What was the last bit of gear you bought in 2023?

Etymotic Research earbuds and an adapter for my iPad Pro.


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The LS50II wireless speakers work with the TV mostly but also function as my backup system, just in case. The MoFiā€™s I doubt Iā€™ll keep long term, but since a good opportunity arose to live with them for a bit I figured Iā€™d scratch that itch. The Spatialā€™s are going nowhere!

Blimey, they still make Etymoticsā€¦guess they moved the model on from, what was it, ER4? Cant rememberā€¦

I have an old pair of Etys in their box somewhere. They look pretty much unchanged, stylewise.

Hi, yes it is a Threshold FET Ten/e phonostage.

Threshold was sold and subsequently, Nelson Pass started Nelson Pass and First Watt, if I remember correctly.

@steviebee

Yes, the latest version.
I own airpod pros but the ER4SR sound so much better. Perfect when working in noisy areas on my iPad.

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My comment was tongue-in-cheek, but music played on a top-flight analogue (vinyl) system still sounds to my ears more natural & convincing than its digital equivalent. And thatā€™s after having a listen to ND555/552/300 just a few days ago.

In my system, the Sarum streaming cable offers a decent uplift in the above, IMO.

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A long time ago, when I had a QUAD 34,FM4/606, system, I lusted after one of those US-built muscle amps from the likes of Krell, Threshold or Audio Research.

Fortunately, Grahams HiFi brought me back to the ways of Naim, just over 30 years ago, and I have been a happy Naim user ever since, although I still have six ESL57 panels on the go in my system.

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Chord 2qute to replace my Hugo, I was expecting it to be the same but itā€™s a significant upgrade to my ears

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Why on Earth did Apple delete the headphone socket? It means that unless youā€™re using Bluetooth headphones, you cannot charge the phone and listen through headphones at the same time.

There are several adapters on eBay that have two ports so you can charge and listen.

Because Apple know best. You donā€™t want or need to listen while charging.

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@anon70766008

I posted the image below on the Nait 50 topic a few days ago.

For my listening habits and speaker choices Iā€™ve never required a lot of watts from an amp.

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@Clive

I have a wireless charging in my office, car and home. I wont go back to plug in charging. For better quality music, wired seems the way to go.

These speaker stands have made an appreciable difference to the sound. So much clarity and authority to the sound. Most of all I have craved the immediacy and leading edge definition of open metal stands with the tonal richness of wooden stands. Finally found it in these stands. Made from a Burmese rosewood, they are heavy and very robust.

Mavin Burmese Rosewood Speaker stands

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Perhaps in the future, members on this thread can state in the caption what the product is. This mind reading, and blowing up the photo looking for clues, is frustrating when one could offer what it is with a word or two. Not all of us are fanatically memorizing the products in hifi magazines.

Great looking speakers though. By blowing up the photo Iā€™m guessing Alchris? Never heard of them. Enjoy.

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Again, could members simply state the name of the product first, please?

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Iā€™m hopeful going to be comparing Harbeth speakers soon including the m30.2xdā€™s Iā€™ve heard stands can be very important. Iā€™m hoping my current stands will be good enough for demo and at least for now. Iā€™ve seen some Harbeth specific wood stands recently and I may demo them at some point. The ones I was looking at were hifi racks in Leicestershire but I donā€™t quite get why they are 3 times the price of their basic wood stands.

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Iā€™ve owned quite a few stands for my many Harbeth speakers over the years.

Something Solid XF
Tontrager
Hifi racks
Custom designs

Iā€™m sure Iā€™m forgetting some. Open frame is very important and makes a big difference on Harbeths.

Metal = leading edge definition and speed.

Wood = natural tone and a deeper bass but the leading edge definition and dynamics arenā€™t as pronounced.

Like I said the Mavin stands do it all but they cost even more than the Tontrager stands.

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Itā€™s an accessibility issue too. I know lots of us like looking at lovely gear, but not everyone has good eyesight, or even any eyesight. Same issue on the music threads with just album art posted. Iā€™ve done it myself too, and been rightly pulled up on it, possibly by your good self! :slight_smile: Iā€™m not sure how screen reader compatible the forum is, but for many reasons itā€™s probably nice to include some written words describing what the lovely picture is of, be it new kit, or great album etc.

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Adding some text description, whether itā€™s album covers or equipment, makes searches possible too.

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