
Audio Reference Liquid Cooled Speakers Poly-Drivers
Cerwin Vega subwoofer

At one time I actually had Klipsch LaScala horns hooked to it but sold them to a band

NICE! Especially the LaScala with the Cervin Vega Sub. And the Audio Reference LC Speakers are not exactly chopped liver. Nikko is a brand I have admired, but never dove into. My high end is McIntosh. I'll post pics later in the thread. Lots of pics to come.

BTW, my College System above consists of;

Yamaha CA-810 Natural Sound Integrated Amp (65 Watts per channel into 8 ohms - I drive 4 ohms so about 80 watts)
Yamaha YP-D4 Direct Drive Turntable with Ortofon 50e Moving Coil Cartridge
Sherwood S-32 Tuner
Sanyo Micro Processor controlled Stereo Cassette (very high end in 1980)
DBX-119 Expander
MXR Compander
Discwasher complete Kit with Walnut base and ZeroStat Gun
4 Optimus 10 Speakers with Super Tweeters

[ZipZop]

Nice system Zip! You can't go wrong with Yamaha.

I have a pretty basic system that I enjoy very much.A pair of Tannoy autograph mini speakers, a Yamaha A-S1100 integrated amp, a NAD C 525BEE CD player and a AR turntable.

The oldest component is my CD player which I purchased in 2006 and still works perfectly.

I listen primarily to CDs and yes, I still buy them. Mostly classical and Jazz. I got into vinyl mainly because some recordings I wanted were not available on other formats.

Most of my vinyl is classical music. Not many people buy classical music on vinyl, and so great records can be had very cheap. That is until Hipsters start getting into classical music.

Very elegant and to my eye, gorgeous. Thanks for posting that pic. I would very much enjoy that system.

I too am into Vinyl and have been since I was 16 and got my first real stereo (a Realistic STA-76 with BSR Turntable and MC1000 speakers). I still have the STA-76. I'll post a pic later in the thread.

I like all formats. Vinyl, CD, Tape and Digital FLAC. I have some very decent DACs (Digital Audio Converters), but Vinyl has always been my favorite medium. My Yamaha YP-D4 Turntable has an Ortofon E50 Moving Coil Cartridge, so that is set for Vinyl indeed.

[ZipZop]

To keep the ball rolling, some famous celebrities relaxing at home with their Audiophile systems and Vinyl;

John Lennon at home with his McIntosh:


Steve McQueen at home with his HiFi System;


Clint Eastwood enjoying some time with Vinyl;

Clint was and IS a huge Jazz Aficionado

Frank Sinatra at home in Palm Springs with his McIntosh system;

[sharptonn]

Bought one of these in the 80's. Bought another in short-order.
Got rid of the pile of wires and all. Still kicking. I do have a turntable on one of them.
After all the years of tuning and tweaking, I like the simplicity. Just me!

[jfk742]

I run an SMSL Q5?pro and some Elac UB5 bookshelf’s. Pretty budget but the clarity and imaging is really impressive, considering.

In the middle of building a 12” sealed sub and some stands. I’ll move the bose sound bar/sub to CL to help offset the cost of the sub build.

[Speedster]

McIntosh C2500 tube pre-amplifier
McIntosh MC275 tube amplifiers x 2 (mono)
Magnepan 3.7i
Nordost Heimdall 2 - USB, speaker, power, and XLR cables
Aurender X100 HDD music server (plus streaming support for Shoutcast, Tidal, etc.)

I also have a Velodyne SPL1200R subwoofer from my old theater system sitting in storage. Too much for where I'm at now anyways.

When I need to go ninja mode, I have my Ayre CODEX DAC connected to JRiver Media Center 24 off of my HP Win10 laptop. Heimdall 2 USB cable, Cardas A8 ear speakers, and Cardas Clear Power cable for that setup.

Here’s the left side of the audio system:

[petercp4e]

Seeing that Glen mentioned them here is a crappy picture of one side of my system.
H.H. Scott amp, turntable, tuner, equlaizer, and dual cassette deck.
Technics rotary C.D. player.

And yes...Klipsch La Scala speakers.

Pete <:-}