Stonerboy has some audio gear...

Now my greatest pursuit is audio and it gives me great pleasure to keep searching for and finding aural bliss. I have been through many speakers, headphones, sources and much more on my journey.

At the moment I have quite a few things that I am very happy to own and I figure I will share a little.

The two pride an joys of my collection are by far my Technics mini system and the Technics floorstanding speakers I recently acquired.

First up is my Technics CA-10 Mini System.

It's just so beautiful with softly glowing VU meter on the amp and lovely brushed black anodized metal faceplates. The tuner/control unit is slick and performs wonderfully and the 5 stacker MASH CD player is nothing short of a mechanical and aural marvel with an optical out for if I ever so desire to use anything other than the MASH 1-bit DAC.

It resides at the foot of my bed hiding a little, playing sweet sweet tunes with my Wharfedale Diamond III Bookshelf Speakers, mildly modded with black chrome speaker spikes to isolate them from the pathetic shelf it sadly currently rest on.

Now the speakers I would love to hook up but sadly am unable to do so are my newest acquisition. The lovely Technics SB-X500a Floorstanding Speakers that I just acquired. I paid a little more than I probably should have but when I turned up they were in better condition that I could have ever hoped for, considering they are 25 years old now.

The reason I cant use them is that I have no room haha and as such they are to be stored at my Nans for a few years until such time I can proudly set them up in a dedicated area just for listening to them.

Yes the SB-X500a speakers have some very unique woofers. They are a flat honeycomb disc and even though i bought these a lot for just the history and uniqueness they also have a wonderful and rich sound and more base than one would ever expect.



Now they may be my pride and joys but there are two other things that really get the most attention fro me and they are my headphones and canalphones. My AKG Q701 headphones and my Audiofly AF56m canalphones.

My Q701s are always getting playtime, almost becoming a permanent feature of my lappy. There open back and huge soundstage make them fantastic for the folk and symphonic metal listening that I do so love and they are also fantastic for immersive sound and fps play while gaming.

Residing here on the Skull Mood lamp I bought purely to put them on display while not in use :D

This however is where they are most often.

You would have to be blind not to notice but my speaker cables are braided, this was done to make them more manageable, the 3 and 6m lengths where far to great. They now are only 1 and 2m each and so much easier to manage with no sacrifice to sound quality and aural pleasure.

My canalphones the AF56m headset from Audiofly is by far the most used piece of equipment I have seeing often 8 hours a day 5 days a week of use while I work. They were a fantastic investment and a very worthy successor to the Sennhiser CX-300IIs that I had been using for 7 years because I just hadn't found anything else that I had agreed with.

Then came these.

beautiful and unique with there 13mm drivers and comfortable design that make it sit weightlessly in the ear. With rich smooth and loud bass that is never overpowering and soaring mids and highs, these just transport me to other places for hours at a time. Unfortunately their high sensitivity and low impedance has me cursing other pieces of my gear as they bring up all flaws ahaha

At the moment I am using them with a oval silicon tip that I nicked from a Samsung Galaxy S2 4G. It is just perfect for my ear and I have been meaning to contact Samsung and see if I can get a handful more.



In terms of DACs at the moment I have my Audioengine D1 USB DAC AMP and it is always in use with my Q701s but I have also not that long ago acquired a positively minuscule UD100 USB DAC and they both blow me away with their performance for price. The UD100 will end up serving duty with my android PMP.

The UD100

Look at it so bloody small and my D1 in the background, this tiny little UD100 scares me and I am looking forward to what Stoner Audio does in the future and eagerly await the desktop DAC AMP that is currently under design and testing and should see a release this year.



Last Christmas I also acquired a stereogram and am in the process of restoring it, however I am still trying to source an appropriate turntable to use with it.

Something old but definitely gold and I look forward to one day having this sit the lounge or study of my home.

Here is the small collection of CDs I have and listen to all the time, I think its about time I started designing a new rack for them, my mags and DVDs and decks of cards can also be seen. Ignore the POS sub haha.

More to come later, with a list of my many Hi-Fi/Mid-Fi CD Player, Tuners, Amps, Cassette Decks, Graphic Equalizers and Speakers.

I have a media credenza like that. I took out all the components and put shelves in it.

Now, more than a year later, I'm thinking I might want to get a new tube amp and build some speakers into it again, and then possibly make a computer rack in it as well. It could turn our really nice.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by d_stilgar

I have a media credenza like that. I took out all the components and put shelves in it.

Now, more than a year later, I'm thinking I might want to get a new tube amp and build some speakers into it again, and then possibly make a computer rack in it as well. It could turn our really nice.

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Mine will aim to stay largely original granted the TT is going to get a massive upgrade. However the full range speakers and tube amp are in great nick, some pots will need liberal deoxit but all in all for its batterd appearance it still sounds nice and warm. As it has been used more in its life as a table than a console.

Well I got the unit yesterday and the Garrard TT which is in fairly good nick. Slipping a bit but nothing that isn't easily fixable. There is a bunch of tubes that I can store which will work with my console not to mention the fact they're from the same company and runs that aren't too far apart. There is a hinge also to replace the butchered one and it looks like things will turn out great.

I stripped the cabinet fully yesterday pulling the last bits out. Will be vaccum and wash it today to get 50 years of dust out of some spots. Then I'll be restoring the finish and my goal is to look as good or better than some internal pieces. A comparison of the two top pieces one of them upside down.

It looks so naked, unfortunately haven't been able to start restoring it yet as its too bloody hot and sunny, will hopefully start on it come dusk but I don't think that is too likely. So instead I started working on measuring out the new holes to mount the Garrard turntable.

As it was prior

Now with new holes marked and cut

A bit messy but with it cleaned up and the new TT in place.

And here is a shot of the old TT again.

The old TT is a BSR Monarch UA15 branded Diamond Fi (or rather Diam-Fi-nd) and the new Garrard AT6 is a minor upgrade, major if you consider the fact it hasn't spat out parts haha.

Well after doing a bit of testing last night I have now decided that the best finish will be getting back to bare wood.

On the back their was some scrapes. And the wood that was there came up such a rich and lovely golden I am now going to begin the long arduous task of strippibg the varnish and sanding the wood veneer. Wish me luck haha

Good luck! I sanded and restained mine, and I don't love the result. It's just difficult to do and I have limited tools to do that sort of thing. I don't hate it, but wasn't in love either.

Can't wait to see more.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by d_stilgar

Good luck! I sanded and restained mine, and I don't love the result. It's just difficult to do and I have limited tools to do that sort of thing. I don't hate it, but wasn't in love either.

Can't wait to see more.

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I am not staining mine, staining is a real bitch of a thing. I am just polishing/restoring, waxing and polishing again all to just bring out the natural colour which is that insane gold.

Got plenty of tools but this is primarily a by hand job. Will need some more stipppers before I continue so its shopping tonight and then beginning the removal of the ages old varnish.