Very pleasant surprise coming home from a open day showcasing a Statement system and finding that my humble setup still sounded damned good.
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The marginal improvement going from a 112 to a 202, followed by the mahoosive improvement going from the 202 to a 252.
Learning that speakers that sound good in one room can totally fail in another, and vice versa.
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My unexpected surprise was that an affordable passive preamp/selector can in some scenarios sound just as good or better than expensive active preamps.
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I have had a number over the years:
The first good HiFi I heard. I thought6 I knew what to expect! Active valve based system into 15" Tannoy DC.
Setting up a laptop with CMP2. I had never truly got along with CD. This laptop did things that immediately turned me towards computer based audio, in addition to my LP12 of course.
Sorting out the grounding on my system. Over the years I had added a number of items which were not grounded back to the mains.
The effect of PSUs on audio quality.
The effect of pairing a Naim power amp with Naim speakers (SBL). My EAR534 had become a pervaswive piece of my HiFi landscape and had bettered my 250s …until I added a pair of SBLs, inwhich case the order became:
300DR > 250DR > EAR534 = Bolt together 250.
The first time I heard Class A in my system.
Active pre vs Autoformer passive pre.
Going from CDX/XPS to CDS3/555PS. I’d expected a major improvement but this was a quantum leap.
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Stillpoints under my DAC and amplifier. I was expecting some difference especially as my kit is not on a specialist stand, but the difference was way above what I expected.
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The benefits of Isoacoustic Gaia feet on our speakers. Quite remarkable in our case, though perhaps not for all floor constructions.
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how much joy a Muso Qb can bring.
I could, would and should argue that if what you want to hear what artist sounded like on an uncoloured basis, why get anything but a passive pre-amp?
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Unless you have a DAC able to feed a power amp directly…
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Running Epos 14s well from an A&R 60 back many moons ago. I then switched to an EXPOSURE 6/7/8 but even my dealer was surprised at how well the A&R scoped!
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… without lossy attenuation
Dedicated mains supply and speaker/listening position. Naively.
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The improvement a full fat Powerline mains lead made to a Superuniti.
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For me two instances, firstly putting Audio Technical AT 605 isolation feet under my Ariston RD11S TT back in the late 70’s, sited on top of a solid wooden cabinet. Secondly some 7 years ago, installing Townsend speaker isolation bars beneath my S600s.
In both cases massive improvement to bass definition and ancillary benefits from this.
Stillpoints under my ProAcs. Transformed sensational into sublime! Seriously, the difference they made were way beyond expectation.
For me it was the Orbe upgrade kit for my Gyro Dec SE. Introduced a whole new world of bass and more defined mids just with a different platter. I was shocked how seemingly small changes (although the platter isn’t exactly small!) make such a difference.
The first time I heard hi-fi - a friend’s Rega, nad3020, Kef Coda system Everything since has been increments.
G
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That most of what Jimmy Hughes said was true.
My both unexpected surprises involved the humble power block.
After reading Richard Danes advice against using a powerblock that has some surge protection involved both within a system and used in close proximity to the system.
I had been using a quite sophisticated surge protected powerblock left over from using a tower computer when surge protection was widely recommended. Ran it since for the home telephone, broadband hub and a few other things in the listening room corner out of sight.
Switched it for a very cheap unswitched unprotected job and noticed as suggested a more cleaner and consistent quality from my system.
The other powerblock suprise was from thinking through an issue I was alway plagued with. That of random pops and clicks coming from the system even regardless of it playing anything or with the volume knob back at its start.
I have a basic audio visual integrated setup. With the telly, Sky and stereo all sharing two double outlets. So tried a 4 way Russ Andrews powerblock just for the visual power.
Cured the annoying clicks and pops from randomly happening and perhaps again giving a more consistent quality from the system.
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Hearing Chord Sarum speaker cable for the first time. A jaw-dropping experience, not just for the leap in musicality but also the price - no thank you, I’ll stick with NACA5…
But months down the line it sonics still gnawed at me. A home comparison led me not only to buying the speaker cable, but also the (expensive) route to other connectors, and ultimately the wonder sound I enjoy today.
Other brands are available.
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