Good news and bad news

Napalm · « **Reply #20 on:** 19 Jun 2010, 11:53 pm »

Welcome back!

Nap.

whanafi · « **Reply #21 on:** 19 Jun 2010, 11:56 pm »

Thanks!

Have to fly again Tuesday night, so packing in as much listening as possible. Hauled back about 30 CD's, so ripping and auditioning at the same time.

vegasdave · « **Reply #22 on:** 20 Jun 2010, 12:01 am »

Quote from: whanafi on 19 Jun 2010, 11:56 pm

Thanks!

Have to fly again Tuesday night, so packing in as much listening as possible. Hauled back about 30 CD's, so ripping and auditioning at the same time.

You gotta nice system there.

whanafi · « **Reply #23 on:** 20 Jun 2010, 01:03 am »

Thanks.

I have not regretted making the decision to separate my 2 channel audio from the home theatre rig - was really missing the ability to listen to clean stereo without all the HT add-ons. And with the quality of the Transporter and BDA-1, digital music is real and deserves to be reproduced properly.

vegasdave · « **Reply #24 on:** 20 Jun 2010, 01:10 am »

Quote from: whanafi on 20 Jun 2010, 01:03 am

Thanks.

I have not regretted making the decision to separate my 2 channel audio from the home theatre rig - was really missing the ability to listen to clean stereo without all the HT add-ons. And with the quality of the Transporter and BDA-1, digital music is real and deserves to be reproduced properly.

You're welcome. That's cool. Yeah, I only do 2 channel myself. Home Theater doesn't interest me. How does your system sound with vinyl? Very good, I bet.

whanafi · « **Reply #25 on:** 20 Jun 2010, 01:18 am »

I have about 800 LP's mostly from the 70's and 80's - got a Pro-Ject TT to see if I still liked fooling around with vinyl, and got the BP26 with MM option.

Have to say I was underwhelmed - just too fiddly compared to working with the Transporter.

I do remember the vinyl being better than the CD's of the same material through my system at the time (Bryston 4B, Celestion Ditton 66 speakers, Yamaha direct drive TT with a Shure V15 Type 4 cartridge, and so was surprised that the new setup didn't just grab me immediately.

Have a sneaking suspicion that 20 years in the tropics may have also had an impact on the vinyl - there are services to clean the records, but it is expensive and a major hassle.

Having made the investment in the new phono stage, I guess I should get on with cleaning up the vinyl and optimizing the system. I fear falling into the TT/Cartridge/alignment obsession again though....

Ryanz · « **Reply #26 on:** 20 Jun 2010, 01:20 am »

Quote from: vegasdave on 20 Jun 2010, 12:01 am

You gotta nice system there.

I second that. What do you think of your Harmony universal remote? Do you recommend it?

vegasdave · « **Reply #27 on:** 20 Jun 2010, 01:26 am »

Quote from: whanafi on 20 Jun 2010, 01:18 am

I have about 800 LP's mostly from the 70's and 80's - got a Pro-Ject TT to see if I still liked fooling around with vinyl, and got the BP26 with MM option.

Have to say I was underwhelmed - just too fiddly compared to working with the Transporter.

I do remember the vinyl being better than the CD's of the same material through my system at the time (Bryston 4B, Celestion Ditton 66 speakers, Yamaha direct drive TT with a Shure V15 Type 4 cartridge, and so was surprised that the new setup didn't just grab me immediately.

Have a sneaking suspicion that 20 years in the tropics may have also had an impact on the vinyl - there are services to clean the records, but it is expensive and a major hassle.

Having made the investment in the new phono stage, I guess I should get on with cleaning up the vinyl and optimizing the system. I fear falling into the TT/Cartridge/alignment obsession again though....

That's interesting...in every system I've heard, vinyl wins, imo.

Yes, you have that nice turntable, use it! Well, set up should be fun, not a chore! However, some turntable manufacturers make it very difficult to set up their 'tables. And after all of that money you spend, you would think they would be more user friendly!

whanafi · « **Reply #28 on:** 20 Jun 2010, 01:35 am »

Quote from: Ryanz on 20 Jun 2010, 01:20 am

I second that. What do you think of your Harmony universal remote? Do you recommend it?

Yes, I like the Harmony a lot. It works well, is easy to program, and handles the BP26 volume control and Transporter, which is all I really need for the 2 channel system.

Also use it for the HT setup, and it is the only thing that keeps my wife from going crazy about all the components - just one button press and all the various parts fire up set to the right settings.

Having said that, I also have iPeng on an old iPod Touch which works well, and am looking forward to tablets as the ultimate remote - will be able to look up stuff on IMDB while watching movies, and managing all the equipment.

Ryanz · « **Reply #29 on:** 20 Jun 2010, 03:13 am »

Quote from: whanafi on 20 Jun 2010, 01:35 am

Yes, I like the Harmony a lot. It works well, is easy to program, and handles the BP26 volume control and Transporter, which is all I really need for the 2 channel system.

Also use it for the HT setup, and it is the only thing that keeps my wife from going crazy about all the components - just one button press and all the various parts fire up set to the right settings.

Having said that, I also have iPeng on an old iPod Touch which works well, and am looking forward to tablets as the ultimate remote - will be able to look up stuff on IMDB while watching movies, and managing all the equipment.

I've been thinking about purchasing one. However, I'm looking for a remote that has Bluetooth capabilities as well as IR. I can't seem to find one. Anybody know of one?

VOLKS · « **Reply #30 on:** 20 Jun 2010, 03:30 am »

Quote from: whanafi on 20 Jun 2010, 01:18 am

I have about 800 LP's mostly from the 70's and 80's - got a Pro-Ject TT to see if I still liked fooling around with vinyl, and got the BP26 with MM option.

Have to say I was underwhelmed - just too fiddly compared to working with the Transporter.

I do remember the vinyl being better than the CD's of the same material through my system at the time (Bryston 4B, Celestion Ditton 66 speakers, Yamaha direct drive TT with a Shure V15 Type 4 cartridge, and so was surprised that the new setup didn't just grab me immediately.

Have a sneaking suspicion that 20 years in the tropics may have also had an impact on the vinyl - there are services to clean the records, but it is expensive and a major hassle.

Having made the investment in the new phono stage, I guess I should get on with cleaning up the vinyl and optimizing the system. I fear falling into the TT/Cartridge/alignment obsession again though....

whanafi......i thought you had KEF 205/2's?

Phil A · « **Reply #31 on:** 20 Jun 2010, 03:33 am »

I use a Harmony One in the main system and I have an 890 I use for both the bedroom and basement systems. I have a PS3 in the basement and so I use the ($60) Harmony device that is for Bluetooth

Napalm · « **Reply #32 on:** 20 Jun 2010, 05:47 am »

Quote from: Ryanz on 20 Jun 2010, 03:13 am

I've been thinking about purchasing one. However, I'm looking for a remote that has Bluetooth capabilities as well as IR. I can't seem to find one. Anybody know of one?

Harmony. Beware that:

- it didn't work with my BP6
- when u use the bluetooth thing, it will disable the Sony bluray remote
- early bluetooth things didn't work with later Sony firmware updates.

Nap.

Ryanz · « **Reply #33 on:** 20 Jun 2010, 06:10 am »

Quote from: Napalm on 20 Jun 2010, 05:47 am

Harmony. Beware that:

- it didn't work with my BP6
- when u use the bluetooth thing, it will disable the Sony bluray remote
- early bluetooth things didn't work with later Sony firmware updates.

Nap.

Does this qualify as an "audio" purchase?

Napalm · « **Reply #34 on:** 20 Jun 2010, 06:16 am »

Quote from: Ryanz on 20 Jun 2010, 06:10 am

Does this qualify as an "audio" purchase?

No, you can do that....

just keep the receipts so you can return it if it doesn't work for you.

Nap.

whanafi · « **Reply #35 on:** 20 Jun 2010, 06:59 am »

Quote from: VOLKS on 20 Jun 2010, 03:30 am

whanafi......i thought you had KEF 205/2's?

I do - I mentioned the Celestions as my old speakers from the last time I seriously had a vinyl system. They were the best speakers I ever owned/heard.

I would still be using them if time, humidity, and internal stuff disintegrating hadn't made them unusable. It was the attempt to get them going again that led to the Pro-Ject, then the BP26, then the 4bSST2, then the KEF's, then the BDA-1. Talk about the tail wagging the dog....

I found several threads on UK sites about restoring Celestions, and they seem to be in demand, but shipping from Singapore kills the economics.

Ryanz · « **Reply #36 on:** 20 Jun 2010, 07:04 am »

Quote from: Napalm on 20 Jun 2010, 06:16 am

No, you can do that.... just keep the receipts so you can return it if it doesn't work for you.

Nap.

Sweet! Will do!

Napalm · « **Reply #37 on:** 20 Jun 2010, 09:43 am »

Quote from: whanafi on 20 Jun 2010, 06:59 am

I do - I mentioned the Celestions as my old speakers from the last time I seriously had a vinyl system. They were the best speakers I ever owned/heard.

Quote from their web site:

"In 1992 Celestion International Ltd. was sold, as a separate entity from the clothing division, to Kinergetics Holdings (UK) Ltd., a holding company whose majority shareholder is Gold Peak of Hong Kong. The group acquired KEF of Maidstone, another top British loudspeaker company, at the same time. Gold Peak began in 1964 as a producer of batteries and has grown to become a multinational force in electronics and technology.
[...]
Today the Celestion and KEF manufacturing operations are united under the banner of KH Manufacturing Ltd. while Celestion International Limited continues the tradition begun by Cyril French and Eric Mackintosh over 70 years ago - the research, development, sales and marketing of loudspeakers of the highest quality."

BTW they still make speakers under the Celestion brand.

Nap.

KeithA · « **Reply #38 on:** 20 Jun 2010, 10:35 am »

Celestion is still the 'reigning king' when it comes to speakers for guitar amps. Ironically, as with some threads on this forum recently, there is a similar debate over 'Chinese/domestic' manufacture and quality as many of their speakers are now manufactured in China.

Keith

whanafi · « **Reply #39 on:** 20 Jun 2010, 10:46 am »

Yes, thank goodness for Gold Peak and HK money saving these old British speaker firms.

When you look at where much of the original acoustic research was done and where things were learned about how to manufacture speakers, it goes back to the BBC engineering labs and the companies that grew based on their research. There was additional research done in Canada at NRC, which also explains a little why there are so many good Canadian speaker companies.

As to manufacturing in China, most comments are borderline racist and ignorant.

I have actually been involved with factories in China building audio equipment, and believe me, quality is a function of design and engineering, not race or country of manufacture. It is pretty funny to see all these negative comments about China being typed on computers manufactured in China. Like sarcasm for audiophiles, irony is wasted on those with more opinions than facts.