wolster Posted July 7, 2021 Posted July 7, 2021 I did something similar to @Snoopy8 a few months ago, selling my speakers and all components in favour of the KEF LS50 Wireless II. Absolutely no regrets. The sound is brilliant, the proceeds from the sale of the components went close to the cost of the KEFs and we have an uncluttered system that includes HDMI to the TV. 10
Ray H Posted July 7, 2021 Posted July 7, 2021 Absolutely agree with most of the posts here. There is nothing more sobering (especially the first) than having a child to absolutely reassess what’s I’mportant in your life. I have been lucky enough to have two little girls in the last 5 years, and although Hifi will always be important, compared to kids it’s not…. When the girls came I basically didn’t listen apart from on cheap headphones with my iPhone at night. The music still gave me joy. I even went to the point of getting an expensive headphone rig, pretty much never used it. Then one day when my first daughter was around two, I was listening to music on my hi fi and my little daughter came in and started dancing for the first time… Priceless memories. Congrats on the baby. 6
Steve M Posted July 7, 2021 Posted July 7, 2021 On 06/07/2021 at 9:09 AM, TwentyFive22 said: Fortunately my little boy (now 21 months) is pretty good at understanding what he's not to touch. No issues yet. Second one due in September though... let's see what happens Chris Same for me Chris, I had no issues controlling the kids around the audio system …they were good and very easy to manage (smart) in this regard. My point was that the audio system didn’t take take precedence, I completely (and naturally) forgot about it, well not really as I still enjoyed listening to music at the time …just that the kids were more fun, to be honest. Steve. 1
Jehuty Posted July 7, 2021 Posted July 7, 2021 18 month old daughter here, love her to bits. No serious system running now, do I miss it? Sure I do. Enjoying my daughter growing up while waiting patiently to introduce her to the wonderful world of valves. Soon enough, I'll play Baa Baa Black Sheep with my valve amps and Goodmans single driver 3 2
danielww Posted July 7, 2021 Posted July 7, 2021 This thread brings back many memories from some 30 + years ago. Rocking an "upset "baby at two in the morning to the Fureys or whatever cassette was in reach at the time...Doubt if I could do it now!! My set up then was very modest but well loved and gave great satisfaction. Aahh, those were the days. Amazing how good a 12watt RMS Kenwood amp could sound in those days.....danielww 1
andyr Posted July 7, 2021 Posted July 7, 2021 1 hour ago, Jehuty said: 18 month old daughter here, love her to bits. No serious system running now, do I miss it? Sure I do. Enjoying my daughter growing up while waiting patiently to introduce her to the wonderful world of valves. Soon enough, I'll play Baa Baa Black Sheep with my valve amps and Goodmans single driver "The Snowman" is also a great tune for littlies. Andy 2
genkifd Posted July 7, 2021 Posted July 7, 2021 my son once in a while would come into the listening room and ask what song is this and sits on my lap listening to one or two songs. he loves Michael Jackson Thriller but scared of the cover art lol. 1 1
:) Go Away (: Posted July 7, 2021 Posted July 7, 2021 On 06/07/2021 at 10:19 AM, Snoopy8 said: A good excuse blaming the genes ! I suspect that, by nature, people who are satisfied with their system post less. Look at how few threads there are, like this one. The less satisfied are chasing the next big thing, and tend to be very active here and tend to dominate the discussion. That is the nature of the beast called Hifi! I agree Snoopy. I was very active few months back on this forum and other AV Forums, but ever since I got my HT setup done and satisfied with it, I am lot less active. There are number of days that I do not even look at these forums. Previously I would be watching the classified every day like a vulture. These days, I am quite happy with my simpler less expensive setup and more importantly satisfied. 3
Dave's Addiction Posted July 9, 2021 Posted July 9, 2021 While not the same situation I've also found less can be more. My more expensive system is where we watch movies in a granny flat out the back. I listen to most of my music around the house on some little Sonos Play 1s while I'm doing other things. Its really enjoyable and nice not to be in critical listening mode! 2
Noypi888 Posted July 10, 2021 Posted July 10, 2021 The Work from Home situation has given me more reason and motivation to continue setting up a second simpler system. I ended up bringing my un-used gear to the living area where i had setup my temporary (who knows ! ) work desk , this is so i can listen to music while working and when there are no meetings... The 2nd system is consist of my old gears which are not being used in the music room... The main system is getting less and less use lately ...... And my simple setup , 2nd system, brings me more enjoyment than ever Just listening to spotify throughout much of the day ..... Main system 2nd system Cheers 1
MattyW Posted July 10, 2021 Posted July 10, 2021 (edited) On 7/5/2021 at 11:35 PM, Antipodean Brad said: I've not had the same experience, but having a child seems to affect a lot of guys - they simplify, perhaps even "downgrade". And then they find their joy in the family and listening to music, rather than in the "stuff" they have. Aye, I got rid of all my vinyl playback gear and LP's.... Not even for pennies on the dollar really. Likewise I've sold off all but 2x main systems and just kept Google Nest Hubs in various rooms around the house. That said everything that I got back from selling gear went back into my digital chain, as well as linear power supplies for media PC's and servers, audio grade network switches etc. Likewise we upgraded to a new solar system this week which seems to have dropped the noise floor even lower so that's interesting. Effectively my digital chain has more to go wrong now but sounds better than ever. My entire system has been built around exceptional performance at low volume and even though it can play loud, it would never attract the police I'm currently trying to figure out another hobby to occupy my mind as I can't improve things further and I love researching and tinkering with things. Edited July 10, 2021 by MattyW 3
POV Posted July 11, 2021 Posted July 11, 2021 Absolutely endorse this! I sold both my main and second systems in the UK before I moved back to Au and since returning have set-up a very simple system running a pair of Kef R3s off a NAD M10. I don't worry about anything except sitting down and enjoying the sound. Dirac is a game changer and between Roon and Bluos all our music is available at our fingertips with such ease. I'm never going back to bespoke hifi gear, fancy cables, room treatments, obsessing over this and that, or worrying about missing out. It's just about the tunes these days at our place. 1 1
brumby Posted July 11, 2021 Posted July 11, 2021 On 7/7/2021 at 3:11 PM, wolster said: I did something similar to @Snoopy8 a few months ago, selling my speakers and all components in favour of the KEF LS50 Wireless II. Absolutely no regrets. The sound is brilliant, the proceeds from the sale of the components went close to the cost of the KEFs and we have an uncluttered system that includes HDMI to the TV. That's exactly what we've just done. The only difference is that we went for the Buchardt A500s instead of the Kefs. And they are black instead of white. And yes, the sell off of our old gear came pretty close to paying for our new system. 2
MattyW Posted July 11, 2021 Posted July 11, 2021 1 hour ago, brumby said: That's exactly what we've just done. The only difference is that we went for the Buchardt A500s instead of the Kefs. And they are black instead of white. And yes, the sell off of our old gear came pretty close to paying for our new system. A mate of mine runs some Buchardt speakers. I was rather impressed by them.
Dingbat Posted July 18, 2021 Posted July 18, 2021 I can totally understand the sentiments in this thread, and there's absolutely nothing wrong with enjoying a relatively cheap and modest system. I've seen various other posts in other forums all over the Internet where other people with such systems are having a good time. Often, they've downsized for whatever reason from expensive systems. My main HiFi has PMC Twenty5.26 speakers and other components which don't disgrace it, so obviously isn't cheap. I do have a second system based on KEF XQ1 bookshelf speakers and lower end Marantz components which is a hell of a lot cheaper and much more modest, but it's been enjoyable in its own right. I used it for music in the home office when working in the evening years ago, but right now am using it for gaming, where it's pretty spectacular.
captainbooyah Posted July 20, 2021 Posted July 20, 2021 Agreed, over the past 12 months or so I have put together a modest second system consisting of mostly vintage Technics components (always been a fan) and some old speakers I had gathering dust. It consists of a Technics SU-X950 integrated amp, Technics SL-P111 CD player, Technics M6 Cassette Deck (yeah, I know), a Dual CS 505 TT and a set of Mission M71I's bookshelf's, and I find myself listening to this as much, if not more lately, than my main system. The sound quality doesn't come close to my main system of course, but music, for me, is not about what I paid for something, or specs and numbers, It's about how you feel when you play something that moves you in a certain way, and this system does that. Can't really explain it, but I have gone full circle in a lot of ways. 3
PauliD Posted July 20, 2021 Posted July 20, 2021 I invested in my work from home setup over a year a go with Kef LSX with Kef desktop stands in near field and a JL Dominion d108 sub (purchased from the classifieds) and so happy I did. Makes the work day go faster when there is great music to work too. I have just added a USB to optical converter to get some higher res Apple Music into them, though being completely honest Spotify over blue tooth sounded really nice already. This coaxial drivers just deliver the subtle detail and sound stage! A couple power points and you're done, this is definitely my simplest setup, the lounge room on the other hand...! I think it's all about well matched components. The less of them or the more made by the same company and range the better off you'll be.
TonyW Posted July 21, 2021 Posted July 21, 2021 When the kids came along I didn’t have much of a system, some nice inexpensive Krix speakers, NAD amp, CD player and a big mortgage! I decided I loved the audio journey and continued it with headphones for many years… kids could sleep, I got decent sound upgrades at affordable prices and great resolution and detail in my music, which I love. Trouble is now the mortgage has gone with retirement and I still want to continue that journey… and I’ve discovered how good speakers are! Let’s just say the family now put up with my “noise”. it’s a great hobby t 1
POV Posted July 21, 2021 Posted July 21, 2021 19 hours ago, PauliD said: I invested in my work from home setup over a year a go with Kef LSX with Kef desktop stands in near field and a JL Dominion d108 sub (purchased from the classifieds) and so happy I did. Makes the work day go faster when there is great music to work too. I have just added a USB to optical converter to get some higher res Apple Music into them, though being completely honest Spotify over blue tooth sounded really nice already. This coaxial drivers just deliver the subtle detail and sound stage! A couple power points and you're done, this is definitely my simplest setup, the lounge room on the other hand...! I think it's all about well matched components. The less of them or the more made by the same company and range the better off you'll be. Yep I use a pair of LSX in a nearfield desktop setup with Kube8b sub in my office and it is seriously good in this setting. I keep hearing folks say that the LSX system is underwhelming but I wonder if they are trying to use a very small speaker in a big room. When you bring them nearfield you get a real 3d soundstage with focussed imaging. But more important than that is that they are just fun to listen to in this environment. 2
PauliD Posted July 21, 2021 Posted July 21, 2021 1 hour ago, POV said: Yep I use a pair of LSX in a nearfield desktop setup with Kube8b sub in my office and it is seriously good in this setting. I keep hearing folks say that the LSX system is underwhelming but I wonder if they are trying to use a very small speaker in a big room. When you bring them nearfield you get a real 3d soundstage with focussed imaging. But more important than that is that they are just fun to listen to in this environment. This man gets it! BTW I like your profile pic 1
Formula409 Posted July 21, 2021 Author Posted July 21, 2021 21 hours ago, POV said: Yep I use a pair of LSX in a nearfield desktop setup with Kube8b sub in my office and it is seriously good in this setting. I keep hearing folks say that the LSX system is underwhelming but I wonder if they are trying to use a very small speaker in a big room. When you bring them nearfield you get a real 3d soundstage with focussed imaging. But more important than that is that they are just fun to listen to in this environment. Yeah the KEF LSX are great in nearfield setups. I have a pair in my home office / study about to go up for sale... with baby 2 on the way the room adjacent will now be occupied - so it will be headphone listening only in there from now on.
TheBlackDisc Posted July 21, 2021 Posted July 21, 2021 31 minutes ago, TwentyFive22 said: Yeah the KEF LSX are great in nearfield setups. I have a pair in my home office / study about to go up for sale... with baby 2 on the way the room adjacent will now be occupied - so it will be headphone listening only in there from now on. https://www.adoptchange.org.au/permanency-adoption-info/
amdan Posted August 13, 2021 Posted August 13, 2021 On 06/07/2021 at 8:02 AM, RussB said: Sometimes a more expensive system brings much higher expectations of sound quality that can be hard to meet or exceed. A more modest system can be more satisfying in this sense even though sound quality is lower. So true. Also, they tend to show their flaws a lot more than the average system. Simply because their good attributes present a huge contrast.
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