A new thread and not in the vintage section. Wonder why...
Something New, with no hint of Blue
Well, I can tell you that a new integrated amplifier arrived on my doorstep on 29 June 2021, kindly delivered by Stefan of Airmusic. I wasn't at home to say thank you and shake his hand for delivering my new baby, so...
Dankie Stefan, ek waardeer dit opreg! :thumbs:
Two people know what has been delivered and I am going to ask both Stefan and Francois not to reveal the name as yet. For the simple reason that Francois has offered me additional integrated amps to test and compare, on proviso that I document my findings and publish.
At this point in time, there are three additional integrateds confirmed, with a fourth potentially becoming available.
Of course I am neither a professional reviewer nor writer, but will try and convey my impressions within the confines of my own audio lexicon.
Needless to say, my listening habits sometimes raise eyebrows, my ears are definitely not the same as anyone else's. Plus, my equipment stash is somewhat of an eclectic mix. Let's not even mention the location...
Suffice to state that no one should purchase any equipment based on my findings. This makes me sound American - Gerry Bob Junior the 3rd. I'm going to regret writing that.
The intent is to update this thread on an ongoing basis if and when some big revelation, or tiny ?thing? reveals itself to my ears.
29 June 2021, about 15h30
Arrived home to see a box waiting for me on the dining table on our stoep. Nice! Open box to peek inside, but machine too securely packed. Double nice!
A little later, after greeting fandamily and a cup of tea, priorities you see, she is removed from her paper and plastic cocoon(s) to see the light of day in her new home. Pics hint at some of her beauty, but she truly reveals her shapes to the naked eye, stunning! :cleansound:
The old Sansui AU-417 is removed, covered and packed away. She does need some TLC, the high frequency whine of a capacitor (I think) going bad has been in the mix for a while.
Speaker cables need slight trimming to fit the new binding posts, I am bare-wiring her to keep bananas out the mix. She is also a lot deeper than the old Sansui, so needs to be moved off centre as my rack is a three-legged affair. No problem, shelves are long enough.
Interconnects are DIY and based on Doug Schroeder's research and incorporates a helix for the shield. My Sansui TU-217 will be used as the tuner and my Marantz CD-80 will be used to spin silver disks when the occasion arrives. If or when I rotate the tuners and CD players, I will note as such. A Pioneer TX-608 tuner and Marantz CD63 KI is part of the eclectic.
Speakers are Coral-based horns with Goodmans Axiom 201 drivers. Speaker cables are Chord Company, can't remember the model, and are hard-wired at the speaker side. These babies aren't going anywhere in a hurry, the speakers that is. The cables will be replaced as soon as I can get my hands on a good set of tinned copper cables.
My beautiful lady was hooked up after reading the manual. Yip, need to read as I don't want to mess up anything.
No critical listening was done, simply switched her on to test that everything is functioning the way it should and et voila, she sings. Well, until later the evening when radio stations think it's a good idea to waffle on about stuff that I try and avoid by listening to music.
NOTE TO SELF: Buy a darned USB cable for the cellphone so that you can download pics into this thread :baseball:
Aaahhh, not of the new integrated, that will be blurred out
To Be Continued in this Thread...
Something New, with no hint of Blue
Well, I can tell you that a new integrated amplifier arrived on my doorstep on 29 June 2021, kindly delivered by Stefan of Airmusic. I wasn't at home to say thank you and shake his hand for delivering my new baby, so...
Dankie Stefan, ek waardeer dit opreg! :thumbs:
Two people know what has been delivered and I am going to ask both Stefan and Francois not to reveal the name as yet. For the simple reason that Francois has offered me additional integrated amps to test and compare, on proviso that I document my findings and publish.
At this point in time, there are three additional integrateds confirmed, with a fourth potentially becoming available.
Of course I am neither a professional reviewer nor writer, but will try and convey my impressions within the confines of my own audio lexicon.
Needless to say, my listening habits sometimes raise eyebrows, my ears are definitely not the same as anyone else's. Plus, my equipment stash is somewhat of an eclectic mix. Let's not even mention the location...
Suffice to state that no one should purchase any equipment based on my findings. This makes me sound American - Gerry Bob Junior the 3rd. I'm going to regret writing that.
The intent is to update this thread on an ongoing basis if and when some big revelation, or tiny ?thing? reveals itself to my ears.
29 June 2021, about 15h30
Arrived home to see a box waiting for me on the dining table on our stoep. Nice! Open box to peek inside, but machine too securely packed. Double nice!
A little later, after greeting fandamily and a cup of tea, priorities you see, she is removed from her paper and plastic cocoon(s) to see the light of day in her new home. Pics hint at some of her beauty, but she truly reveals her shapes to the naked eye, stunning! :cleansound:
The old Sansui AU-417 is removed, covered and packed away. She does need some TLC, the high frequency whine of a capacitor (I think) going bad has been in the mix for a while.
Speaker cables need slight trimming to fit the new binding posts, I am bare-wiring her to keep bananas out the mix. She is also a lot deeper than the old Sansui, so needs to be moved off centre as my rack is a three-legged affair. No problem, shelves are long enough.
Interconnects are DIY and based on Doug Schroeder's research and incorporates a helix for the shield. My Sansui TU-217 will be used as the tuner and my Marantz CD-80 will be used to spin silver disks when the occasion arrives. If or when I rotate the tuners and CD players, I will note as such. A Pioneer TX-608 tuner and Marantz CD63 KI is part of the eclectic.
Speakers are Coral-based horns with Goodmans Axiom 201 drivers. Speaker cables are Chord Company, can't remember the model, and are hard-wired at the speaker side. These babies aren't going anywhere in a hurry, the speakers that is. The cables will be replaced as soon as I can get my hands on a good set of tinned copper cables.
My beautiful lady was hooked up after reading the manual. Yip, need to read as I don't want to mess up anything.
No critical listening was done, simply switched her on to test that everything is functioning the way it should and et voila, she sings. Well, until later the evening when radio stations think it's a good idea to waffle on about stuff that I try and avoid by listening to music.
NOTE TO SELF: Buy a darned USB cable for the cellphone so that you can download pics into this thread :baseball:
Aaahhh, not of the new integrated, that will be blurred out
To Be Continued in this Thread...
