Best Hardware Acquisition of 2018

Massdrop Senheiser HD6XX
Along with a Micca Origen G2 DAC

 

I hate you.
Of course I don't but I'm trying to justify spending twice as much for a XP-22 than I can get a mint XP-20 for.
Seems more than a few XP-20 owners are trading up.

 

Well I vowed to not buy any upgrades this year after going off the deep end last year (so far wife hasn't left). So I'm going to say my new Parasound Jc3 Jr. phono preamp that I purchased last month. Queue up the cliches about me feeling like I'm listening to a whole new collection. More detail, separation, yada yada. Just get one.

 

I was! Damn fine sound system that I probably listen to more than any of my others on any given day!

 

Good move, now start shopping for lomc carts.

 

Audio-Technica ATH-M50xBB, Limited Editon Blue Back model

FYI: A-T offers fast, free shipping with no tax. Why use Amazon?

 

This year was a big year for upgrades and well worth it. The Morrow interconnects have about 120 hours of break in time so far. SSI Technology

Rega P6
Rega Ania MC
Rega Fono MC Preamp
Morrow PH2
Morrow MA2 cables

 

Oppo 205 & Parasound P5 to improve the two channel performance over my Yamaha AVR (the P5 has made a HUGE improvement in the musicality of my system, as has the Oppo).

 

I would but I'm not doing any upgrades this year.

Any recommendations with my Thorens? I was thinking about the 2M Black and know nothing of LOMC things. I've been very happy with my Bronze, I would not consider it a mistake to get another one of them.

 

Wow! Love those speakers! Very hard to find these days.

 

I bought a new Oppo UDP-203 directly from Oppo a couple of days ago. It was $600. delivered and about the same price as I paid for my first Sony DVD player years ago.

 

Well, you will buy a new cart at some point regardless of an upgrade embargo. I love my 2m black but it’s too expensive. When you start spending that kind of money I think it’s time to dig a little deeper and go lomc. You have the phono to handle it, that world is waiting for you and you won’t go back. If you don’t want to spend the money to live in that world, don’t visit.

Just my opinion, I think you would need to spend close to $3,000 to get a big bump in SQ over that Thorens.

 

Townshend Audio Seismick stand. wonderful sound!
not my pic

 

Made one audio purchase this year, Unison Research - Unico 90 - integrated tube amp for the garage system.

 

Pair of these:

Sonus Faber Venere 2.5 (white)


Nothing to do against some of the speakers I normally see around here, but they are good enough for me to listen to music with a fairly decent quality. And they seem to match McIntosh gear quite well.

I also decided to bi-wire them based on recommendations read here (something I had never done - I always kept those metal link plates provided with the speakers), and it surely improved my listening experience even more.

 

Hana SL

 

Herron VTPH 2A

 

Thought I'd post a couple of pics:

 

Mofi Studio phono + Shibata Stylus based MM Cart.

 

Beautiful arm!

 

Seriously, it’s worth it, I have a ARC Ref 6 and I think the XP-22 outperform it.

 

Rega Aria stage and Ania cart for RP8. One of the biggest improvements ever.

The Aria is inside the right compartment of the console

 

One of my favorite rooms I've seen on here. Love "Nipper." Have a stuffed one I received as a child.

Curious, what did you upgrade from?

 

My best of 2018 (so far) is another Conrad-Johnson piece of the puzzle, this one the Premier 15 phono preamp, it gave me a full tube audio path from cartridge to speakers, and at the same time one of the best phono stages in the business ... shown opened up below for some early evaluation, but normally slots in below the turntable in the position occupied by my also very awesome and beloved solid state EF-1 phono preamp, still one of the best SS preamps at any price, and can be had for a song on the used market at around $600 (as mine was) ... the Premier 15 goes closer to $2000 nowadays on the used market but that's a total steal for the sound it delivers ... Minami Deutsch on the table from their 2018 record With Dim Light ... and that Ian William Craig Centres record down there on the right from 2016 is pretty amazing too, listen to it all the time, as is the barely shown Psychic Lemon record on the left at the bottom from earlier this year, brilliant psychedelic stuff, Frequency Rhythm Distortion Delay ...

 

Thank you !

I had an RP6 w an Exact which I loved. Recently bought a demo RP8 from a dealer and he gave me an Exact for me to use temporarily. Nice double upgrade but nothing dramatic. Had a 16 year old Music Fidelity LPS stage which was nice but them switched to the Aria and MC Ania. Huge improvement overall. Soundstage imaging and fuller in a good way. Richer.