Building my girlfriend's mom's stereo system...

guest1632 · « **Reply #40 on:** 18 Feb 2005, 03:40 am »

Quote from: KT

I thowing in my vote for the Sharp EX-111 for $75. I love it because it sounds great, is compact, has a built-in CD player and tuner, and is convenient as hell. Very cool and good sounding all-in-one unit with remote. Inexpensive, too.

Unless your GF's mom is a gearhead, I think she would be happy with this and good pair of speakers.

I also have a JVC ES1sl. This unit is very nice, but unless she has room for a full size-component footprint, the Sharp will fit into a non-gearhead's lifestyle better.
...

Hi, firstly, does that sharp have a tape loop, secondly, how is that JVC versus the sharp? The Sharp is only 20W isn't it? but for the bedroom not a bad idea.

Ray

viggen · « **Reply #41 on:** 18 Feb 2005, 10:24 am »

Quote from: eric the red

This is the last time I'll say this: If you want a great sounding small rig for everywhere, get the Sharp off Overstock and a pair of KEF Coda 70s off Ebay where a guy is selling them for @160.00 NIB. The speakers are very very well built and good looking, sound excellent and go down to 45hz ...

I had numerous KEF speakers before and thought the Q30 sounded great with my old Nak receiver. I'd imagine a small KEF would sound great with the Sharp. Just, you need to get a decent powercord for the Sharp.

eric the red · « **Reply #42 on:** 18 Feb 2005, 08:15 pm »

She might also like a taste of the 70s for that new rig http://cgi.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cl.pl?vintelec&1113922498

KT · « **Reply #43 on:** 19 Feb 2005, 04:01 am »

Ray,

The Sharp does not have a tape loop.

The Sharp and JVC ES1sl are both very musical to my ears, but they are different.

The first thought that came to my mind when I fired up the JVC ES1sl was "warm, inviting, intimate." Perhaps not the punchiest sound, but easy on the ears and very nuanced. It's very involving, rich, and warm and treats music in a gentle way.

The first thing I thought when I fired up the Sharp was "dynamic, clear, punchy, and exciting!" It made the music really exciting and fun to listen to. I've never owned Naim gear, but it kind of got me to understanding how some people really value the rhythm and pacing thing. I got so excited I wrote an email to my brother telling him he should get one. Cool thing about it was that it had certain very involving musicality - not harsh, sterile, or edgy at all. Just clear, musical, and dynamic. I actually hadn't been taken with music playback like that since I built my first 300B amp, the Audio Note Kit One. So I bought another one.

Those are the differences to my ears. Hope that helps.

Best,
KT

guest1632 · « **Reply #44 on:** 19 Feb 2005, 05:52 am »

Quote from: KT

Ray,

The Sharp does not have a tape loop.

The Sharp and JVC ES1sl are both very musical to my ears, but they are different.

The first thought that came to my mind when I fired up the JVC ES1sl was "warm, inviting, intimate." Perhaps not the punchiest sound, but easy on the ears and very nuanced. It's very involving, rich, and warm and treats music in a gentle way.

The first thing I thought when I fired up the Sharp was "dynamic, clear, punchy, and exciting!" It made the music really exciting an ...

Hi Kt, Thanks for the interesting perspective on both units. I have a pair of audio Source but don't know how efficient they are. But this might be a good bedroom system. What speeks are you using with the Sharp?

Ray

KT · « **Reply #45 on:** 19 Feb 2005, 06:09 am »

Hi Ray,

Right now I'm using the Sharp EX-111 with a pair of Paradigm Atoms on my computer. The setup sounds surprisingly good, despite the low overall cost.

You might find this amusing, but just for a yuk, I was using my Sun Audio 300B amp in this computer system for a while. Sounded pretty darned good. After a while I decided that listening to streaming music, news, and mp3 wasn't worth burning up my 300Bs or all that wasted energy for. It was the best sounding NPR I've ever heard, though!

Best,
KT

JLM · « **Reply #46 on:** 19 Feb 2005, 10:52 am »

Come on guys, you're buying her a catcher's mitt for gosh sakes!

(You know, something YOU'D want, not what SHE'D want.)

Not to be condensending, but limit yourself to her priorities and then add your knowledge.

You know this is a test to see how sensitive you are to females don't you?

The longer this thread goes the funnier it gets, its already making for a good sit-com.

Tonto Yoder · « **Reply #47 on:** 19 Feb 2005, 06:03 pm »

I REALLY think you should be coaxing mom into a vinyl-based system. Sure, CD's are much more convenient and easily purchased, but there's a chance mom will really light up when she rediscovers the joy of LP's!!
The acceptable entry-level TT will undoubtedly take up all available funds,
but imagine her pride when visitors spy that gorgeous table waiting patiently for appropriate amplification/ transducer. She can spend spare $$ accumulating audiophile vinyl and it will remain mint since playing it would be pointless without the above-mentioned amp/transducer.

Now, as for catcher's mitts...........

sleepkyng · « **Reply #48 on:** 19 Feb 2005, 06:29 pm »

yeah, she wants great sound, nice aesthetics and on a $1000-$1500 budget (it totally changes every time i talk to her)

so i thought:

but seriously, she wants really GOOD sound. she's a cosmopolitan type at heart (born and bred in NYC) and I'm just a yokel from Corvallis Oregon, so this has been a tough task.

sleepkyng · « **Reply #49 on:** 19 Feb 2005, 06:33 pm »

So here's some ideas

she wants a small footprint for all of the pieces of the system.
She prefers the design aesthetics of the totem arros to that of any of the other reccomended speakers on this thread.

the idea of tubes intrigues her, but I told her a nice digital is better for her (seeing as I don't think she wants to tube roll, bias etc.)

but the digital aesthetic is pretty ugly to her (i mean, those pannys ain't exactly sculpture pieces)

THANKS FELLAS, Keep it coming. You're all invited to the wedding, 8 years from now!

doug s. · « **Reply #50 on:** 19 Feb 2005, 07:55 pm »

Quote from: sleepkyng

So here's some ideas

she wants a small footprint for all of the pieces of the system.
She prefers the design aesthetics of the totem arros to that of any of the other reccomended speakers on this thread.

the idea of tubes intrigues her, but I told her a nice digital is better for her (seeing as I don't think she wants to tube roll, bias etc.)

but the digital aesthetic is pretty ugly to her (i mean, those pannys ain't exactly sculpture pieces)

THANKS FELLAS, Keep it coming. You're all invited to the wedding, 8 years from now!

sleepy, i have one caveat about the totem arrows. if you mom ever likes to rock and/or listen loud, i'd suggest something else. i remember listening to these in my system a while back. big room, but they weren't even asked to go full-range, as they were crossed over at ~70hz to a pair of vmps larger subs. for two hours, i marveled at the sound, listening to jazz, bluegrass, folk, etc. then i had a hankering to hear some little feat, cranked up a bit. i cued up "waiting for columbus" on the ol' oracle turntable, and anxiously awaited the sound from this excellent live-recorded album. well, i had to take it off after two minutes - it *sucked*. yust a heads-up...

doug s.

rosconey · « **Reply #51 on:** 19 Feb 2005, 08:03 pm »

if she can do $1500 why not call klaus at odyssey and get one of his package deals-get the cyclops( do different color knobs) and his small speakers with cables and ic's

these speakers are sweet looking-
http://www.odysseyaudio.com/images/speakers/model4.jpg

http://www.odysseyaudiohk.com/eng/index.htm
some nice pics on the home page-scroll down half way a great pic of the speakers a and cyclops

quite a few people think its a killer budget system.
compact -good looking-nothing complicated for her to setup and easy to use.

doug s. · « **Reply #52 on:** 19 Feb 2005, 08:25 pm »

Quote from: rosconey

if she can do $1500 why not call klaus at odyssey and get one of his package deals-get the cyclops( do different color knobs) and his small speakers with cables and ic's

these speakers are sweet looking-
http://www.odysseyaudio.com/images/speakers/model4.jpg

http://www.odysseyaudiohk.com/eng/index.htm
some nice pics on the home page-scroll down half way a great pic of the speakers a and cyclops

quite a few people think its a killer budget system.
compact -good looking-nothing complicated for her to setup and easy to use.

why not get the oddysey nightingale? it would work perfectly w/the sharp - 91db/1w, *and* 4 ohms rated, which means the sharp will be outputting all its 20wpc... these nightingales are nice looking...

http://www.odysseyaudiohk.com/eng/speaker.htm
http://www.audioreview.com/Main+Speaker/Odyssey,Audio,Nightingale/PRD_132984_1594crx.aspx

doug s.

Eric D · « **Reply #53 on:** 18 Mar 2005, 04:07 pm »

Inquiring minds want to know how (or if) it all turned out....

sleepkyng · « **Reply #54 on:** 24 Mar 2005, 03:27 am »

well, i got it all ready, but she's decided she wants me to sell her piano first!!!

so i'm going back down to nyc this weekend to see what i can do

i'll keep you all updated.

Building my girlfriend's mom's stereo system...

guest1632

guest1632