What equipment might you buy or sell in 2023?

Lab 12 gear sounds great.

 

It will be i interesting to put my very analog sounding Lab 12 DAC 1 Reference up against a decent turntable.

 

Great position to be in....enjoy your music bud

 

Will likely sell my Universal Pioneer 79-avi player, will buy Grado Statement cart this month

 

Traded my Sapphire M3s + $ for newesd Volti Rivals that I like very, very much.

 

Voltis are the real deal, congrats !
i would try a pair of razz but i already said nothing new in '23. man it is going to be a long year...

 

Thanks! The M3s are/were fantastic speakers but I was having issues with hard rock at higher volumes (that is the very short story). The Rivals have that same refinement (but obviously sound much different in presentation) with Thor's hammer behind it. I was completely unprepared for what was unleashed when I turn the volume knob up to...........5 (although that I think it is inflated with my phono stage set at 250 ohms). I haven't heard that many systems but it is for sure the closest I've ever heard a stereo sound to a live band playing. I'm still gobsmacked. I may need to hire a stuctual engineer to make sure I didn't crack the foundation.

I hope you can get the Razz's when you are ready. I was going to get those myself but got a good deal on these Rivals and stretched a bit.

 

I just purchased a used Magnum Dynalab MD 90 on eBay ! Fingers crossed…

 

This year might be a very transitional year for me. A move coming around June/July timeframe, and debating about retiring, yet thinking maybe I have another year/two to really make it work best, who knows-only time will tell. Nice thing is that I don't have to know right now.

As far as the music/Hifi stuff, in my thoughts about retirement, I am in a great spot, my main system is more or less where I wanted it to be, and I love it. Yet there are times when I think I just really enjoy something more simple, letting go of the main system consisting of TT-phono stage, Streamer, Pre-DAC, mono amps, headphone amp/phones and speakers, and just settling down with my backup two box Naim Nait XS3 and ND5XS2 Streamer and speakers. I even like the idea of just keeping my old Naim Uniti 1 and my Guru Juniors, even simpler yet.

I really hate the thought of selling any of the gear, such a pain in the xxx really! So who knows. I've lived with the my current gear for quite awhile, so it does become difficult to let things go-providing that is what I do. Time will tell I guess! In the meantime, I just continue to enjoy the music!

 

I Just bough this KEF KF92 Subwoofer.
Amazon has it for $1720, I never see it for less than $2000.

1000w Class D amp. (2) 9" drivers, force cancelling. KEF's Music Integrity Engine™. (DSP for room correction)

KEF KF92 review

 

Recent possibility:

Sell: KEF R11
Buy: KEF R11 Meta or Reference 3 or 5 (used)

 

My Buddy just bought a pair of KEF Reference 3 Meta's ($15k!)
LOVES THEM. Sublime. Transparent to everything you use with them, neutral and tight. Ample tight/fast bass on their own.
The KEF Reference Series have Always been superb.

He paired it with a KEF KF92 Sub, in a big room too. Loves the Sub. Almost bought 2 of them but thinks One is just fine. Deep Tight bass that doesn't get in the way.
The KEF Ref8b Sub is $7000 and was overkill for his room and with the Ref 3 Meta's and the type of music he listens too (No orchestral or big live performances, no HT)


KEF 207 Reference Speakers (used)

Kef reference 3 pair in stunning rosewood (used)

 

Nice!

I'm all over the place right now... One minute I'm thinking I should just upgrade my current system and add a sub, another I'm thinking I should buy a headphone amp/ headphones due to the upcoming baby, then I'm also over here looking at whole secondary system options to use at my office

 

Yeah, keeping my eye out for the non-Meta Reference 3 & 5 while I await the announcement of the new Meta R-series. The R11 with dual SVS SB-2000s sound great...but I can always be tempted!

 

Ive been shopping for a while. I was dead set on a REL S/510. Ive heard it many times and its amazing. BUT it Must be properly corner loaded to sound its best. I dont have a proper corner for it. The KEF KF92 has 3 different loading abilities via their DSP that is said to just Work!

Also, the F'in REL S/510 was always available just north of $2k, but now its closer to $2800 and hardly sells for less that $2600.
The KEF is $2k and for $1700 on-sale, its a no-brainer.

Im expecting a nice blend with my older KEF Ref speakers with a Marantz Class-D amp.

 

Thinking about a sub-woofer. Small room.

Thinking about a SVS-3000 Micro as it will fit exactly in my only possible spot.

The REL T/7i is just a tad too large, but also a possibility.

I don't have any history with sub-woofers, so this won't be an easy decision.

 

Take a look at the REL t5x, high sq, easy to integrate, pretty compact.

 

They are awesome...they may be the best speaker i've heard for under $1k...their soundstaging and imaging is otherworldly....they have that amazing toe tapping ability. The treble is very finely judged they do those special things in the upper-midrange thru the treble by getting all the lil inflections without being obvious...they are something else so much so....that i sent them back for the 109 mkII...

 

Sweet Vinyl Sugar Cube??

 

Welp...a little disappointed with the Meta KEF R-series announcement. Looks like I'll be keeping my eyes peeled for some used Reference 3 or 5.

Curious that they only did new color options for the R7 and R3 but I'd have to assume those are the biggest sellers in the series.

 

I’ve upgraded my Cyrus CD player and amp to the newish reference series models over the past couple of months, and will see what the reviews and prices are like for the new Cyrus streamer due mid 2023. It will have to compete with the likes of Naim, so I await with interest.

 

A friend who has (2) S/510's in his main system, tried the small REL for his office. Had no way to properly corner load the sub and it wasn't good. He returned it.
Settled on the B&W AWS608 which is shocking Good, especially for $600.

When he got the S/510 and tried them in the room (between the speakers) it resulted in Huge disappointment and near returns.
Once they were properly corner loaded they preformed magically. They can be one of the best sounding subs you can buy but they need proper placement. If you cant then buy another type fo sub.

I was considering the B&W "DB" series for my main system. Great reviews on them. DB4S and DB3D

 

Look how compact this little powerhouse is?
13" cube.
Im pleasantly shocked how good it is.

 

I have 3 Audio Alchemy OM150 Amplifiers. Definitely keeping one for myself, and one for my son, but may sell the third...

 

Heck… someone had a Garber Yph for sale locally, felt it was listed a little high but struck up convo, nice guy, might still get together to geek out on hifi, but someone already agreed to list price. Swing and a miss haha