What was the last bit of gear you bought in 2024?

A Creaktiv Audio rack off Ebay, for my Clearaudio RCM

I had very vaguely considered getting something more suitable than the small Ikea Lack table I had been using; it was too low, and I never knew where to safely put the lid when cleaning a record.

This is much better: the platter is now approx 1m off the ground, and I have ample space to store the lid.

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The last three shelves are , for?
A Degritter
Kinsmuss
And distilled water , cleaning fluids

A complete wash, ultra sonic cleaning, restoration.

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None of the above :slightly_smiling_face:

1 shelf is for the lid when I am cleaning an LP, the others are for nothing really, although I have put my Tron phono stage on the bottom shelf ( currently using Audio Analogue Phono) .The RCM is now at a much better height for me to use.

I paid £450 + postage for it, which I thought was a decent price.*I didn’t want a chunky cabinet, and it’s not necessarily easy to find something suitable.

  • This rack is now discontinued, and I’m not even sure if Creaktive are still in business, but think it was upwards of €1000 when new.
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I was kidding. I looks good but maybe a bit expensive for its use. But I know, it’s not easy to find something that is not for a standard use.
Why not a little table? But perhaps not enough height?

I LOVE the Allison 6. Such brilliant design. Which reminds me that I need to fit the replacement mid/bass drivers that I managed to get Stateside to my own pair and get them up and running again.

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Felt it was time for an upgrade for the internal phono stage in my SN3, a Gold Note PH10 and PSU10 power supply added this week. First impressions are these are seriously good. Only had time to try a few tracks but already hearing a huge uplift. Helps that they are pre owned so nicely run in.

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Ikea, for the win…it’s not really new I’ve had it for a while.

My handy 2x2 Gloss White Kallax with closed storage for cleaning supplies, manuals, small parts and tools. About $150 for everything (shelf, drawers, etc). Slightly less for non-gloss finishes.

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I had a little table: the Clearaudio is now at a nice height for me to operate it comfortably. Plus, if I ever fancy a bigger turntable *, the shelves are 500mm wide.

  • I do like turntables as objets a bit like other people like watches. Fortunately, I have not wasted my money on buying another one :slightly_smiling_face:
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It fits the bill and use. :+1:
And you can put inside all your cleaning devices. But it would be still more impressive with your 3 machines side by side. But that takes place…

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Fantastic- post some pics when you get them up and running :sunglasses:

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Thanks for pointing out the similarity. While I was aware of Allison as a brand, this particular model was unknown to me. I might ask Willi Bauer if his design was inspired by the Model 6. Apart from the cabinet size another difference is the port at the bottom of the OM2.

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Is there any piece of good HiFi you don’t own? :grinning:

If the Allison is anywhere near the OM2 soundwise, you should be fitting the replacement drivers right now. The sheer quality of the OM2, especially its coherence, was the biggest surprise I have had in the last few years.

Just in. My new AV Options deep cryo DIN 4-5 cable, to replace my HiLine.

After sending back my DIN5-5 back to Naim a second time for repair of a broken connector I decided I’m going to unload my two HiLine cables and remove the stress and grief of such a horrible user experience with a cable. I know the cable sounds great but it’s one of the worst hifi products I’ve had to misfortune to buy. Now I’ll just use the lavender cables on my NDX2 and this new AVO cable for my Superline.

There’s a whole thread about failed HiLines. Ugh

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Nice! Personally I think it is much better than the HiLine (and Morgana and Chord Signature TA.) Will be interesting to hear your thoughts.

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I’m something of a cable agnostic if I’m honest, but the one time I felt I really noticed a striking difference was changing the DIN-XLR between my hicap and 250. When I got my 300 recently, I wanted to get a pair to go to the supercap pretty sharp. I settled on these Nordost Frey 2 in the end. I’ve never had Nordost cables so thought it’s something new and if all else fails, they’re purple which looks very nice. I’ll report back with results when I’ve given them a proper run!

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@Scotchegg hi nice one !! Have you heard the Frey 2 before ?

I’ve not! I usually use Chord until now. I have the Sarum T between the NDX2 and 252 and a Shawline between my phono and 252, so this is something totally new.

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@Scotchegg thanks for your reply . I am always interested to know how the special cables from nordost works, as you need to special order it . What makes you buy it without a demo ? Very curious :laughing:

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Oh to be honest, I bought them on the used market, so my choices were limited to these, some Kimber cables and a few different series from Chord. I liked the idea of trying something new with the Nordost, and I managed to get them at a price where I figured if I didn’t enjoy them for whatever reason, I could more than likely resell them without a loss, so I thought why not give them a go.

Glad I did though! The reverb and subtlety of the decay is really improved, which gives a nice sense of spaciousness to the sound. A very worthwhile investment for me. I’ve definitely bought cables elsewhere in the system which have seemingly done nothing in the past, but that’s twice now I’ve swapped out the DIN-XLR (between my 250 and now my 300) and been very impressed. I’m now fairly well convinced that the DIN-XLR cables you get with Naim kit are just not very good, or maybe I just prefer the sound signature of something else in that slot. Who knows. These cables are lovely though.

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@Scotchegg nice one ! Glad it works out all good for you ! Enjoy !!:wink: