Which of your components would you recommend?

[wgscott]

This might be a potentially interesting companion to the "How happy are you with your system" poll.

 

Having lived with several components for a couple of years now, there are some that I am happy with, and some give me buyer's remorse.

 

 

In my main system:

 

Speakers: B&W CM7 (now discontinued. OK but not thrilled.)

 

Peachtree Nova: Highly recommend (although they have newer/better versions now)

 

Class D Audio Amp kit: Highly recommend if you want an easy kit to assemble that also sounds great.

 

Halide Bridge: OK, but pricey.

 

Rel 218 sub: I'm on the second one now, going on a month. I would not recommend this, but am hoping I just got a lemon the first time. Sounds good when it works. Idles rather hot, so I can't believe energy efficiency claims.

 

 

My home office:

 

B&W MM1 speakers: Not recommended. Overpriced. Underwhelming DSP sound, DAC limited to 16 bit, 44.1 kHz.

 

My work office:

 

Dragonfly DAC: Excellent small light-weight but high-quality DAC. Highly recommend this for a desktop system.

Audioengine A2 speakers: I got them for $150 at the CA audio show last year. Far better than the MM1s. Highly recommend this or A5.

[Audio_ELF]

Server: VortexBox DIY version -- highly recommended.

 

Streamer: Squeezebox Touch -- two days ago would say highly recommended but news from Logitech makes me cautious about recommending the Squeezebox system to new users.

 

DAC/Pre/Processor: Arcam AV8 -- great for an all in one, close to many 2 channel systems for clarity but about 10 years old now. Not sure if any modern processor has the same level of pre-amp that I find with the Arcam. Would probably replace it with a good pre plus processor and separate DAC.

 

Power amp: Arcam P1000 -- its okay but I think could get better now

 

Speakers: Bowers and Wilkins CDM7NT -- great speakers but again quite old, actually replaced twice by B&W (CDM7NT --> 704 --> CM7 ish)

 

So there we go; recommended but no longer available is my general system.

 

Eloise

[ringenesherre]

Computer: Macbook Pro Late 2011 15" 240GB SSD -- highly recommended (although having a retina display would be nice for other purposes)

 

DAC: Cambdrige DacMagic -- nah, old and better price/performance can be had

 

Speakers: Genelec 6010A / Genelec 8020B -- OK, highly recommended for near-field listening / small-to-mid-sized rooms

 

Audio Interface: Scarlett 2i2 -- ok, good build quality and price/performance

 

Headphones: SuperLux HD668B -- ok, very good price/performance

[Jud]

I've been very careful to do a lot of research and listening over the years before I buy. I was lucky enough to start in the hobby at a time when there were plenty of brick-and-mortar stores available to do that, so now even if I do buy a piece I haven't heard before, it's almost always from a designer/manufacturer whose work I know and trust from "the old days." So fortunately I've wound up with few if any regrets.

 

Main System

 

Audirvana Plus player - To my ears, substantially better sound quality than any other Mac player I've heard. Recommended.

 

Bifrost DAC - Not the be-all and end-all of DACs, certainly, but I really like its performance for the price point. Recommended.

 

Spectral preamp and amplifier - My dream equipment. Never heard better. Highest recommendation.

 

Vandersteen 2Ce speakers - Have loved these for 20 years and haven't felt any need to upgrade. Recommended.

 

Audioquest Coffee USB cable - Got this with two discounts, one on the purchase plus another when PayPal ran a special financing promo, resulting in my getting it for less than 2/3 regular price. At that price, excellent value. Better than the Carbon it replaced, but not enough better at the normal asking price. So, Recommended if you get a nice discount.

 

Omega Mikro/Mapleshade analog and speaker cables - Just tremendous; for more than 20 years in my system, their digital and analog cables have outperformed anything else near their price range, as well as a lot of cables many times more expensive. Had a very nice biwired set of Audioquest speaker cables that I replaced a little over a year ago with a used non-biwired set from the bottom of the Omega Mikro line, and the new cables were just a revelation in attack, clarity, soundstage, musicality, everything. Exceeded expectations, even after my experience with other cables in their line. Recommended.

 

Office System

 

XXHighEnd - Best Windows player I've heard. Not for computer novices. Peter's a bit of a mad scientist, and perhaps this is all his experiment and we're just living in it. But the sound is worth it. Recommended.

 

Audioquest Dragonfly - Wonderful little unit. Unparalleled for travel/mobile use, and plenty good enough for home. News flash: Gordon Rankin knows what he's doing. Recommended.

 

Audioengine N22 - All I needed was an amp that would drive small bookshelf speakers, and this is a nice compact inexpensive unit. Actually using it currently as a preamp running into my old main system amp, just because I can. Recommended if you want to spend less than $200, don't need a built-in radio, and only have to drive small monitors.

 

Etymotic ER-4P In-Ear Monitors (IEMs) - With the Dragonfly and a laptop, nothing better for planes, trains, automobiles, hotel rooms, etc. (Or in my case, with an iPhone set to shuffle play for Saturdays on the riding mower.) Great for evenings or mornings with loved ones asleep. May at first give you the impression of too little bass - that's because many other IEMs and headphones produce an artificially emphasized "wow factor" bass response. Listen to these with a good rig and you'll hear plenty of good, tight bass response as well as sterling high end. Recommended.

 

What I've left out

 

Disc player - Oppo BDP-83

 

Desktop speakers - Wharfedale Diamond 7

 

Computers - Mid-2009 MacBook Pro 13" laptop, homebuilt Windows/Linux/FreeBSD desktop

 

I don't regret at all buying these (or the desktop components). But they're essentially easily available commodity items, perfectly adequate for their purpose, no better and no worse than others of the same or different brands you might buy from Apple, Amazon, Best Buy, or Newegg.

[beetlemania]

Highly recommended:

Ayre electronics - I consider my AX-7e integrated to be the heart of my system. Its apparent power belies its modest specs and, man, does it sound great. I had a CX-7eMP CDP, now a QB-9 DAC. They both sound(ed) fantastic. Also, Ayre is made in US, mostly using US-sourced parts. They also have an upgrade program and their customer service is top flight.

 

Vandersteen speakers - These sound terrific and nothing I know of can touch their sonic performance anywhere near their price. I'm running the 2 Sig IIs and would not trade them for anything else under $6K (at $6K, I would get the Vandersteen Treo!). My first choice of speaker *not* from Vandersteen runs north of $10K. Seriously.

 

Not (?) recommended:

Probably my only disappointment - audio-wise :^) - has been Cardas power cords. These were barely perceptible in improving SQ. Even at the demo price, I don't think I'd do it again. OTOH, some of my cabling (most notably my Ayre/Cardas speaker cables) *have* made a worthwhile improvements, albeit without the performance-price ratio of Vandersteen speakers . . .

[sdolezalek]

But this could be a really good one!

 

I would highly recommend my speakers and amplifiers, the rest of the system is up for discussion and potential upgrading:

 

The Magnepan 20.1's (which were an upgrade for me from the Maggie IIIa's) are spectacular and as long as you room is large enough are a terrific bargain in the high-end speaker market. Of course, I hear that the new 20.7's are even a tad better.

 

The Magnepan tri-center, made up of a CCR and two Motorized MMC2s is also a major revelation in creating a much more thre dimensional soundstage.

 

My Mark Levinson 432 Amps (at 800 watts per channel into the Maggies) were a significant upgrade from the earlier Lexicon series amps.

 

I could be convinced to upgrade my Lexicon MC-12 Processor, my RT-20 SACD player, my Velodyne sub and my mix of Audioquest and Shunyata cables.

[Audio_ELF]

Maybe a more interesting question... What audio equipment have you regretted buying and why?

[jshawn]

Server: VortexBox (built on used computer with big HD) --> versatile, easy, cheap --> recommended.

 

Streamer: Squeezebox Touch --> R.I.P.

 

DAC: Musical Fidelity V-DAC original --> It's day has passed (would look at little W4S dac) --> recommended used if price is right.

 

Amp: NAD C352 --> Mid-range NAD's have very good sound in their price class (cheap) --> recommended.

 

Speakers: Paradigm Studio 60 v.4 --> Very nice top-end and dynamics without being fatiguing. Floor-standing but don't overpower a smaller room with their presence, sound wise or size wise --> highly recommended.

 

Hearing tested and certified as very-good for my age: Priceless.

[wgscott]

Maybe a more interesting question... What audio equipment have you regretted buying and why?

 

That was part of my question also. (Soft minds run together.)

[NiHo]

I use the following:

 

DAC: Blue Circle 509. Recommended. Superb, moderately priced DAC which, IMHO, easily exceeds many more expensive DACs. However avoid the usb and use a usb-to-s/pdif bridge.

 

Halide Bridge: With Wgscott on this. Good product but expensive.

 

Pre: Audio Zone Pre-T1. Recommended. This is a passive, transformer based pre. After using it, I simply don't understand why everybody doesn't use a similar approach. Much lower distortion/noise than active pre-amps, for less cost.

 

Amplifiers: Bryston Power Pac 300s. Recommended, particularly if used with Bryston's isolation transformer. Note that these are the mono version of the Bryston 3B SST.

 

Speakers: Wilson Benesch Discoveries. Highly recommended. For those who don't know Wilson Benesch, they produce loudspeakers with extensive use of carbon fibre. The result is much lower distortion than can be obtained using less rigid materials such as wood.

 

In terms of products that I've regretted buying, I'd reference Amarra. I stopped updating it after version 2.2. Much worse that iTunes. Today I use Pure Music on my main system, which I've found to be excellent and prefer over Audirvana Plus.

 

Nigel

[AudioDoctor]

My entire system. Honestly, I would recommend every single piece of it. I love them all.

[darascal]

news from Logitech makes me cautious about recommending the Squeezebox system to new users.

 

Eloise,

 

I'm curious what news from Logitech you're referring to?

 

Thanks,

Rascal

[Jsmith]

I am pretty happy with everything I have today.

 

I could find flaws in many of the components, but many of them are great for their price point. For example, it would be nice if the Auraliti was plug and play with a NAS, but for the price you pay and SQ you get, I think that is forgivable.

 

I am very happy and would gladly recommend the following:

Integrated Amp - Naim Nait XS

Speakers - Rega Rs5

Sub - REL R328

 

I partially believe this is because all three work very nicely and complement one another.

[wgscott]

Sub - REL R328

 

Any problems with the Rel? Do you know how much power it consumes when idle?

[Jsmith]

Any problems with the Rel? Do you know how much power it consumes when idle?

 

So far no issues, but I have only had it about a month. I am a bit of a bass head and I have been extremely happy with what the REL has done for my system. I was sad to see you had an issue because I have always held REL's in high regard.

 

Not sure how much juice it consumes, but I did go feel the amp after your post and it is definitely warm to the touch.

[wgscott]

OK, that actually reassures me a bit. If one goes bad, I can assume it was their fault and a lemon, but if the second one fails, it is probably my fault. The second time the original one went bad (after a 3 month repair), they replaced it fairly quickly. I've had the replacement for a month, and so far no issues, and I agree, once you find the sweet spot, it is a significant improvement (and I kind of hate subs). I probably should have bought the one you have for my room, so I worry that I may have over-taxed it or something. But I don't play music really loud.

[Gregor Samsa]

Things I have/had that I would recommend to almost anyone:

 

Grado Sr60 headphones, Audioengine A2 speakers - can make almost any source sound just fine. I said almost. Nothing could make what came out of the headphone jack of my Droid X sound good. At a price most in the first world can afford.

 

Oppo Blu-ray players: Have both an 83 & a 95. No better sound for the money. No better video at any price.

 

Magnepan speakers: Every one I have heard was as good as it gets for the money. I have owned 4 pairs and a CC.

 

Sennheiser HD650 headphones: Avoid only if you object to a component that can make crummy recordings sound pretty good

 

Wavelength Proton: Best DAC I've heard in it's class and highly versatile

 

Stuff I would recommend to people who have money:

 

Ayre QB-9, Pass Labs X600.5, Proceed Amp5, Musical Fidelity Tri-Vista Amp; 47 Labs Miyabi cartridge; SME V Tonearm

 

Stuff I'm OK with, but not sure I would buy again if I had it to do all over again:

 

Musical Fidelity X-Can v3; Marantz AV7005; Clearaudio Master Reference turntable; REL T2 subwoofers (would probably buy higher-end REL or JL Audio). Again nothing really wrong with any of them. Many hours of listening pleasure. Not sure there isn't better for the scratch.

 

Stuff I would definitely not buy again:

 

Final Sound Electrostatics: Company now out of business. I finally have them sounding good, but what a pain to get them this way. They have no bass. Completely useless without high quality subwoofers (multiple), room correction software and/or high quality active crossovers and hours of tweaking.

 

Stuff I would recommend only to my ex-wife and her lawyers:

 

Musical Fidelity Tri-Vista SACD: When this came out, it was unusual for a disc spinner to also have digital inputs so it could be used as a DAC. Without them, it would be a pretty paperweight. The transport is dead and this will never play another SACD. See Michael Fremer's review of the Krell SACD Standard, which used the same transport, for the whole sad story.

 

Too new to be sure:

 

HiFiMan HE-500 phones

[Gregor Samsa]

Jud's post jogged my memory:

 

Second his opinion of Audirvana Plus and the Etymotics. With a MacBook Air and a Proton there's no better way to travel by air.

 

Also made me think of 2 others things:

 

Foobar 2000: It looks like ass unless skinned, which is a pain, but incredibly versatile, sounds just fine and the price is right.

 

A solid state drive: I think it helps the sound. I know it's the biggest boon to computer usability since the GUI

[mwheelerk]

I enjoy reading this thread. As I have jumped into computer based systems over the past few years I have probably changed equipment more in the past 4 or 5 years than I did in 20 years before that. I have some fond memories (a Mac 6100 integrated amp, ADS L400 speakers) and a few disappointments (Mordant Short Aviano speakers, a recent brief foray with the Wadia 121 DAC).

 

 

I have kept moving towards a more simplified system. Right now the main components are the T&A DAC 8 which I recommend. I do really like it, it sounds great, but I think it's a little pricey and I feel equal satisfaction might be had for less. I am very impressed and highly recommend my Dynaudio Focus 110A powered monitor speakers. I am surprised how well they fill the space and the detail is remarkable.

 

I am still interested long term in a digital music player to replace the Mac Mini and get rid of the need for working with a particular OS. I have heard systems where the sound is very acceptable but I require a solid interface and have yet to see anything (in my budget range) that I find acceptable. The Linn system with its iPad interface is pretty good and the Sooloos is a step in the right performance and interface direction.

[Julf]

Absolutely recommended: hypex nc400 class D amp modules, Genelecs

Conditional recommendation: squeezebox touch (availability/support now an issue)

Regrets: pretty much all the non-pro cables (far too expensive considering they provided no benefit)

[DigiPete]

I just love it!

Unique offer in the price range and the best purchase I ever did.

 

 

Genelec 8260a active speakers

 

- Effort less and invisible

- Natural and revealing.

- Presents everything as it was recorded, no more no less.

- No glossing over, so an aquired taste for tube heads.

 

 

The great sound is achieved with great thinking as well as great components:

 

- High/mid coaxial driver

- Tri-amped A/B design

- Digital X-overs

- DSP room correction

- AES/EBU digital input.

- Round aluminium enclosure with minimum diffraction .

 

 

All you need for a complete stereo system:

 

- GLM - Genelec Loudspeaker Management sys - calibration and control

- AES/EBU output sound card like the Weiss AFI-1

 

A stereo system that will kick ass anywhere.

[Jsmith]

But I don't play music really loud.

 

Now that I have the REL I find I turn my music down more. I think I used to turn it up trying to overcompensate for the bass and now that it is fully there, I can listen at softer levels.

[57gold]

Dig the Mytek 192 DSD Dac, lots happening for low cost. Sold a Wadia 861 + Wavelink, which sounded pretty nice, and haven't looked back as I am hearing more music, things that were lost with Wadia.

 

Can also recommend to those who are looking for big room speakers on small $s, a used set of Aerial 10Ts, if you can find them (seen some in the $2K range). Had Vandersteen 2Cs previously and these things deliver more in every regard, realistic dynamics, impact of percussion, warmth of voices...that being said, you only get the goods with a big and powerful amp.

 

So, a good match (I have tried a few) is the McCormack DNA-500. Musical and powerful to wake up and control the big woofers of the 10T...not the same speaker with a 100 watt per channel amp.

 

Also dig the Mikro Omega planar speaker cables...dropped in my system, they added a great sense of "you are there" reality.

[mav52]

My Quicksilver Full Pre-amp, the ATI 2002 amp dead quiet the my (2) Rythmik subs awesome for music and my Philharmonic 3 speakers, for the buck these speakers are hard to beat.

[DanRubin]

Eloise,

 

I'm curious what news from Logitech you're referring to?

 

Thanks,

Rascal

 

I haven't seen a formal announcement but indications are that Logitech has killed off the Squeezebox line of products. A damn shame. Someone should buy the rights and re-launch under new ownership.