Any audiophiles out there?
 

I’ve got too many expensive hobbies. Porsches are one and home audio is another. Maybe I’m not alone.

I have for sale a pair of Cary Audio SA-500.1 amps. They have been updated and checked out by Cary Audio and are sitting, unused, waiting for a new owner. They go for $10K new. I’ll sell them for $4500 net to me. Or, if you have some choice parts to trade, let’s talk. Thanks.

Steve

You're a real audiophile...........dang! Nice stuff.

Try US Audio Mart or Audiogon

I'll trade you for a rebuilt Ampex ATR 102. 1/2" 2 track head with an extra 1/4" half track head stack assembly.

I get US Audio Mart in my email frequently.
Bought my second Carver Sunfire Load Invariant amp through them.
Tons of high end goodies.
.
http://www.usaudiomart.com/

I have a Luxman receiver, a record player, and a pair of Altec A7's in my garage that don't get enough play time.

Alas I have no room for any real HIFI, have to fight with my wife just to keep my mid-range home theater system going.

It is like Smart Phones or Golf clubs you will never catch up to the latest and greatest. It is a fools errand to try, which is checking account depleting. Best just to pick a spot and say this is good enough to play my 6 Donnie and Marie albums on.

Oh? What condition? Want to sell? Got pics?
Just thinking...that's all.

Bingo!

Thanks for the suggestions folks. I’m really looking to sell them but if I can’t, Porsche parts is what I’d trade for.

Steve

Once you hear quick power and quick reproduction units that can keep up with transients, then that might be a in good "spot".
I like clarity and accuracy that's above and beyond something that sounds like ice bouncing in a hot skillet.
This system I have now will reproduce the sound of saliva on the lips of an acapella singer.
Listening to a string instrument, I can hear and feel the timbre of the wood box.
I'm happy. SmileWavy

I ordered a pair of $40 earbud type headphones. I received a different pair than the ones I ordered. Turns out the set a got are $400. I decided to keep them ( wouldn’t you ) they sound fantastic. Now I’m spoiled.

I have a MAC 1900 receiver mated to a Thorens TD115 turntable. I had then since the late 70's. They still stand up -

Steve, what's your opinion on the quality of high end audio today vs. say 10 or even 20 years ago, which is odd to say, the 90s. What would one be looking for on Craig's List to put together an older high end system for pennies on today's dollar?

I have a Hafler power amp, Rotel preamp and Rotel tuner and a pair of midrange B&W speakers. Very happy with all of it for well under $1K but I always wonder what I should swap out to get to the next level.

GLWS Slanski62.

As far as going down the rabbit hole of home audio, as long as you're happy with your setup why change it?

Am I an audiophile if I purchased a headphone hybrid amp PC board that doubles as a coaster (if you choose not to build it)?

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...82a033a8ee.jpg

At Porsche Parade, KEF is a vendor and sponsor. They set up a room for sound demo, and free beer. It does sound great, but rather pricy.

You don't need the latest and greatest. My old Mcintosh works just fine.

Would love to have some Wilsons though.....

Playing my stereo was my main recreation for decades.

Now exercising is, and when I sit around it's to smoke a cigar.

About once every two months I really get into playing music, but it's not the same with my tube amps in need of repair. Solid state only gets me to about second base, no home-run.

Nice amps, I've always thought that the same ears that produced good tube gear also produced some forgiving and musical solid state gear.

I've been an audio enthusiast / hifi guy for over 2/3rds of my life. The term audiophile has taken a bit of a sour connotation in the last several years, so its not my favorite term.

Anyways, depending on your definition of high end: used/Heavily depreciated is the only sensible way to buy. Class AB amps, turntables, preamps, and to a large degree speakers havent improved much in the last few decades. Speakers probably have at the very high end due to improvement in computer modeling and test equipment. Also DSP controlled active speakers are really the state of the art but arnt heavily adopted for home use.

I have 15 year old dynaudio confidence speakers, 22 year old audio research tube preamp, a new bryston amp but it replaced a 12 year old one only to get more power, etc. I bought all this stuff at less than half of MSRP which puts you closer to 1/4 of new MSRP for comparable items since prices inflation. This stuff is still pretty close to state of the art.

One caveat with 20+ year old components is that you are at the point where Caps and sometimes potentiometers can fail and/or get noisy. In most cases these items with go 30+ years, but its not uncommon to have to recap power amps in this range. This can be expensive for big daddy hi current biased amps. I also advocate for new or at least more modern digital equipment.

Really the best bang for buck would be to leave your components alone (if functioning correctly and of sufficient power) and buy the best/baddest/your most preferred speakers from the discussed era.

Speakers, speaker placement, room acoustics and optimization are by far and away the most important elements.

Love the Carys and have owned their gear over the years. Not sure if still the case, but Cary Audio used to be just down the street in Cary NC…a small community/township, outside of Raleigh.
Now in recovery, as a former “audiophile”, I unfortunately fell down that slippery slope starting from the summit! If it was “high-end” I’ve likely owned it. Used to buy, sell, and trade gear via Audiogon and with other, local audiophiles. I’ve thinned the heard and have since settled on two systems that have always served me well…the stuff I always seemed to keep as my “reference”: one all tube, the other all solid state. It’s fun to mix and match components. I don’t spend nearly as much time with it as I used to. But it is still fun to fire this stuff up, most people are blown away by the music a good two-channel system can produce. At some point I’m likely to thin this even further with an integrated amp from Jeff Rowland and call it done.

Tubes
Amp: Conrad-Johnson Premier 11A stereo amp. I roll between KT88, 6550C, and KT90 output tubes
Preamp: Conrad-Johnson PV10AL with Conrad phono stage

Solid State
Amps: Jeff Rowland Design Group Model 6 mono-blocks
Preamp: Jeff Rowland Design Group Synergy IIi (currently at the factory having a refresh)
Preamp: Muse Model 3 with external power supply (this is a backup that I keep)

CD: Electrocompaniet EMC1 (out of commission, I think it got damaged during my last move. This will eventually go back to the factory for repair and a refresh.)

Vinyl: Technics SL1210 MK2 that I’ve had since the early 90s. A few years ago, I sold my beloved SOTA Cosmos to fund some other hobbies, likely Porsche related. The Technics is far from an audiophile deck, but I’ve had it since new and have it well setup. I love its beautiful bullet proof design…a real workhorse. I had two, one got stolen, so this one I’ve always just kept.

Speakers: Harbeth 7ES3

Cables: a whole other story