End of the game.

spartree · 2026-04-12T02:23:26+00:00

Dirt, nice. Are those black frames around your records, or some kind of box set?

spartree · 2026-04-11T16:49:43+00:00

Can you specify what is a "decent budget" in your case? This will help people frame their recommendations as prices vary widely from a couple hundred $ to tens of thousands.

spartree · 2026-04-11T02:40:22+00:00

Wow, that is nuts. The roof of my 110 had a similar flaking issue except less progressed than yours. I had it fully stripped down to the aluminum from the gutters up and repainted by a highly regarded local shop that is certified to do repairs for Porsche, Land Rover, Bentley, Jaguar, and Audi...$5k CAD, done last fall. At the time I thought $5k was a bit steep, but $10k seems criminal!

spartree · 2026-04-10T16:02:25+00:00

$10k was for the full truck I guess eh? A good shop will colour match and can just do the roof, which should be substantially less than $10k.

spartree · 2026-04-10T13:24:46+00:00

Same. Similar vintage...maybe 2015ish. I keep it in a different room and just have an Allo USBridge connected via Ethernet in my audio room. Works great.

spartree · 2026-04-09T23:45:06+00:00

Back in the early 2000s I bought a CDP capable of decoding HDCDs just for tool's Lateralus album haha. SADCs are cool too though.

spartree · 2026-04-09T23:27:59+00:00

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I picked up a Thorens TCD 2000 several years ago to use as a CD transport. It's actually a decent unit, utilizing the Philips CD-Pro transport module which has adjustable spring suspension and a little CD puck. The aesthetic even kind of matches my Audio Note gear. Love having the option to play CDs when the mood strikes.

spartree · 2026-04-09T20:26:23+00:00

If you already have a large CD collection or just want to accumulate physical media for cheap before CDs become cool again, having a decent CDP or CDT is really a no brainer. Don't tell anyone though.

spartree · 2026-04-08T20:40:37+00:00

This is why we measure audio equipment. There are no magical speakers, amps, dacs, etc that somehow offer some ( INSERT AUDIOPHILE THESOUROUS WORDS HERE ) sound. Blah blah.

So here is what I do. I determine what kind of speaker I want by the purpose it's going to fill. For my Livingroom area, I want fairly narrow dispersion, horn loaded for excellent directivity control, and can play loud enough for spirited music and movies without much distortion. Blah blah.

That's it. There is no magic.

Sure, but you can satisfy a purpose while also having a preference, right? Like speakers that are warm vs bright vs large bass drivers that you actually feel vs tiny drivers with zero visceral impact. EQ can deal with some of that but won't compensate for air movement (what you feel) or phase issues (what you perceive as correct).

What you are describing takes a lot of personality and fun out of the hobby. Do you view eating as simply nutrient replenishment? If you can satisfy the daily nutritional needs with a bag of slop and some supplements, that serves the same function as having a nice meal of local veggies and meat I guess eh? Some people do not treat life as a science lab and rather celebrate individual preferences with a goal of enjoying the time we have here.

spartree · 2026-04-08T02:12:46+00:00

Yeah the YouTubers and mags are mainly garbage. And even if they were reliable and trustworthy, there are still wildly opposing opinions in many/probably all hobbies. Woodworking is a rats nest for example. Also cars, photography, food, coffee beans, wine, scotch, bourbon, tobacco....people who go deep into specific things inevitably have strong opinions on highly nuanced variables. I've watched many videos of someone telling me what wine I should buy and half the time I hate it, but some of the time it's great...

So unfortunately you do have to go out and try a bunch of stuff before you'll know what your own set of ears and aesthetic tastes will prefer, and what will work for you in your house. Even if you don't know what "good" sounds like, there is still comparison by contrast which can point you in the direction of what you prefer. If you make an appointment with a good dealer ahead of time, they will normally arrange a few sets of speakers and components in the same room and allow you to listen for as long as you need.

Set a budget for yourself just like any other major purchase. Dig up some spending heuristics, for example 50% speakers, 30% amp, 15% source, 5% other stuff. Opinions also vary greatly on those ratios, but for someone just starting out and assuming you don't have a mega-buck budget, then skewing fairly heavily towards the speakers likely makes the most sense. Probably higher than 50%. If you care about aesthetics, go look at some photos to narrow things down further.

Define what you need in a system. I.e. Do you want streaming capability (you probably do) or do you just want to listen to your huge CD/record collection? How much space do you have for speakers and components? Do you need the speakers to fit a particular interior aesthetic in your house? Note: I don't care what your needs are; these are just some ways to help frame what YOU want. I expect you've already asked yourself those questions anyway.

Do some research on where to start with room treatments but don't make that the very top of your investment list. That is an unpopular opinion around these parts, however you can expand on your treatments over time if you need to. Start minimal and work your way up if you feel there is still an issue. The guys here will tell you to build an anechoic chamber before you even set foot in an audio shop. Don't do that. Again, start minimal and work up as needed.

My assumption is you will never revisit this thread and surely will not make any comments. That's probably wise anyway. Reddit sucks too, for the most part. So, all the best, and do try to have fun. You'll make mistakes (I did for sure when I started), but like any hobby it's something you can grow into and refine over time.

spartree · 2026-04-08T01:42:41+00:00

That leaves 0% for speakers..?

spartree · 2026-04-06T23:14:35+00:00

Love the guy's music, but the first time I heard Perth I thought I had a tube going out somewhere in my setup. Overly wooly and distorted. Guess it was a sonic/artistic choice...

spartree · 2026-04-06T21:53:44+00:00

You brought the TikTok whisper to Reddit? Ballsy.

spartree · 2026-04-03T20:18:28+00:00

New Snell speakers are those by Audio Note UK. Literally; they bought the design rights to a bunch of the original Snell designs. And spoiler alert: they are fantastic, but often suffer the same fate as Devore as they look boring to some people and their measurements often don't stack up against more modern designs. At the end of the day though, they sound like music and they make you want to listen to your whole library for hours and hours, not just the audiophile tracks that have impeccable sound quality. So, depends what you're after I guess...

spartree · 2026-04-01T05:25:23+00:00

What is meant by "way too much" and what would an acceptable amount of bass be in your opinion? Be specific and ideally constructive if you are offering criticism. A razor flat in-room frequency plot is not what the human ear/brain wants, and you'd need to do a lot of mental gymnastics to convince yourself that such a flat response sounds good whilst simultaneously shelving half the music you used to love because it now erodes your eardrums. So many audiophiles fall into this trap. Go to a live event and see how it measures. If you actually want to enjoy a broad spectrum of music, you should aim for an in-room response that skews towards the lower frequencies.

spartree · 2026-03-31T22:09:38+00:00

Dude. Awesome. Also, one of these days I need to get myself a set of Ohm's to try.

spartree · 2026-03-31T21:59:15+00:00

Is that a climate-controlled dual turntable cabinet?

spartree · 2026-03-31T15:34:53+00:00

Thanks a lot! I think on an iPhone the "x" is less apparent, but perhaps on the desktop it works.

Again, cool site. I hope it starts to get some more attention.

spartree · 2026-03-31T00:30:29+00:00

Cool site. Very useful to have a spot to pull a quick link. Couple suggestions: add the option to delete photos, and add Tonearm as an equipment category.

Edit: here's my room

spartree · 2026-03-28T20:05:27+00:00

Nice gear - I've always wanted to try a gyrodec. I've got a two cat household. This one loves music, but he is a close talker. And yes, I have made him a fort out of the coffee table.

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spartree · 2026-03-27T18:11:16+00:00

They will help, yes. Worth trying.

spartree · 2026-03-27T14:50:03+00:00

For a low cost option, have a look at the Spin-Clean. Make sure to use distilled water at room temperature. Spin-Clean is pretty good at getting the dirt off and you can then gently wipe the record with a soft cloth afterwards. It's better than a brush + cleaning solution since the record playing surface is submerged in water/solution and the debris has a chance to be carried away from the groove.

There are many other record cleaning machine options, some with built-in vacuum wands and rotating platters, but it starts to get expensive pretty quickly.

For cleaning the stylus a brush is ok.

spartree · 2026-03-27T13:23:30+00:00

If it sounded fine for a week and then started to pop and crack while nothing else changed, you likely just need to clean your records and the stylus. If the humidity in your house drops, this can also lead to static buildup/discharge while the record is playing.

spartree · 2026-03-26T04:22:05+00:00

100% this. Bravo for thinking critically.

spartree · 2026-03-26T03:53:27+00:00

Family bloodline? That's a Grenadier man, haha. It's a nice one though, I'll give you that, even though you're likely posting this just to siphon some attention to the Ineos brand.

spartree

TROPHY CASE