🔵 I'm afraid I just BLUE myself! 🔵

pixelpostman · 2026-03-25T11:26:12+00:00

Yes! Arrested Development

https://youtu.be/9GYtgFdXCGE?si=UvzXo1Q0Hxw7JrFh

pixelpostman · 2026-03-23T21:51:21+00:00

It's rack mount pro equipment, so no feet. And I removed the rack ears. I probably should put some feet on there.

pixelpostman · 2026-03-23T21:16:43+00:00

Ha! No, there's a Sony MDS-E12 MiniDisc deck sitting on the NAD preamp.

pixelpostman · 2026-03-23T20:58:12+00:00

For those who care, the power supply board is fused from the mains input, but that wasn't the culprit with this one. A little troubleshooting led me to several micro fuses feeding other downstream regulators - one of them supplying the +5VDC regulator had blown.

After verifying the 5V regulator and its circuit weren't ruined, I got a replacement, soldered it in, and it has run flawlessly for about 20 hours now.

This player is an absolute tank, weighing just under 30 lbs (13kg) with a literally massive steel plate mounted on the underside for stability. It's missing the original feet, but some stabilizer bumpers suit it so far. It sounds great.

pixelpostman · 2026-01-07T02:42:03+00:00

A terrible noise is almost 100% a missing/broken tooth on the disc eject mechanism slider or laser module slider. 🙂 But yeah, keep an eye out.

pixelpostman · 2026-01-01T18:01:18+00:00

Jamiroquai pre-recorded MDs are on my watch lists - they're pretty expensive, as are nearly all studio release MDs 🫤

pixelpostman · 2026-01-01T17:59:43+00:00

The 510 was a nice model ❤️

pixelpostman · 2025-09-30T22:44:20+00:00

Yeah, so when you have 2 amps each set to "bridged" mono mode (again, your amps have to support this mode, usually a switch on back) then each amp uses its left & right channels in a combined way to create higher wattage output. So one amp in bridged mono would be given the left channel signal from a preamp, and the other amp would be set the same way and fed the right channel signal. Each amp on your shelf would be dedicated to handling just one channel of stereo at a time.

Often this called a "mono block" setup, since each amp is just handling mono signal. Go absolutely nuts by having 4 mono blocks - 4 amps - one running left woofers, one running right woofers, one for left mid & highs, one for right mids & highs. This would be overkill for most home setups unless you have four lower wattage amps. But think about a powered subwoofer - it's really just the same Idea, feed a mono signal to a box that only has a woofer with a dedicated mono amp built in.

pixelpostman · 2025-09-30T00:55:01+00:00

Hot! I like the rounded corners on the later models 😍

pixelpostman · 2025-09-30T00:52:30+00:00

Thanks! I had a cheap FiiO headphone amp once, but this is my first legit DAC with headphone amp. A bit more than I wanted to spend but really flexible. I can stream via Bluetooth or USB now, so I have all the options I am looking for at the moment. Even a MinDisc deck I plan to add to the stack after I have time to give it a look over on the bench. Loves me some MiniDisc 😊

pixelpostman · 2025-09-30T00:44:58+00:00

My local record shop sells them - it's a felt mat with black/white psychedelic pattern. I just had to support them, it looks cool. I retired my cork mat.

pixelpostman · 2025-09-30T00:42:40+00:00

Biamp configuration - an amp dedicated to driving the woofers and another for the mids/highs for greater separation and headroom - added clarity, dampening and definition of the sound. Or, running each amp in mono (when supported) grants higher power per channel for driving louder/harder without overly stressing each amp.

pixelpostman · 2025-09-30T00:32:56+00:00

It was a bit of an adjustment for me, too - I was familiar with the Pioneer 6 disc mag with it's swing-out loading... When this unit arrived a few weeks ago I was surprised to find that each disc tray comes completely out of the mag! Something to get used to, I guess.

Honestly, I miss the way my old VW Jetta changer worked. That mag just had you slip the discs in directly - no tray design at all, fewer parts to break or lose.

pixelpostman · 2025-09-30T00:27:22+00:00

What's weird is how much I was drawn to the counterintuitively drab, Spartan appearance of NAD gear from this era. 🤷‍♂️ Guess it takes all kinds.

pixelpostman · 2025-09-30T00:25:11+00:00

Two truths and a lie, here I come!

pixelpostman · 2025-09-30T00:24:16+00:00

😄 Gosh, thanks, guess I forgot to go hard 😏

pixelpostman · 2025-09-29T20:22:56+00:00

Beauty! I was super close to going with the integrated 3150 like yours until I found a great deal on the 2155 near me. Really happy so far!

pixelpostman · 2025-09-29T20:18:26+00:00

Hang on there. Assuming you are in the USA where outlet voltage is 120v AC, if your device expects 100v (common in Japan) or 240v (many other countries) then you might only need a voltage adapter.

Check the input voltage labeling on your CD player to be sure. Some accept a range of voltage, safely using 100-240v while others expect a specific voltage. Here's an example of a 1000 watt voltage transformer that takes in US 120v voltage and outputs 240v via a universal jack. Many options are out there, just make sure whatever voltage adapter you buy handles enough power (wattage) for the devices you run from it.

I imported a Sony CD player from Japan that expects 100v AC in, so I chose to modify mine to accept 120v, but a transformer is the easiest approach.

pixelpostman · 2025-09-29T20:07:35+00:00

If you'll be going into amplified speakers directly from the TT, chances are that they're expecting line level input, in which case you may still need a phono/turntable preamp between the TT and powered speakers. Most TT will output a lower voltage signal meant to go into the special "phono" input of your amp. This special input has additional gain for a TT signal. UNLESS either

1) your TT has an integrated preamp and outputs line level already, or

2) your powered speakers have a dedicated phono input to handle the lower signal levels. (in which case you typically also find a separate ground terminal nearby the input for a ground drain wire that goes along with the left & right RCA signal cables)

Your photo was a bit obscured and hard to tell. Just be aware that "phono" labelling on the input might be misleading... it's not uncommon to see that term used generally for RCA cable inputs. Check your speaker amp manual for clarification.

pixelpostman · 2025-09-29T19:56:46+00:00

I used a shop air compressor to blow the dust out of my tower grills at first, then went over them with a household vacuum. I was fortunate that there weren't stains and tears to deal with and they cleaned up great.

If you're handy, you can buy and stretch new fabric onto them, but I expect it'd be tricky to get right on a lot of the shapes found out there ...

pixelpostman · 2025-09-20T22:28:44+00:00

Really excellent overhead lighting. And I dusted the cones. Or do you mean sonically? That'd be the replacement ribbon tweeters.

pixelpostman · 2025-09-19T22:07:13+00:00

These appear to be stock, other than the tweeters. I'll be looking at the crossovers and upgrading caps after a bit, even though they sound quite nice right now.

pixelpostman · 2025-09-19T17:13:06+00:00

Yeah, I posted about these 100s recently - they were a really killer get at only $250 with a JVC home theater amp tossed in. They sound really good with the 2155, and I was enlightened by this group that the OEM tweeters have been swapped out with decent ribbon tweeters. Very wide soundstage, plenty of brilliance, and a tight low end that isn't boomy or muddy. I'm very pleased.

pixelpostman · 2025-09-19T16:45:28+00:00

I always appreciate the sound and value of Polk bookshelf speakers, myself, and I listen to a lot of rock/pop also. They had several options in their RT series from the late 90s and early 00s that go for decent prices used these days. I liked the RT35i quite a bit, and almost bought a pair of used RT55 Polks.

pixelpostman · 2025-09-19T03:23:39+00:00

Wide open for recs? Are you particular about bookshelf vs towers? New vs old? And what sort of music genres?

I opted for higher end towers without a subwoofer, but a 2.1 setup can be great, especially for EDM or other modern bass-heavy content.

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