Snowmonkey Posted January 9, 2016 Share Posted January 9, 2016 Just wondering how long everyone here holds on to their components. For your main listening system, how long have you had your most recent: a) Speakers? b) Power amp? c) Pre-amp or integrated amp? d) DAC or sound card? e) Cables? Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted. - Einstein Link to comment
jeffmudrick Posted January 9, 2016 Share Posted January 9, 2016 Speakers stay a long time. I had Spica TC-50s for 15 years, Hornshoppe Horns for 10 and only set them aside because my new living situation necessitated bookshelves (JBL studio 530s). If my Music Reference SET amp would have driven the JBLs I would have kept that too. DACs I can see changing. My Audio-GD Reference 5 is five years old and in a year or too it may be time. Ed Schilling's Truth preamp will stay as long as the rest of the system benefits from having a preamp. Link to comment
semente Posted January 9, 2016 Share Posted January 9, 2016 I never upgrade unless I can identify the shortcomings and what is causing them; otherwise I would only be making changes and not upgrades. a) Speakers? After a few years experimenting with different topologies I finally settled for a pair of large 3-way floorstanders that made me happy for half a decade. A recent move abroad forced me to sell them and with the new smaller living room it's back to square one. b) Power amp? Don't have one. c) Pre-amp or integrated amp? My integrated has been the same for about ten years and will probably remain for another ten. d) DAC or sound card? My move abroad forced my into computer playback. Bought a reasonable temporary D/AC that is soon to be upgraded. I miss my CD player, which has been with me for about 10 years but will not be back into service until I get room for it and the hundreds of CDs... e) Cables? Interconnect and speakers were home made about 10 years ago...spent about £20. Currently using a budget screened USB that might be replaced when I need a different length by a Wireworld (theoretical benefits of separate power), and a very basic Cat6. Basic power cables. "Science draws the wave, poetry fills it with water" Teixeira de Pascoaes HQPlayer Desktop / Mac mini → Intona 7054 → RME ADI-2 DAC FS (DSD256) Link to comment
wgscott Posted January 9, 2016 Share Posted January 9, 2016 Just wondering how long everyone here holds on to their components. For your main listening system, how long have you had your most recent: a) Speakers? Six years. (Never upgraded). b) Power amp? Almost five years. (Never upgraded, but this was added as an upgrade supplement to integrated DAC/pre/Amp). c) Pre-amp or integrated amp? Six Years (Never upgraded). d) DAC or sound card? Six years (same unit). (Never upgraded). e) Cables? Six years. (Never upgraded). f) Computer Three years. (Upgraded from the 2010 to late 2012 mini). g) Wife Twenty-two years (or 19 approved by the Pope). (Never upgraded). h) Bike 1.5 years. (Upgraded.) i) Dog 3.75 years (Replacement for similar component that lasted 15 years. Considering an additional unit). Link to comment
NOMBEDES Posted January 9, 2016 Share Posted January 9, 2016 Speakers: 39 years. AR 3a (improved) SS Amp: 10 to 15 years Source(s): 20 years or so. Modifications and upgrades, but still same box In any dispute the intensity of feeling is inversely proportional to the value of the issues at stake ~ Sayre's Law Link to comment
rn701 Posted January 9, 2016 Share Posted January 9, 2016 Speakers: 20+ years AVR (includes DAC): about 7 years HTPC/source: 1 year old Cables: same since everything hooked up Link to comment
Teresa Posted January 9, 2016 Share Posted January 9, 2016 Just wondering how long everyone here holds on to their components. For your main listening system, how long have you had your most recent: a) Speakers? - 24 years (I had to replace the woofer surrounds a few years ago) b) Power amp? - 23 years c) Pre-amp or integrated amp? - 15 years d) DAC or sound card? - almost 2 years e) Cables? - up to 24 years depending on the cable. I never upgrade, I replace when something dies and costs too much to repair. It is only the ability to play new formats of interest to me that gets me to spend money. I have dementia. I save all my posts in a text file I call Forums. I do a search in that file to find out what I said or did in the past. I still love music. Teresa Link to comment
Audio_ELF Posted January 9, 2016 Share Posted January 9, 2016 Erm ... Since March (Source/Pre: Naim Uniti) and since April (Speakers/Power amp). Before that had the speakers about 12 years and the AVR running them around 3 years. Eloise --- ...in my opinion / experience... While I agree "Everything may matter" working out what actually affects the sound is a trickier thing. And I agree "Trust your ears" but equally don't allow them to fool you - trust them with a bit of skepticism. keep your mind open... But mind your brain doesn't fall out. Link to comment
Melvin Posted January 9, 2016 Share Posted January 9, 2016 Rather than upgrades, many of my acquisitions over the years have been out of interest in different designs. My speaker choices, for example, include omni, planar, and monitors with AMT tweeters. The amps are class D, class A-B, and a tube/SS hybrid. The DACs include a typical and not so typical over-sampling DACs, one of the NOS variety, and another that does very high res (DXD) and DSD. Needless to say, I enjoy variety. FWIW, almost everything listed is still rotated in/out of my main system and also used elsewhere. Loudspeakers: Ohm MicroWalsh Tall - January 2004 Mark & Daniel Ruby - December 2010 Magnepan MMG - January 2012 Ohm MicroSubwoofer 10 (2) - May 2014 Amps/Preamps/Integrateds: Response Audio Ram 301 - January 2004 PS Audio Trio A-100 and P-200 - December 2008 Odyssey Cyclops - December 2012 DACs: Musical Fidelity V-DAC - November 2009 dB Audio Labs Tranquility - April 2010 (upgraded to Gold Level - October 2013) Schiit Bifrost - December 2011 (upgraded to Multibit - October 2015) Chord QuteHD - December 2012 (upgraded to EX - July 2014) Cables: Tried too many to list and now use only reasonably priced cables like Blue Jeans, Better Cables, and Lifatec. Link to comment
semente Posted January 9, 2016 Share Posted January 9, 2016 g) Wife Twenty-two years (or 19 approved by the Pope). (Never upgraded). I never upgrade, I replace when something dies and costs too much to repair. It is only the ability to play new formats of interest to me that gets me to spend money. You can't imagine how much I envy you for that. "Science draws the wave, poetry fills it with water" Teixeira de Pascoaes HQPlayer Desktop / Mac mini → Intona 7054 → RME ADI-2 DAC FS (DSD256) Link to comment
whoozwah Posted January 10, 2016 Share Posted January 10, 2016 Aside from the bifrost multibit which I just got, I have had the same amp, source, speakers and cables for the past 5 years when I bought them. Won't be upgrading anything unless something breaks I imagine. If I am anything, I am a music lover and a pragmatist. Link to comment
Ajax Posted January 10, 2016 Share Posted January 10, 2016 A Benchmark HDR DAC and Adam active speakers played happily together in my home office for many years before I heard the Devialet Ensemble at an Audio show 2 years ago and fell in love with the sound. IMO smashed a lot of the more expensive and exotic gear on display. I don't usually buy much stuff but have been restless lately and in the mood to experiment so I bought the following as Christmas presents for myself: Uptone Regen Purchased out of curiosity after reading all the glowing reviews. I will try it in each system to see what improvements I get - yet to install as I have been on holidays down the south coast of NSW at a place called Bawley Point .. check it out on google earth. Aural Mini I plan to use it as the basis of a multi room and replace my AEs. After some false starts getting it to read my HDD I am very impressed with the sound, the convenience of both streaming and local music file playback, and relatively low cost. Parasound Halo AE23 Power AMP Its about 5 years old and picked it up for only US$200 .... sounds great playing the Auralic Mini into it and then onto a pair of old ATC speakers. Marantz PM6005 AMP & Wharfedale Diamond 220 Speakers I picked up this terrific amp second hand for our beach house, which I share with my brother in law. It has a built in DAC and I plan to run an old MAC MINI, ATV & Cable into the TV via HDMI and then back out to the Marantz using the optical out. This way we can control everything via the TV remote and the kids can easily stream to the ATV using airplay from their phones. The Wharfdales arrive today and I am looking forward to setting everything up. The AMP has a second set of speaker terminals and I have just finished installing a pair of outdoor all weather speakers on the patio.... great fun working with my son running the speaker wires under floor boards and alongside drain pipes. Found them in a pawn shop for $37each. Roon & Tidal Started a trial subscription of both yesterday and looking forward to playing with them over the next week while on holidays. My wife thinks I've gone nuts ... we have been together the same length of time as Bill and his better half, however, with the approval of the Archbishop of Canterbury.... not that we needed it! All the best, Ajax LOUNGE: Mac Mini - Audirvana - Devialet 200 - ATOHM GT1 Speakers OFFICE : Mac Mini - Audirvana - Benchmark DAC1HDR - ADAM A7 Active Monitors TRAVEL : MacBook Air - Dragonfly V1.2 DAC - Sennheiser HD 650 BEACH : iPhone 6 - HRT iStreamer DAC - Akimate Micro + powered speakers Link to comment
Jabs1542 Posted January 11, 2016 Share Posted January 11, 2016 For your main listening system, how long have you had your most recent: a) Speakers? I had a pair of Mission 770S for a little over 20 years, replaced them with Paradigms which I kept for about 5 years, and have had my current Legacy Aeris for over 2 years. b) Power amp? I've had Hafler amps for 30 years, still have them performing duties in other areas of the house, had NAD amps for about 10 years (till they died), and have had my current Odyssey amps for a few years. c) Pre-amp or integrated amp? Had a Carver pre for about 20 years (still have it elsewhere in the house), and have had my current EAR for about 10 years. d) DAC or sound card? This is new technology compared to the other stuff, have had my current Lynx for about 3 years and my current Lampi for about 2 years. e) Cables? I occasionally buy new cables but never throw out the old ones - I think we all have the box-o-cables don't we? My current speaker cables, AudioQuest, are about 8 years old, and interconnects, including USB, tend to get a new addition to the family every year or so. Analog: Koetsu Rosewood > VPI Aries 3 w/SDS > EAR 834P > EAR 834L: Audiodesk cleaner Digital Fun: DAS > CAPS v3 w/LPS (JRMC) SOtM USB > Lynx Hilo > EAR 834L Digital Serious: DAS > CAPS v3 w/LPS (HQPlayer) Ethernet > SMS-100 NAA > Lampi DSD L4 G5 > EAR 834L Digital Disc: Oppo BDP 95 > EAR 834L Output: EAR 834L > Xilica XP4080 DSP > Odessey Stratos Mono Extreme > Legacy Aeris Phones: EAR 834L > Little Dot Mk ii > Senheiser HD 800 Link to comment
Sam Leach Posted January 11, 2016 Share Posted January 11, 2016 I feel like I must be extremely fickle, reading this because it is less than 12 months for all of the above for me - apart from speakers are a bit over 12 months . But I feel like I have been climbing a steep slope. I haven't really had the means to invest in serious hifi up until about 5 or so years ago. So I've done a lot of experimenting and learning. I have tended to buy things to try as I'm not really experienced enough to judge from a quick audition. Now I feel my system is getting close to something I want to live with for a longer time. Hopefully I will some day join the ranks of the zen like masters above who can get decades of satisfaction from quality components. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment
bluesman Posted January 11, 2016 Share Posted January 11, 2016 Just wondering how long everyone here holds on to their components. For your main listening system, how long have you had your most recent: a) Speakers? b) Power amp? c) Pre-amp or integrated amp? d) DAC or sound card? e) Cables? a) I got my Focal 726 towers when they redesigned the line about 3 years ago. But now that we sold our house and moved to our condo apartment, they're no longer in my main listening system (I'm told I have to respect the crusty old curmudgeons by whom we're surrounded). So I'm back to the Rogers LS3/5as (15 ohm) that I bought new 40 years ago. b) The Prima Luna I bought about 4 years ago is still my main amp, now driving the Rogers again. c) My phono preamp is a Parasound Z-phono USB that I bought when they first came out. I got my Wadia 151 "powerDAC" last year in anticipation of the move - it's driving my Focals to barely audible levels in the living room, where "don't turn it up too loud" is my middle name........ d) I bought my Emotiva Stealth DC-1 when they first came out - maybe 3 years ago. e) Most of my cables are at least a few years old. I'm about to buy new speaker cables because my Rogers are now about 3 feet to either side of the amp, so "good" ones won't cost an arm and a leg. My listening room at home had about a 25' run from the amp to the speakers. Link to comment
bluesman Posted January 11, 2016 Share Posted January 11, 2016 I think we all have the box-o-cables don't we? Oh, do we ever! We downsized from a 4000 sq ft house to a 2 BR condo apartment and I just unpacked the last box last night. In a brilliant feat of efficiency, I managed to move about a hundred useless old cables of various kinds. Although I can't imagine why, I seem to have saved every OEM interconnect / USB / S-video / component video / coax / power cord / etc that came with any piece of equipment I ever bought. Most are still in the sealed plastic bags they came in, as I almost never used the flimsy ones. I no longer have room to store this kind of useless junk, so it's all going - I wonder if the copper is worth anything as scrap. Save old cables? Never again! Link to comment
orgel Posted January 11, 2016 Share Posted January 11, 2016 e) Cables? I occasionally buy new cables but never throw out the old ones - I think we all have the box-o-cables don't we? And how! I just threw away one of my SCSI cables. Next time I go through the box o' cables looking for something that's probably already lying around in the listening room, I'll get rid of the rest. I don't think I'll have a use for them going forward. --David Listening Room: Mac mini (Roon Core) > iMac (HQP) > exaSound PlayPoint (as NAA) > exaSound e32 > W4S STP-SE > Benchmark AHB2 > Wilson Sophia Series 2 (Details) Office: Mac Pro > AudioQuest DragonFly Red > JBL LSR305 Mobile: iPhone 6S > AudioQuest DragonFly Black > JH Audio JH5 Link to comment
orgel Posted January 11, 2016 Share Posted January 11, 2016 Just wondering how long everyone here holds on to their components. For your main listening system, how long have you had your most recent: a) Speakers? This is going to make me look like a nut, because I've been on a tear lately. I'll try to justify my behavior as I go. (Forgive me, audiophiles, for I have sinned.) I stumbled across the Wilsons at the end of the summer. I'd been looking around for new speakers to replace my (pretty decent) Amphion Argon3's, which I'd had for about five years, and the Sophias (used but pristine) were available at a price I was too weak to resist. I hadn't really thought things through, though, because the Sophias highlighted some perceived weaknesses in my system that hadn't been audible previously. I don't plan to upgrade my speakers again. If they break, I'll ship them off to Wilson (no mean undertaking) to get them repaired. b) Power amp? Should have decided on a new one within the next couple of weeks. Blame it on the Sophias. I've had the W4S ST-500 for a little less than 5 years. Won't upgrade the new one again unless it breaks. c) Pre-amp or integrated amp? Acquired at the same time as the W4S amp. No immediate upgrade plans but can't rule it out for the future. d) DAC or sound card? Owned for a little more than 5 years. Probably my next upgrade, but won't happen for at least a year. Blame the future upgrade on my recent infatuation with HQPlayer. I can upsample to DSD128 now, but I want more. e) Cables? Got new (fancy-shmancy) speaker cables in October. Again, blame it on the Sophias. I don't plan on upgrading these, and they have a lifetime warranty. I might upgrade interconnects at some point, but it's not high on my priority list. It's not inconceivable that I might get something along the lines of an UpTone Regen or an iFi iUSB 3.0 in the near future. I'm also thinking some sort of device that can serve as a Roon endpoint or an HQPlayer NAA would be fun to mess around with. Don't judge me. It's worth noting, speaking as someone who's purchased both a Roon subscription and an HQP license in the recent past, that audio software purchases can add up. I justify this to myself in relation to how much I spend on software for my business. Looked at that way, the expense is negligible. --David Listening Room: Mac mini (Roon Core) > iMac (HQP) > exaSound PlayPoint (as NAA) > exaSound e32 > W4S STP-SE > Benchmark AHB2 > Wilson Sophia Series 2 (Details) Office: Mac Pro > AudioQuest DragonFly Red > JBL LSR305 Mobile: iPhone 6S > AudioQuest DragonFly Black > JH Audio JH5 Link to comment
Snowmonkey Posted January 11, 2016 Author Share Posted January 11, 2016 a) I got my Focal 726 towers when they redesigned the line about 3 years ago. But now that we sold our house and moved to our condo apartment, they're no longer in my main listening system (I'm told I have to respect the crusty old curmudgeons by whom we're surrounded). So I'm back to the Rogers LS3/5as (15 ohm) that I bought new 40 years ago. I'm going OT on my own topic here, but why did you feel the Focals were disrespectful of the crusty old curmudgeons? Do you feel a need to play them louder than the Rogers? Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted. - Einstein Link to comment
Jabs1542 Posted January 12, 2016 Share Posted January 12, 2016 I'm going OT on my own topic here, but why did you feel the Focals were disrespectful of the crusty old curmudgeons? Do you feel a need to play them louder than the Rogers? I gathered that the Rogers sounded better at lower volumes. Analog: Koetsu Rosewood > VPI Aries 3 w/SDS > EAR 834P > EAR 834L: Audiodesk cleaner Digital Fun: DAS > CAPS v3 w/LPS (JRMC) SOtM USB > Lynx Hilo > EAR 834L Digital Serious: DAS > CAPS v3 w/LPS (HQPlayer) Ethernet > SMS-100 NAA > Lampi DSD L4 G5 > EAR 834L Digital Disc: Oppo BDP 95 > EAR 834L Output: EAR 834L > Xilica XP4080 DSP > Odessey Stratos Mono Extreme > Legacy Aeris Phones: EAR 834L > Little Dot Mk ii > Senheiser HD 800 Link to comment
bluesman Posted January 12, 2016 Share Posted January 12, 2016 I gathered that the Rogers sounded better at lower volumes. I think they image a bit better than the Focals at low SPLs in near field conditions, but towers are not easily positioned for near field listening so the comparison is meaningless. I no longer have a dedicated listening room, and I can't position the Focals optimally in the living room because they share space with a grand piano, furniture, etc. The real issue is that the Focals have considerably more deep bass, and they're so pleasant to listen to (at least driven by tubes) that they beg you to crank up the volume. And it's those pesky lows that hit their wavelengths in other people's apartments and prompt complaints about the loud couple that just moved in. I know, I know.........headphones. Link to comment
orgel Posted January 12, 2016 Share Posted January 12, 2016 I know, I know.........headphones. I was going to suggest that but figured you were already aware of that option. I'm fortunate to live in a townhouse where the neighbors on either side both generate some high SPL's on occasion. No one plays loud at unacceptable hours and peaceful coexistence reigns. --David Listening Room: Mac mini (Roon Core) > iMac (HQP) > exaSound PlayPoint (as NAA) > exaSound e32 > W4S STP-SE > Benchmark AHB2 > Wilson Sophia Series 2 (Details) Office: Mac Pro > AudioQuest DragonFly Red > JBL LSR305 Mobile: iPhone 6S > AudioQuest DragonFly Black > JH Audio JH5 Link to comment
bluesman Posted January 12, 2016 Share Posted January 12, 2016 I was going to suggest that but figured you were already aware of that option. I'm fortunate to live in a townhouse where the neighbors on either side both generate some high SPL's on occasion. No one plays loud at unacceptable hours and peaceful coexistence reigns. --David I have a nice set of AKG Quincy Jones 701s that do the job. But this is a great reason ("It's NOT an excuse, dear...") to look at even better 'phones. My wife gave me a set of Stax for my birthday in about 1973, and I used them so much that I destroyed the headband, cups, cable covering and other wearable components over the years until we moved to our house. I was offered a fair price for them as is, so I foolishly sold them because I no loner needed them - I could play music at any level I chose. Dumb! Dumb! Dumb! Now Stax are thousands of dollars, and I'm going to retire next year. So I'll shoot a little lower. Link to comment
trappy Posted January 12, 2016 Share Posted January 12, 2016 I feel like I must be extremely fickle, reading this because it is less than 12 months for all of the above for me - apart from speakers are a bit over 12 months . But I feel like I have been climbing a steep slope. I haven't really had the means to invest in serious hifi up until about 5 or so years ago. So I've done a lot of experimenting and learning. I have tended to buy things to try as I'm not really experienced enough to judge from a quick audition. Now I feel my system is getting close to something I want to live with for a longer time. Hopefully I will some day join the ranks of the zen like masters above who can get decades of satisfaction from quality components. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk I have had exactly the same experience the past 5 years. Now I have system that sounds amazing and all i do is sit around wondering if I could get 98% of that performance for 1/3 the price. Or maybe I just got addicted to audio shopping... Mac Mini (+Tidal +Roon) -> WiFi -> Lyngdorf TDAI1120 ->JM Reynaud Lucia (Tellurium Q Black v2) Link to comment
StephenJK Posted January 13, 2016 Share Posted January 13, 2016 Just wondering how long everyone here holds on to their components. For your main listening system, how long have you had your most recent: a) Speakers? b) Power amp? c) Pre-amp or integrated amp? d) DAC or sound card? e) Cables? Speakers: I'm fortunate with speakers. I've had the same pair of four way magnetic planars since 1982. They have never failed to resolve any changes made to any other component or to the system as a whole. Power Amp: I ran with a Bryston 4B for many years, but always wanted an Audio Research tube amp. I now have that with a VS-115. It's a great amp with a terrific sound - I don't see any need to change that any time soon. That's my third amp since 1986. Preamp: Always liked Audio Research. Had an SP9 for a long time, then an SP17 and now an LS25. If there's anything that I would upgrade in the next couple of years it would be this component to either an LS26, LS27 or REF3. DAC: It's only recently, meaning in the last five to six years that I've had a DAC instead of a CD player. I went through an Audio Research DAC7 to a Bryston BDA1 to now with an Arcam FMJ D33 SuperDAC. The Arcam is terrific, I don't see any need to make any changes in the near future - meaning the next few years. Turntable: Hey, you forgot turntable! This is the component that's been changed the most over the years. I'm not going to list them all, that doesn't matter. This past weekend I traded in a Rega P9 for a Clearaudio Ovation turntable with the Universal tonearm. That's the best setup I've ever heard with my system, far superior to the Rega or to the previous table, a VPI Classic I. Phono Preamp: Yup, if you have a turntable and a moving coil phono cartridge you likely have one of these too - in this case an Audio Research PH5. My main cartridge is a Dynavector Te Kaitora - now at SoundSmith for a new cantilever as the diamond tip fell off the last one. My backup cartridge is a Shelter 501 MK II. Cables: I have a mix of different interconnects picked up over the years - I've never focused on cables as an upgrade solution. I do have Cardas Cross for speaker cables and for XLR connection from the preamp to the amp. The rest is licorice allsorts. Other: There's a Yamaha TX-350 tuner that's used on rare occassions. Can't bring myself to get rid of it, as it serves a purpose. I also have a Korg MR-2000S digital recorder that's used when digitizing LP's. The Korg is an amazing unit, something you would see in a studio to record a final two track mix before sending to the CD plant. I've upgraded mine from an 80 GB to a 320 GB hard drive. Link to comment
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now