Downgrading your system

Exactly.

The other benefit of going in this direction is that because things are so much more affordable, I can own a few different turntables, carts, amps...even speakers. Allows me to rotate things in and out when the whim hits just to get a different flavor. Keeps it interesting.

 

A good thread you have here. A couple of years ago (2010) my amps were Meridian 557 power /Rose rv23 Pre (rebuilt by croft) it sounded great then the Meridian went faulty.it was already 13 years & I felt it could take a lot of expense so I made the unusual decision either buying a Quad 405,606 or selling the Rose to buy the best Intergrated I could. This time round I wanted tone controls & was not fussed if it was made in the UK . I bought the Denon PMA 1510 . Very happy with it but this year my friend sold me a pair Vincent SP991 Monoblocs for a superb price & of course I could try before I could buy . I was astonished by the improvement so in the end I upgraded . One things for sure I can not stand equipment that over anaylzes , hats not music.

 

I clicked here out of curiosity. I must admit, I do not fully understand this concept. I do understand that financial issues can make one do so, but to do it on a voluntary basis, I do not understand. As I have upgraded, I move those components to a 2nd room room where I sometimes listen - and enjoy. But I know I'm just a few feet from the main system. I could even deal with putting mine in storage for a while, but to just do without...........I dunno'......

 

When I downsized I upgraded my source components.

 

Geez........so tired of hearing that (in bold), lost a lot of good people, then "wait" - we need to bring some back, there was a bump in the plan.....only part time, this time. A lot cheaper without paying benefits. What's good for corporate is good for....oh.......never mind.

 

Indeed. Check out Mr Hoffman's recent disenchantment with his system-to-end-all-systems.

I'd been without vinyl replay of any kind for the last 2 years-odd, having spent the previous few obsessively fine-tuning a Rock II and a heavily modded Rega, (Graham Slee phono - blah, blah).

But I had to get a deck up-and-running in a hurry a month or two back, so I re-instated and fettled my old Dual 505-1, via a cheap (£30) phono stage.

The bloody thing is addictive, notwithstanding the very audible motor noise (and utter lack of any real resolution or bass).

I recently posted about my frustration at the horrible quality of the CD release of Sia's "1000 Forms of Fear", which is actually why I needed a deck.

The vinyl is noisy as **** (visible mould-release which needs to be removed), but flat and centred, and now I can enjoy the album (from the needle-drop via my Xonar Essence STX at 24/88.2) as I NEVER could on the aforementioned CD.

I suspect I would have found it unlistenable on my "super decks".

Other ad-hoc sessions and needle-drops have followed - I've just needle-dropped my original UK release Led Zeppelin I, which I confidently predict will be cranked up in he next few days.

 

If you stop enjoying listening/looking at your expensive HiEnd system ask yourself the questions :
Why have I lost the joy I once had with it and what is it bothering me most. Then pick your choices.
Periods where you can't get enough listening to music normally change to periods where you may enjoy TV more or spending time for another hobby or with your crew or your family, wife, kids etc. This comes and goes. The best system is useless when you cannot find 1 album you really want to hear. Then it is time to go crate digging or check the media for new or re-issued music, that looks like it could spark your interest again. Do that constantly. Nothing worse than a collection without a steady input of new media. Listening to the same old same old gets you nowhere.
If that does not help you can sell the gear for a good price and start all over again. Todays modern system are great. You can get a simple set of active speakers with a hub from Dynaudio, one analog and 3 digital inputs plus BT for streaming from your cellphone or laptop/PC .
This concepts along with the whole streamer business open up a lot of possibilities to avoid the usual cable clutch mess and the need to spend a fortune on all the stuff, that you don't want to see anyway contacts, power chords and powerbars the whole nine..

If you are serious about downsizing get a nice Tube amp and the lovely Sonus faber toys plus a DAC and a nice TT and you might be more happy than before. I enjoy and love these speakers so much I prefer them to the also good KEF LS 50, that play in my bedroom system, now. That's in fact a nice reduced system. A Primare CD-Receiver with 75 watts of CLASS - D - a perfect match for the LS 50. One good piece of gear plus small speakers on my record shelve. As basic as it gets. I just love music and this is a love affair that lasts for over 40 years. I have seen so many friends losing this - simply because TV is easier to consume and cheaper than checking for always changing musical trends, formats. Needle broken, the rubber from the spindle broken and the once important TT ends in the cellar exchanged by a cheap digital source, no albums to play than a few overplayed oldies. that way the hobby dies slowly but surely.

 

I've been seriously thinking of shrinking my second system.
VPI Aries 3
Sony 5400
Oppo 105
Sim Audio phono and power supply
CJ ET5
Pass X250.5
Marantz amp (rear)
Maggie 3.7 & MMG's with Rel subs

and going with
VPI Classic3
Sony 5400
Luxman L-590AX
Either Joseph Audio Pulsar or Harbeth super HL5 plus

But then today I fired it up today an listened to Gentle Giant's Power and the Glory on Blu Ray
Damn a tough decision.

 

I've been seriously thinking of shrinking my second system.
VPI Aries 3
Sony 5400
Oppo 105
Sim Audio phono and power supply
CJ ET5
Pass X250.5
Marantz amp (rear)
Maggie 3.7 & MMG's with Rel subs

and going with
VPI Classic3
Sony 5400
Luxman L-590AX
Either Joseph Audio Pulsar or Harbeth super HL5 plus

But then today I fired it up today an listened to Gentle Giant's Power and the Glory on Blu Ray
Damn a tough decision.

 

My in-room is currently a pair of Hong-Kong sourced Tripath TA2020's driving little Wharfedale Diamond 9.0's and a passive JPW sub (with a LOT of careful room-tuning via speaker mounting and placement).

I confess that I've never owned any truly "audiophile" kit (apart, perhaps, from the TT's I mentioned) - various Rotel, Cambridge Audio, Yamaha, Mordaunt-Short etc' over the past 30-odd years - but I've rarely looked forward to listening to music as much as I do now.

 

I've been thinking recently of a Rega Brio, with the idea I don't worry about warming up tubes or wasting tube life.

 

I've found that music sounds better on my smaller system (or iPod, or garage boom box) knowing my main system is always close by and ready to go.

 

This is what I'm running on an $8000 turntable/tonearm (retail) setup now, and you're not going to be disappointed.

 

Love my Brio.

 

I think my current system is skeleton for Hifi term

of course one pair of speaker, integrated amp, cdp, TT, tuner, some pure silver interconnect,

thinking hard to free up space n money.

thought of changing my Accuphase class A amp for smaller amp, selling.away branded cables, replace cdp with streamer

of course this are wild thoughts but contemplating

 

Is it convenience you are after-e.g. no vinyl, no physical media, or simply a high quality smaller system?
I've been there quite a few times. I have put my main system 'on ice' many times over the years (but didn't sell the gear at the time, simply stored it) and used modest stuff- perfectly fine, no fuss, no constant attention to system details.
I went through a period where I was on the road, working crazy hours for years- and the last thing I had energy for was system stuff- I wanted to hit a 'remote' and enjoy- that phase involved a shift away from hi-fi to home theatre, which was quite fun.
But, somehow, I always come back eventually. And when I do, I unpack, set it up, and at some point, eventually decide to upgrade.
I think it's in your blood, once bitten. At least for me. I can walk away from it for months, sometimes, years, but eventually, I wanna hear music as realistically and engagingly as possible.
And a good small system isn't necessarily cheap. (I heard one a few weeks ago that was very impressive, but quite costly).
Despite all that, if you were willing to do vintage, and give up some bandwidth, you could put together a killer smaller system, but I think you're still back to fiddling, to some degree, with enthusiast gear. I've probably mentioned this before, but were you at the Waldorf show a couple years ago? Robin Wyatt's room? Old Quads, a pair of modest tube amps and a franken preamp from Charlie King. One of the nicest sounding systems at that show. Modest by the standards of the "high-end," but I found that system more enjoyable than most of the uber systems in other rooms. However, it wasn't a 'set and forget' don't worry about warm up, are the panels gonna arc, kinda system. Still fiddley, in my estimation, but very yummy sounding. And doable without boatloads of cash.

 

I've already downsized, from a $10k all-Naim setup to the more modest Rega/Linn/Wharfedale system I have now.

I would like to experiment, and see just how much musical enjoyment $500 would get me; something like an Onkyo C-7030 ($139)>Yamaha amp @ Best Buy for $149>Fluance SX6 speakers ($129 @ Amazon). I bet I could live with it; and doing so might even alter listening habits (i.e. stop being concerned about sound, and just enjoy the music.)

 

Nice to read posts like this, there is hope.

 

Note that the terms 'downsizing' and 'downgrading' aren't necessarily the same. Just an observation.

 

Well, let's not get carried away!

 

Well, how 'bout a cheap DVD player (<$50?)>Lepai amp($30)>Dayton B652 speakers ($40)!

 

Exactly; good point. I'm fortunate in that my downsized system still allows for very engaging music playback.

 

I have played that game and prefer searching out bargains in the vintage area. I got a Sansui 250 receiver and 250T turntable for twenty five bucks. New stylus and drive belt. A cheap Sony DVD player and vintage looking Cambridge Audioworks Model 6 from Ebay so for less than $200 its a system I could easily live with.
And it sounds good!