SOYS: State Of Your System

Really pleased to see the move’s worked out so well for you Al :+1:

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Since upgrading my digital setup this year I listen to way more digital than vinyl…

(despite vinyl still sounding quite a bit better, digital is so good it’s no chore and saves the cart for those special occasions)

I missed it Phil, what have you done with your vinyl setup?

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Changed cartridge to AN IO Gold and added a Slagle Silver SUT.

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Thanks Paul :smiling_face_with_three_hearts:

Just a bit more of info on the Acoustic Signature MCX-1 cart I’m using as I’ve had a decent listen to it now.

I snagged it from Audio Emotion for £258 as it was ex-demo - it retails for £530 and even at that price it’s an absolute steal.

Even on my very modest Reloop Turn 5 it is ludicrously good. It has a beautifully balanced sound top to bottom and tracks superbly. The other thing I noticed immediately was it’s amazingly low noise floor which has been very noticable on albums that I’ve used extensively for DJing and which I’ve thought needed replaced.

I know their carts are tweaked Ortofons but they obviously sprinkle some magic fairy dust on them as I have also have their version of the 2M Black and it’s a banger as well.

I would hazard a guess if your stuck the MCX-1 on your Xtension 10 it would be quite something.

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:+1: Ive always believed in transducers first. Cart and speakers are the most important elements of a vinyl rig.

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No, this is utter junk.

A half way decent NAS probably shouldn’t be costing less than £250, and units in the £400-500 are more likely.

Less than that and you’ll be on dodgy generics, with unsupported operating systems, no security updates, and seriously under powered processing.

I’d stick to known brands like Qnap and synology if I were you.

https://amzn.eu/d/03f8f48R

I’d suggest something more like the above.

As ever in life, it something looks cheap and too good to be true, there’s usually a reason for that!

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Currently I’m doing a lot more streaming from Qobuz rather than my local library (that has a lot of stuff that is NAASS - Not Available on Any Streaming Service).

This is because Sonos have shagged their app so badly that if I want to listen to an artist past A or B then I have to scroll for 10 minutes.

My listening is 90% vinyl, 9% streaming internet radio & 1% CD

No seasonal differences really other than if it’s warm enough and early enough I might open the back doors.

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My local dealer told me several of his biggest customers are just collectors and have no intention of playing the LPs, some don’t even have record players.

…Getting more like that by the week: speculators, fans, completists - Can’t say I can relate but if it keeps the shops open and people derive some pleasure from ownership or make a few quid good luck I guess?

Was having a chat about the collecting side of records last week.
I don’t remember it being a thing in the 70s where people wouldn’t break the seal or never play the record. He said it was a thing. It wasn’t exactly a scientific thing,just two people’s experience

You know you are a collector when you buy something you don’t like for the sake of completism. I have loads of Captain Beefheart but I don’t have Bluejeans and Moonbeams, for retention of sanity reasons.

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This makes me sad inside.

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Interesting, the specs of the MCX-1 don’t really coincide with any of Ortofon’s range, suggesting they really do have them made to their own specs. I’d guess they’re based on the Quintet range - a range that above all of Ortofon’s others I rate for value-for-money: the original Quintet Black was a Cadenza Black in a plastic body and was ludicrously good for the then £500 it cost - I’ll always regret not buying half a dozen and setting them aside to see my stylus needs out! They tweaked the spec of the Q Black down after a couple of years, sadly, but the rest of the range stayed closer to their Cadenza equivalents, and I do at least still have a Q Bronze as back-up.

Now putting those internals into a well-engineered alloy headshell potentially gives you back the increment that might be argued to be missing between Quintet and Cadenza, so yeah - I can easily believe it’s as good as you say.

Since my Cadenza is coming up to the age and mileage that a rebuild’s required, I may have to investigate something new like this - reignite an interest in vinyl that’s lagging lately…

Me too, but Rupes makes a good point - these loons do help pay to keep the industry alive to the benefit of all of us :+1:

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Or does it simply help keep pushing the prices up and up? :thinking:

Aye, what do they do with them? Refile their records obsessively according to differing criteria? “I have refiled all my records according to the sleeve note writer.”

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Also a good point. Plus, it’s helping to fuel the counterfeit industry - really good article this:

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Indeed, it was the subject of its own thread a few weeks ago!

Has the Voyd gone :scream: