Best Hardware acquisition of 2020

Many thanks for your detailed and extensive insights! I'm in the EU and dl110 is €250 ($270), dl103 is €350 ($370). I might try one whenever I feel an itch coming up .

 

I just bought a Esoteric K-05Xs CD/SACD player.

If we have to say inside, might as well make the best of the situation !

 

You need to know where to source it. I bought mine for $199 (DL-110) from 2juki on eBay. Still available there from same seller for same price. also available for $250 from some US sellers (2juki is in Hong Kong).

 

Upon sad news of the demise of Jelco Ichikawa company, I bought two Jelco 750E 10" tonearms from 2juki last night.

 

Best acquisition in a long time, a Grace G707 tonearm. Just installed it on an old beat up Mission 775 LC turntable, and it sounds fantastic.

I like the brass plumbing fitting (repurposed from a decommissioned biodiesel processor in the garage) standing in as a counterweight. Looks like I've got a line on a CW, but I don't think I'll use it as I have grown fond of the brass substitute.

 

Just discovered these guys and been reading a lot about their interconnects and speaker cables. What gauge did you go with for your cables?

 

Ortofon OM30. Sorry for the poor photo.

 

14 gauge and length of 2 meters.

 

Oh boy. The bug has bitten me some time ago, and I have been resisting scratching the bite, but to no avail.

Pulled the trigger on a Pro-Ject The Classic turntable (may be one of the last ones available in the country) and a NuForce STA 200 power amp today, from AudioAdvisor. Got a fairly good deal - $799 for the table, $449 for the amp.

The amp is a licensed version of Goldmund (Swiss) Job 225 amp, so should be pretty good. Don't really need it, but my PrimaLuna Four is idled with tube problems right now, with no way to fix it while everything is closed, so this will serve as a stand-in, and then a spare, when the PL is back at it.

God help me - it's the middle of a pandemic, my business is down and on shaky ground, and I'm buying gear. I'm sick...

EDIT: Plus a Jico SAS stylus for my Shure M97HE and just now a 2M Bronze stylus for the Silver Cart on that Pro-Ject Classic.

 

Pure Audio Project Quintet15 Horn1 speakers. Pulled a trigger just before the whole pandemic thing started, as a compensation for our long and expensive trip to Japan we had to cancel.
They are so awesome...

 

Open baffle?

 

Yes, open baffle with 4 15 inch woofers and a horn, crossed I think at 550Hz )). Very easy to drive, needle on my Pass XA30.5 never moved.. And man, I am lost for words how good they sounds.. A little tricky to setup and need to be moved far away from the walls, but I got plenty of space...

 

Oohh, you've got a juicy amp driving them, I'm salivating.

 

My Klipsch Grove Portable Bluetooth Speaker. This one is the replacement sent by Klipsch to replace an earlier model bought directly from Klipsch on Ebay. It was still within the one year warranty (which, btw, is an important consideration when purchasing).

 

And just got an upgraded aluminum sub-platter for the Pro-Ject.

 

Sony Apm-77w

 

Changed capacitors in my Jolida JD9 and JD5T to some big fat Obbligatos. Made a big difference in their sound for the better.

 

I’d love to hear more about these! What did they replace and how would you describe the sound?

 

Interesting driver design. Square drivers. Four voice coils for the woofer and guided by pistons.
Sony APM-77 on thevintageknob.org

 

Where did u find one? I’m on the lookout as we speak.

 

I picked up this amp on a whim on eBay and the 10 watts per channel really light up my Zu Omens, especially the bass. I’m keeping this amp.

 

They replaced Goldnear Triton 1, which I just sold. Tritons are not that bad of a speaker (Stereophile class A), but those a simply better in every way but very low bass region, which is mostly in movies and I had to buy sub for HT (Tritons had build-in subwoofer).
I heard them on Florida Audio show this year and was floored. Expo had plenty of speakers there, some are very expensive, innovative, etc - but none was so well rounded and detailed as those.. I listened for them in ave for a while, and came next day to talk to exhibitors and to reaffirm my impression. Did not know if I can get them funded - but cancelled travel plans due to pandemic actually freed some $$ )).

I am not a reviewer, unfortunately, and do not know if I can describe everything accurately and in proper audiophile terms. I would describe sound as extremely detailed and mature. Almost the same level of detail that I heard from crazy expensive Avantgarde Acoustics Duo HD -but with zero fatigue. With Avantgards my jaw dropped after I heard them, but in 20 minutes I wanted to run from the room as fatigue crippled in (they were run by probably 200K worth of electronics). Not with those, which I can listen for hours and never for a second feel tired. Excellent soundstage and very realistic image, etc... And they keep those qualities on any volume, even on lower one. It is really shocking how many new details on familiar recordings I now discover...
And very easy to drive.

They are not without drawbacks, mostly convenience (they arrive in parts - you have to assemble yourself, with my a little crippled by Duputren's hands took 2 days), they are huge - I called them Lebrons as they are the same height as Lebron James, they need to be carefully positioned and need space.

Another interesting benefit - you can by hand change (if you wish) all crossover parts and adjust it.. And you wish to rewire speakers -again, easy. Crossover BTW and all it components are made by Mundorf, so they did not cut corners.. (another interesting detail - steel frames, woofers and hardware is made in USA, crossovers, wires, baffles and horns in Germany, compression driver is from Spain, spikes from Norway.. I do not think a single part is from China, which is remarkable nowadays). It is even possible to change horn to other driver such as excellent Voxativ. I can play with them til I have a call from above without actually changing them )).
And the last detail - owner of the company Ze'ev is a very nice and helpful fellow and great to deal with.

Sorry for off-topic.

 

Rega P8.

 

Wow! Thanks so much for the detailed description! Everything you described makes them sound great. Hopefully I’ll get to hear some PAP speakers one day. Congratulations!

 

My best purchase of 2020 are Dynaudio special forty’s speakers and Sutherland insight,rel T7i subwoofer.