Hi from New Zealand

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Rippedgeek

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Hi from New Zealand
« on: 3 Feb 2020, 12:12 am »
Hi all

I'm new to this forum after watching some very interesting and informative videos on Youtube by New Record Day.  Looks like the rabbit hole has some new branching paths I wasn't aware of until now. 

I'm an audiophile with some mileage on the clock, started out with a glorious Kenwood system way back in the late '80s that my dad gave me and I've been in love with audio ever since.  I was a teenager when my dad gave me this system and the concept of stereo sound blew my young mind, then subsequently quadrophonic audio and then every iteration of surround sound has been something that always keeps me excited.  I've gone semi-circle (maybe not quite full circle) back to stereo for music, albeit through a surround sound receiver. 

My current system is (and I'll blatantly rip this from my own Reddit post):
1x Denon AVR-X4400H (the heart and soul) plus 2x Rotel RB-981 in dual mono @360WPC at 8ohms powering the Focal Aria 948s
1x HTPC (the brains) hidden behind the TV, Core i7-4770, 16GB RAM with GTX 1060 6GB (data is on a 24TB NAS in my garage, whole house is CAT6 wired)
1x Sony Bravia KDL-X8500C (2017 model) (the face)
1x Klipsch RP-450c center speaker (the voice)
2x Focal Aria 948 floorstanding speakers (the beef)
2x Wharfedale Diamond 9.5 floorstanders as rear surrounds (the whispering voice)
4x Klipsch 6.5" PRO-160RPC ceiling speakers (the voice of angels)
2x SVS PB-2000 Subs (the brawn)

Hope to learn many new things here and to interact with many of you

Cheers
Rip

FullRangeMan

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Re: Hi from New Zealand
« Reply #1 on: 3 Feb 2020, 12:17 am »
Welcome Rip :thumb:

Wind Chaser

Re: Hi from New Zealand
« Reply #2 on: 3 Feb 2020, 12:26 am »
Welcome to Audio Circle! :D

Phil A

Re: Hi from New Zealand
« Reply #3 on: 3 Feb 2020, 01:02 am »
Welcome!

Rippedgeek

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Re: Hi from New Zealand
« Reply #4 on: 3 Feb 2020, 07:42 am »
Thank you kindly.  Wow, so many audio lovers from so many places, makes me happy to see that.

JLM

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Re: Hi from New Zealand
« Reply #5 on: 3 Feb 2020, 02:28 pm »
Welcome!

By the way, after 3 approved posts you'll have rights to private message, participate in the Trading Circle, etc.

A rather eclectic all digital system.  Does that have something to do with being from New Zealand?  Do you stream?

Have been into audio since the 60's.  Have a modest AV system and a nicer audio system in a designed/dedicated room.  (You can view member systems.) 

Rippedgeek

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Re: Hi from New Zealand
« Reply #6 on: 3 Feb 2020, 09:58 pm »
Thanks for the notification, JLM. 

I'm sure there's plenty of analog hardware to be found here, but I've only been here for a few years, so slowly building my system up.  Ideally I'll get a turntable soon, but that may very well be for a stand-alone stereo system, when I can afford one.  We also have access to less than 30% (conservatively estimated, I'm sure) of the hardware that people in the USA and probably the rest of the world, have access to.  It's extraordinarily expensive to have any large electronic hardware shipped here, so a lot of distributors just bring in whatever is popular at the time, or what the wealthy can afford.  I'm not in that camp, unfortunately. :)

Those speakers of yours are beautiful, I've never seen them before.

Do you mean do I stream music?  If so, yes, I do.  Tidal and Spotify, but I also have a large collection of music on my NAS, which I stream/play through my HTPC.

I have another "system", if you can call it that, which consists of my gaming PC, a NuForce Icon HDP DAC and then KEF LS50W active speakers, so once again all digital. 

I'm very interested in the kits and speakers by GR-Research - so I'll start planning around that, provided they can be shipped here.

rplasmaspeakersbetta

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Re: Hi from New Zealand
« Reply #7 on: 6 Feb 2020, 10:50 pm »
Welcome - from Australia.
I just joined this site myself and dare I say it am running some valve gear.
I am not as up to speed with technology as you I am afraid.
So only have some digital files on a solid state HD plugged into an oppo DVD USB port myself.
I have found that when trying to buy even second hand gear in Australia most seems to be from USA etc.
So I sympathise with your experience in NewZealand where there must be even less gear available.
A beautiful place to live though and even though I have not had the opportunity to visit so far, I keep thinking of moving over there!

Happy listening