Does My Stereo Suck?

[Mike]

I'm hoping to solicit some opinions on my stereo. I'm not an audiophile so I don't keep up on this kinda thing, although I did a lot of research and listening prior to buying. Maybe someone can tell me if there are any opinions on my equipment in the audiophile world. Maybe KEF is out of business and audiophiles scoff at the garbage they used to make. I don't know.

Personally, I'm pretty happy with it. It sounds best to me on quieter and/or acoustic based or vocal type material like Joni Mitchell, Bread, Sinatra - that type of material. It kind of lacks for hard rock and loud rock in my opinion. I must admit all this tube talk has me curious.

Please feel free to be harsh with your opinions, if that is how you feel. I can take it! :) I'm just curious whether this is considered decent equipment (in the price range of course) or not. Thanks for any information!


Purchased in 1987:

Amp - Adcom GFA-545

Preamp - Adcom GFP-555

Speakers - KEF C60

Cassette - Nakamichi BX-300 - I did a little internet research on this a couple years ago and it appears to have become a collectable.


Purchased a couple years ago:

CD player - Sony CDP-CE 525 (regular 'ol player)

[Steve Hoffman]

Mike,

That should be a nice tight little solid state system.

You've heard live classical or folk or acoustic jazz music, right? Does your system come close? Does a singer sound human at a reasonable volume, or not? Only you can judge.

The next step for you is to borrow a tube line stage and try it in place of the rather dry sounding 555. If it sounds more lifelike to you, you know which way to go.


:)

[Humorem]

Steve,
That Scott Integrated tube unit I sold for you was a sweetheart. Do you remember the number? That is the low budget way to go. Or something like it.
TP

[Steve Hoffman]

Scott 299C receiver. Early 1960's. Around $300.00.

[Craig]

Preamp/Tuner - GTP 500 II
Power Amp - GFA 535

Maybe we should start our own Adcom topic so we can discuss who's setup sucks the most. :D

(That's weird, the message that I was actually replying to disappeared - what happened to the other Adcom user?)

-Craig

[Patrick M]

Originally posted by Craig
(That's weird, the message that I was actually replying to disappeared - what happened to the other Adcom user?)

That would be me. I deleted my message when I realized that I didn't have exactly the same setup as described. I have the 555 preamp and the 535 amp. I still get all the 5x5 stuff confused.

[Mike]

Thanks for the info. So it sounds like my system is at least good enough to discern solid state vs. tube (whether I can hear that difference will be another story). That's good to know! I will give that a shot as my first potential upgrade.

Doesn't anyone want to take a potshot at my oh so lame system? C'mon!

Now I'll watch the Scott price skyrocket on ebay for the next couple months. ;)

[Pinknik]

I would never take a pot shot at anybody's system. It's crass.

[indy mike]

I'd suggest maybe scouring Ebay for a Musical Fidelity tube buffer stage model X10-D; I have an Adcom preamp and the tube stage inserted between the preamp and my Marantz cd player made things a LOT more enjoyable - you'll get some sparkle that'll put a smile on your face, plus you can experiment with the 6922/7308 family of tubes (not as swell as the 12AX7 family that our pal Steve loves, but it'll get your foot in the tube world for around a 100 clams or so)...

[Audio Redneck]

Originally posted by Craig
Preamp/Tuner - GTP 500 II
Power Amp - GFA 535

Maybe we should start our own Adcom topic so we can discuss who's setup sucks the most. :D

-Craig

Can I join?

Sansui 5000 speakers (Please stop laughing long enough to breath)
Adcom GFA 535 Power Amp ('89)
Adcom GTP 400 Preamp/Tuner ('90)
Yamahahaha 565 CD changer
Sony TC-K611S 3-head tape deck
Astrocom Marlux 407 R2R
Pioneer PL516 w/ Grado Red (breath!)

[Dave]

Audio Redneck,

Welcome LOL, LOL you're hilarious man or mam, as the case may be. Just about fell off my chair when I read your post!:D

A great sense of humor, that's great......... you'll need it here.http://ubb.fanasylum.com/smiles/bandit.gif;) :D

[Audio Redneck]

Well, if you can't laugh at your own system....I guess you can laugh at mine. :D (and its Man - Donald actually)

I had started to build my system up to where it was in college, but my kids got too much pleasure from droping things into the vent tube on the speakers, pushing on the woofers, and managed to get close enough to trash the needle on the TT - no great loss on any of them. But until they get a little older, I am sticking with inexpencive used stuff that I won't cry over, unless I can keep it away from them. Been stocking up on flea-market vinyl and CDs and building a nice little transportable system for work in the mean time. Oh, and I bought a house this year. but anyway....

I forgot to mention, my "b" speakers are/is a gutted RCA console in the living room. My wife likes it because it draws almost no attention whatsoever and it makes a nice lamp stand. You'd think a musician would care, wouldn't you? (flute players :rolleyes: )

[McIntosh]

Originally posted by Steve Hoffman


The next step for you is to borrow a tube line stage and try it in place of the rather dry sounding 555. If it sounds more lifelike to you, you know which way to go.


:)

What is a line stage anyway.......(another newbie question)

[Steve Hoffman]

A line stage is another word for a preamp. But since some people now use digital front ends instead of record players, a line stage doesn't have a PHONO section. Just a section for playing digital, tape decks, tuners, etc. But no Phono.

[McIntosh]

thanks - appreciate the info...one of these days I'll learn about all this stuff - nice to know this forum doesn't try to make people feel stupid for asking newbie questions..........

[Steve Hoffman]

McIntosh,

Ask any questions you want at any time. No one will flame you here!

[Gary]

Hey, if I did not have any stupid questions, I'd probably be a junior member still! ;)

What I'd do when shopping is look for the obvious: "Excuse me sir, where do I plug in my turntable?" and then "Huh?!? A $3 grand preamp and no turntable!?!?!"

With the older stuff, you have to use the aux for the CD player. I have a 1960's preamp and amp. My problem now is where do I plug in the SACD player when my HDCD player is in the aux?

Ahhh me, I'll figure it out one day. When I get a SACD player!

:D

[Dave]

We've all got to learn somewhere, every single one of us. Here is just a great place to.:D

[KeithH]

Mike, I am not familiar with your Adcom separates or KEF speakers (I've used newer stuff by both companies), but I think you should look into a new CD player. I've only been into audio for two years, and when I started upgrading back then from a 1989 Kenwood rack system (:o), I bought a Sony CDP-CE535 carousel changer. It is virtually identical to your 'CE525; the only obvious difference being that the 'CE535 has Control A1II, while the 'CE525 has Control A1. Anyway, I became disappointed with the 'CE535 after buying a Sony ES megachanger a couple months later. The megachanger is good as far as megachangers go, but is not a great player on the whole. That gives you an idea of where I rate the 'CE535 (just my opinion). I sold the 'CE535 on eBay about a year-and-a-half ago.

You don't necessarily have to spend gobs of money to get a significantly better CD player. If you are open to the idea of getting a new player, state your budget, and I'm sure people will offer good suggestions here.

[Mike]

Thanks for the info and input everyone. I am wondering: what is a good source of information to learn about tubes. "Tubes for Dummies"? "Tubies for Newbies"? www.learnabouttubes.com?Any ideas? Thanks again!

[Audio Redneck]

Hey, I second Mikes request. I have been looking for a good "Tubes 101" for a while. Main questions I have are:
* how long do they last
* does burn in make them better or worse

Inquiring rednecks want to know.

[Togo]

Hello all,

Here's my core set up purchased in the UK....

Pioneer DVD/CD 626 (2 years old now...got good write ups as CD player in the audiophile mags and better than my old Marantz player from 1989)

Arcam Alpha 3 integrated stereo amp (purchased 1991)

Linn Index speakers with stands (also 1991)

Any advice on upgrades or how to improve the sound ("breath of life") much appreciated!!!

Thanks all and keep the faith!

Togo

[R. Cat Conrad]

Here's one for the novice with the added bonus of DIY tube gear building projects:

http://www.transcendentsound.com/audioreality.htm

The book's author is an outspoken common sense kind of guy who designs real-world amps and pre-amps that are straight forward and dependable. BTW, Mr. Rozenblit also sells tube gear direct for those less adventurous tube aficionados like yours truly. ;)

Cat :D

[Tullman]

I have had a convergent audio technology signature preamp for over eight years and have really enjoyed it. It is an all tube preamp, you can get with a phono stage as well. Look around, you can get one used for a reasonable price. I just wish I could afford the tube power amps from CAT as well.