Judging the sheet notes (Pastorale), you made great progress in the five years after your retirement. Chapeau!
Wow!
I bet it sounds wonderful. Great setup.
1 Like
Lovely journey and current system.
Nice to see the CDX2.2 as a source. Enjoy spinning those discs 
2 Likes
Interesting, what are your thoughts about these little speakers in comparison to the “conventional” ones? Do they sound too dry? What are their pros and cons in your experience? I think those speakers can be very interesting for a desktop setup for instance.
2 Likes
I’d be listening to Bruno Mars “ The Lazy Song” if I had a system like that in my bedroom!
You have a good eye! Thank you @Sailor. Actually the picture was taken a year or so ago.
Compared to the ProAc speakers I had I’d say they do sound a bit more clear and analytical but with a punchier bass, however the ProAcs had better stereo imaging and a more holographic sound. In terms of pure musical enjoyment I’d say the ProAcs were better though the Genelecs are by no means bad.
For desktop use the Genelecs are fantastic, I’ve been using the Genelec 8020B with my computer for almost 15 years, first hooked up to a Cambridge Audio DacMagic 100 and currently a Marantz HD-DAC1 and I’ve never had the urge to replace or upgrade them.
2 Likes
Thank you @JR1911, sooner or later I would like to have a proper desktop setup with a pair of small active speakers and a cheap DAC. I also had the Cambridge DAC Magic (Plus version), unluckily it’s broken now. Honestly I expected you to say the Genelecs had a better stereo imaging or at least more holographic. I suppose the “conventional” speakers are made for you to enjoy music, monitors just tend to give you a more neutral idea of the music despite being enjoyable at the same time.
Yeah, the ProAcs ‘disappeared’ more when listening to music, though the Genelecs might also improve in that regard if I’d try to reposition them but as it is now I still enjoy them so I’m not going to bother, at least not yet.
I also remembered that it was a DacMagic Plus that I had, not a DacMagic 100, but mine also developed a fault that I had to wait a while for it work after turning it on and after a while it just refused to work at all so I replaced it with the Marantz.
2 Likes
51 Likes
Hey Bubble, had you ever considered moving the NAP SC & HiCap to the bottom and moving everything else up one layer.
That NDX2 would certainly benefit from moving both those PS’s away from it I would have thought…
Just an observation.
6 Likes
Learning to play (and playing) a musical instrument is an endless source of joy! Excellent choice, and what a beautiful piano you have. Enjoy!
1 Like
I have, and I am aware of the potential/theoretical benefits. I tried what you suggest and it doesn’t look right. It looks better, in my opinion, having all the full-width boxes as I have them, one per ‘slot’. There is a few inches’ gap between the HiCAP DR/NAPSC and the NDX2 and, of course, each is in a heavy metal case. I did put the HiCAP DR on the RH side, i.e. above the unused power supply section of the NDX2. I doubt that the NAPSC gives out much in the way of potential interference. I can always change it around later, I suppose, but at the moment it looks and sounds fine. Given that I sit looking straight at the system, its appearance does matter (to me)!
6 Likes
For whatever it is worth, one of the biggest improvements in sound is moving all the non-power stuff (NAC, NDX2) onto a separate shelving unit as far as possible (given cable length) from the power stuff (XPS-DR, Hi-Cap, 250) . The difference is stark. Of course it involves cost and space but if you can at all, strongly recommended. FWIW.
2 Likes
Makes sense of course. I haven’t really got the space, unfortunately. We all have to decide where we have to draw our lines.
3 Likes
I’ll keep your thoughts in mind, those Genelecs (and the Neumann) are on my radar even though far from being a priority. Interesting that you also experienced problems with the DacMagic Plus, I thought I was the only one.
Also one of the few things (along with learning a foreign language) scientifically shown to stave off dementia in later life!
That is certainly a nice side effect! I started out playing the organ as a kid, and have over the years learned the basics of piano, guitar and ukulele as well. You don’t have to be Brian May to enjoy playing the guitar. 