Roots Archives Forum

Computer - Optiplex 745 (Some uncle of mine just sent me from RSA) - This is my Library

A techniques Hi-Fi(CD player/tape Recorder)

Bose 5 Series speaker system (cousin of mine sent me from Swazi) - Enough for my room.

Though simple but good sound.With Santa on drums,Flabba on bass,Scientist on engineering and channel one studio
and to be exact playing 'Kidney punch' from Scientist's heavy weight dub champion,you can destroy home foundation.

Respect to all.

Tech 1200 Turntable

High end Paradigm Monitors

Rotel pre

Bryston 7B Power Amp

Furman Mixer

Updated now that I've joined the MC cartridge club [edit: and bought into CD tech for the sake of those Powerhouse compilations!]:

Deck: Technics SL-1200 Mk 5
Cart: Denon DL-301
CD Player: Technics SL-P555
Amp: Technics V7
Speakers: KLH Model 6

Just acquired a pair of Sennheiser RS110 wireless headphones so I can listen to all sorts of stuff round the house (or in the garage!) without complaints from wife, kids, in-laws etc. Probably not very hi-fi as ultra cheap but lots of nice bass. I just plug the transmitter straight into the CD deck and don't bother using the amp if I'm not listening to vinyl.

Hi Leggo!

Your upgrades sound interesting. How long do you take for the burn-in-process? How would you describe the sound difference between the old and the silver cables?

Thx + enjoy listening,
cheers,
I-Lion

@all
I think the reason your systems sound so 'freakin' awesome' is that you're listening to really good music on it!

My set up is the stuff of tragi/comedy.
Having dipped into this thread earlier this week I poked around on the internet for elucidation. This one is a great bubble burster:
http://www.roger-russell.com/wire/wire.htm
And the guy knows what he is talking about! He's an ex McIntosh guy - or maybe even currently. Had a lot of fun reading his debunking of audio myth stuff today. Read the TRUTH parts!
Fat copper wire is good. Monster cable is bollox (see the debunking of Monster in store demo - scammers!) because you can use the 12 or 14 gauge copper cable usually used for lamps!
that's the comedy part.
Incidentally I just tried the fat cable on my eternally complaining Sony piece of s#1t and it seems to have helped.
Basic rule, the longer the cable the fatter the wire. Boggles my mind still. I thought they were just friggin' speaker wire. I have chastized myself appropriately...

The tragic part for me is that I have always just thrown mismatched parts at each other and hoped for the best. Too busy trying to get my own music productions right.
for reference:


I have a pair of Bose speakers I have never liked. they are now hooked up to a really sweet Fisher 450 Receiver. But the Bose muddy it up too much - too much colouration. Bose are basically rubbish if not part of their own hokey system as far as I can hear and tell from reading about it. A pair of 'nobody ever heard of them' Chinese CMS speakers sound better in the kitchen - placed in the kitchen cabinets for extra bass (!)

In the 'Studio' (8' x 12') where the turntable is I have another pair of Chinese speakers calling themselves 'Pyramid'. Cheap, but seriously air pushing in the small space. For good or ill i hear most of my vinyl through the Sony receiver and into these speakers. Mostly very enjoyable though I can't imagine prolonged listening sessions. these are my monitors for ghetto's sake! Though my headphones are my real monitors...sony mdr-v6

Right now I'm ripping 'Solid Gold' (Studio One of course) in this set up through an MBox into Bias Peak. Strangely I know it will sound better on my iPod - just as all of my vinyl rips sound better on the ipod than from CD or other sources. Don't know why this is. And they sound good through crappy speakers too. More dynamic.

I think if it works out with the fat wires on the sony I'll steal back the Fisher for a whole heap of vinyl ripping during Crustmass just because I THINK the phono stage sounds better...I'm sort of laughing at my self now too.
But there is an irony to the audiophile aspect of listening to Jamaican pressings - to me it seems you just need an amp and speakers that can really handle deep and constant bass and sudden mid and high peaks.
I want my Fisher back!

My turntable incidentally is a (I have to look) Gemini SV 2200
Best turntable I ever had, weighs a ton and sounds fine. Very adjustable.

Have i sufficiently embarrassed myself!
I work with what I have...
Hope this was not a wank...

On numerous occassions I have challenged myself against the " Big Boys " of speaker cables . I have found , through my own empirical research , that the only way to find out if it is a good speaker cable is to try as many pieces of wire as possible , to find and narrow down the one that works best in YOUR own system .

I shudder at the cost of some of these so - called exotic speaker cables . How many of us have that perfect listening room that would warrant spending thousands of pounds/dollars/euro`s on interconnects and speaker cables ?

My idea of a good speaker cable is one that doesn`t , shouldn`t have its own sonic signature that influences what you`re listening too . One that allows the MUSIC to shine through . Same goes for the interconnects .

When leggorocker came round and listened to the system I have at home ,we were listening to " LKJ In Dub " and he commented how ,when the horn section were playing , that he could hear both the trumpet AND the flugelhorn . Honing in on what he was saying , he was right ! As a whole it was fine . Concentrate more and you could hear them both .

So the upshot of this is try , if possible , as many variants as you can . Ask your mates to bring some of their " bits of wire " , sit down and find the one that gives you the most pleasurable listening experience . It doesn`t have to cost an arm and a leg .

If it sounds good straight away , keep it in your system as long as possible , say a month to " burn-in " , then take it out , go back to your old cable , and see if the improvement is an improvement !

Happy Tweaking (tu)

How sad is this, I've been reduced to using the world's smallest pair of Technics bookshelf speakers left behind by the previous occupant of my house as I've had to temporarily remove my usual ones to accommodate the family christmas tree. Can't turn the volume up any more than halfway as the speakers will be fried and am listening to an original UK 7" of Len Barry's poop/northern soul classic 1-2-3 bought yesterday for £1.50 from a charity shop - for the ultimate lo-fi experience!

I have just re-installed my hi-fi back to it`s rightful place in my bay window after moving it all , to make way for the Christmas tree . So I have been running a jury-rigged mains extension cable , as opposed to the dedicated ring-main that I normally use ! ( That is a power cable direct from the consumer unit / fusebox with its own dedicated fuse , to an unswitched wall socket. )

All I can suggest to you guys is to , if possible , do the best to power your systems the same way !! The dynamics have returned , separation is back to perfect , depth and image are back to being VERY spatial .

It is only because I moved everything , then back again , that I realise the VAST improvement this makes too your listening pleasure . I am back to listening to MUSIC rather than the " aural wallpaper " I have had to suffer over the last couple of weeks . (tu)

Recommended , in my humble opinion !

( Disclaimer : Get a professional to do this , if you`re not skilled .!!! ELECTRICITY KILLS !!! )

@ leggo rocker ,

Also the RFI from my daughters` `phones don`t make themselves as apparent either (tu) Bip,bip,bip,bip .....