Hi-Fi upgrades

[derek badger]

Class D run significantly cooler.

Ah.

Just found this review (although I expect you have too ). I think he likes them! They sound like a pretty good investment.

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/foru ... iew.53474/

They're bloody tiny! Not had a proper listen yet, but they are well built and more powerful than you would expect.

Silly money (£350) for what could be a substantial upgrade.

[Count Steer]

The comment about Class D running cooler reminded me that I had a Musical Fidelity A1 Class A amp. The whole of the upper surface was a heat sink/dissipator/radiator.

I think I must have part exchanged it as I have no idea what happened to it - or much of the other stuff I've had over the years.

Edit: It appears that the original (first sold in 1988) has been reborn.

https://www.harrowaudiohifi.co.uk/en/mu ... idelity-a1

[Mr Moofo]

Class D run significantly cooler.

Ah.

Just found this review (although I expect you have too ). I think he likes them! They sound like a pretty good investment.

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/foru ... iew.53474/

They're bloody tiny! Not had a proper listen yet, but they are well built and more powerful than you would expect.

Silly money (£350) for what could be a substantial upgrade.

But if you closed your eyes, and switched back and forth between them, and what you had, could you tell the difference?
(This comes from someone who has wasted a lot of money trying to get HiFi nirvana, only to realise i have significant hearing loss …)

[derek badger]

Ah.

Just found this review (although I expect you have too ). I think he likes them! They sound like a pretty good investment.

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/foru ... iew.53474/

They're bloody tiny! Not had a proper listen yet, but they are well built and more powerful than you would expect.

Silly money (£350) for what could be a substantial upgrade.

But if you closed your eyes, and switched back and forth between them, and what you had, could you tell the difference?
(This comes from someone who has wasted a lot of money trying to get HiFi nirvana, only to realise i have significant hearing loss …)

They only turned up last night, but I've left the other amp there so that I can do a back to back test at some point.

[Count Steer]

But if you closed your eyes, and switched back and forth between them, and what you had, could you tell the difference?
(This comes from someone who has wasted a lot of money trying to get HiFi nirvana, only to realise i have significant hearing loss …)

And...is 'different' necessarily 'better'? In the end I just ended up finding something that I liked when I played the things I like*. Move house and the room acoustics improved and it sounded even better. (Not a cheap upgrade ).

I did an experiment once and stuck blu-tack or plasticene behind my ears and adjusted my tabs. A small tweak made more difference (not necessarily better but different) than changing speaker cables, running with internal power supplies rather than external etc etc etc.

Eventually I stopped bothering with upgrades and mixing stuff and bought a stack of kit by one manufacturer - inc. speakers. I upgraded the CD player after mine was serviced and they loaned me a be££er one...which, obvs, I had to have.

*I took some of my kit to a hi-fi shop to audition some speakers once upon a time. Took a mix of things to play. Put something like Joe Satriani on and said 'Hmm...these speakers aren't very rock 'n roll'. Chap says 'That's not the speakers, it's your CD player' and plugged a better one in. 30 seconds later wife says 'I want that CD player!'.

'Yes dear' sez I 'If you insist'.

[derek badger]

Giving things a couple more hours run in time...

[KungFooBob]

I have to keep taking Sam Fender records off my turntable (the wife is obsessed), so I can listen to side two (of four) of the black album on repeat.

[derek badger]

So I was using AI to work on speaker/chair placement and then went down a rabbit hole. Gave it all the room dimensions, the fact it was a conservatory with two glass sides and a pitched roof, no rugs or furniture wtc. My stands were too low for instance, and ironically I found a set of Custom Design FS 104 Signature XL ones on Marketplace for £30. These retail for £200...





Things sounded better, but still a bit bright. So asked ChatGPT what I could do to add warmth to the system like it had with the Yamaha amp. The Fosi set up is far superior in clarity, soundstage and accuracy but when I listen to heavier rock it lacks some bass and warmth, that vintage sound I guess.

AI tells me the Kef Corelli speakers are now the weak link so I then spent another couple of days feeding it more data and questions until I got a shortlist. I then my own research and read reviews. It's my Birthday today, so I'm off to the HiFi shop to pick up a new set of Wharfdale Diamond 12.1 speakers.

[Rockburner]

I keep thinking about getting another set of hi-fi separates, but I've no idea where I'd use them to be honest.

Daily I'm in a small study room working, and most evenings I'm in the shed, then dinner and a couple of hours of telly. Weekends we're mostly out or outside at the very least.

Listening to albums doesn't really get a look in within our weekly time budgets.

That said, we regularly visit a 2nd hand shop in Chi that has a hi-fi separates section (I kid you not), and they occasionally have interesting, and quite high end stuff turn up. The first time we went in they actually had a Audio Innovations Alto (2nd gen) CD/Radio unit which I am still kicking myself for not buying. Ok, it's not the highest of high end kit.... but I did the mechanical design for the 2nd gen Alto kit when I was working for Cambridge Audio and I wouldn't mind a pair of Alto units because they actually look nice in a room!

[derek badger]

Well happy birthday to me. They sound fantastic! As ever it took much longer than expected to get the stands levelled, spaced correctly and the same distance away from the rear 'wall'. They may need to come forward another 10-20mm as they are rear ported, but even at a decent volume there isn't any booming.