System Pics 2020

[dknk]

I have the same shelf, 3/4 full of lps, nice looking and functional. Make sure you use the hardware provided to fix it to the wall.

[NO-QUARTER]

@dknk

have the same shelf, 3/4 full of lps, nice looking and functional. Make sure you use the hardware provided to fix it to the wall.

That is one thing I still have to do, fix it to the wall. I doubt my 4 albums will topple it over though😢 At least the assembly went smoothly.

[IvdZ]

Sonus Faber Olympica Nova 3 replaced the Focal Kanta 2 today. Silky trebles. Very happy. All still tunning in

Iver

[popeye]

Definitely warrants a new video Iver and a talk through the new speakers!

[IvdZ]

Will do @popeye

[NickSeattle]

Hi @NO-QUARTER. Congratulations on the new setup. I found that both my Rega Planar 3 and RP 10 seem to find a part of the groove untouched by prior players. I have been amazed how many of my own “trashed records” from the 50s through 90s sound nearly new. Especially the original Tijuana Brass albums my dad played to death. And, I haven’t even bought a cleaning machine yet.

Give the old ones a spin before you ditch them, I say!

Enjoy.

Nick

[NickSeattle]

Fun fact - I just read the Nagra MPA can be reconfigured by owner to vertical/tower orientation. I wonder if it sounds the same. Neat trick if no effect.

Nick

[HappyListener]

FYI, the Kallax should be fine without attaching to the wall unless you have kids about(?) i.e. it can take the strain of many LPs.

I would suggest (per another post on here somewhere) putting something on the back edge to prevent LPs pushing through, potentially marking the wall. I think the subject poster used a large gauge self-adhesive foam/rubber stop akin to a large self-adhesive draft excluder.

I’ve put a bit of carpet tile underneath mine, as this enables easy-ish movement without scratching the floor if you need to get behind. My house is often mini-spider-ville at times, with a regular need to get a vacuum nozzle behind.

[CBR600]

Interesting piece of kit.
I have just ordered a Nagra VII to have some fun with.

[mcjt1]

Re Nagra MPA, it’s an interesting amp. I didn’t know it.
With an unusual appearance, I have to say!
I bet it is very sweet.

[zipperheadbanjo]

@anon64018693

@Ian2001 Well Ian, I started off when I was about 14 and will be 56 this year. Life isn’t always what you expect or want it to be and these days I am neither happy with nor proud of my current main system (with Naim amplification) and I just can’t convince myself that a picture of pure sadness would make anyone’s day. I will say that the system that brought the most happiness was this one: Martin Logan Quest Z, Jadis DA-7, Sonic Frontiers SFL2 and a Wadia 21 all before streaming came along. Why did my wife make me sell that stuff? The Naim system is set up in the same space and location and really, definitely, most assuredly sounds like pure hell and procures zero pleasure. Fortunately, I have 4 other systems in the gym, workshop, bureau and guest bedroom which allow me to tweak and interchange things from time to time and which are pleasureful to listen to. The Naim adventure, on the other hand has surprisingly been mostly frustration and regret. The mental energy spent figuring how to get out of this mess is exhausting. Anyway, I do plan to win the EuroLottery soon and that may allow for more suitable alternatives…or not!

If it sounds like he’ll and produces zero pleasure… why on earth do you keep it?

[NO-QUARTER]

@NickSeattle

Fun fact - I just read the Nagra MPA can be reconfigured by owner to vertical/tower orientation. I wonder if it sounds the same. Neat trick if no effect.

One thing I have noticed so far is the Nagra runs quite hot, it has a vent with a fan on the front face that blows hot air, but it is dead silent. There are also a couple of vents on the top surface, but it definitely runs warmer than any Naim amp I have owned. You are right, it can be stood on its end, and also you can buy a module for it to run just as a straight amp. The gauges etc. would come out and be replaced by a flat panel. Just when you thought thought that is all…when it is set up as a straight amp, it can also be run in stereo, or used as a monoblock, but I would need another one.
This amp is around ten years old, but just came back from a recap, or service, and a new fan was installed. I would think these new caps need to break in, so things could get better. One word that comes to mind when describing it’s sound is elegant, it just seems to have everything in perfect order.

[anon64018693]

@zipperheadbanjo Hello. Well, can’t afford to replace it. The Naim adventure was a massive mistake. Can’t see how anyone enjoys music with 90% bass and mid-bass, but we all have different tastes. Am definitely hoping to sell it all for a meager sum and downgrade to something that sounds 10 times better.

[HappyListener]

I knew it was here somewhere!

@Fifty-Fifty 's thread:

Vinyl Kallax storage hack

Hello. During this lock down I’ve decided to reorganise my listening room with new 8m lengths of N2 cable from Witch Hat arrived as the new configuration wouldn’t allow my existing NAC A5 to reach the new position of the Fraim lite stack ( or go round corners) and also a wall shelf from HiFi racks. Lots to do and still a work in progress. The Kallax 8 hole unit has also been moved and rotated through 90 degrees. Whilst it’s empty of the records I thought I’d address one of the bugbears of the I…

[JonoB]

@anon93526344

Hi

Are those the Totem Model 1 Sigs ?

Regards

Yep. I’ve been trying them out on demo over the past week as a possible replacement for my Epos ES12s. They haven’t yet been broken in, and I’m probably just over half way through that process, but I’ve been impressed by their stereo imaging.

@popeye

Nice system. Interesting change/upgrade going from Totems to SL2’s any particular reason? Totem speakers are amazing, especially if you like how their sound!

I had read a bunch of good things about Totem, and my local dealer has just started importing them. I heard a set of Tribe towers in the showroom and was very impressed by them, but they unfortunately we’re going out that day to another customer and would be a free months before new stock arrived, so the signature one’s were the second choice I wanted to check out. Even though they need breaking in, the performance from them has been good, so if the SL2s and me don’t get along I know where I’ll next be heading.

[anon93526344]

Am told they are excellent…

[MrUnderhill]

Love to hear it.

You may find yourself returning in due course. When a ‘friend’ offered me a pair of SBLs I suddenly found myself with a predominently Naim system after a break of twenty years!

[Yorkshireman]

Was the Nagra new or secondhand?

[NO-QUARTER]

Used, but just serviced.

[Bevo]

Let me know how the witch hat phantom cable compares

Thanks StuW