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Regards,
Sean Robert Abbey

Its kind of both.

the Aiwa pumps out the sound man.
It's great to hook up the DVD into it and blast it. too bad I don't have surround sound.

Oh, and a very tired old boombox.

quote:

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Originally posted by Justin Doring:
With a post on audiophile CDs and the recent release of the Goldsmith Suites and Themes CD on Telarc (an audiophile label) I was wondering what type of sound system you all have. Is it stereo or surround sound? What's your equipment? Is it set up thoughtfully or just placed anywhere? The answers should be quite diverse and interesting!

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A pair of very old (but decent sounding) speakers, brand unknown, connected to a 3 year old Sony receiver.

Also center/surround speakers and subwoofer, but those are just for movies.

I'd like to get a better system eventually.

(Of course, headphones are probably the most revealing "system", but I don't like them for various reasons).

[This message has been edited by El Cid (edited 07 June 2001).]

There's no way I can combat SCimmerian's tecnical terminology, but I do consider myself a Hi Fi-freak of sorts.

I have a monster Sansui amplifier - from the early 80's and clocking in at about 30 kilos (300 Watt, integrated) that I got from my father many years ago. A fantastic piece of equipment that is still running smoothly.

I have a Denon CD player from the early 90's (can't remember the type) that only recently has started to cause trouble by rejecting certain CD-R brands and not loading the CD etc. If I'm going to buy a new one (some day), I guess it'll be a DVD player (that of course takes CD audio as well).

I have a couple of floor-standing JBL speakers (can't remember the type) that can pack a punch. JBL comes from the same American company that distributes the award-winning Harman-Cardon amplifiers.

Actually, my sound system isn't far above that. I mentioned on a previous thread how I'd picked up an inexpensive ($25 -- less than I've paid for some CD's) expander/bass enhancer called a WOW Thing ( http://www.wowthing.com" TARGET=_blank>http://www.wowthing.com ) and was amazed at the dramatic difference it made in the sound of my bottom-of-the-line stereo. Reading the product description at their site at first makes it sound like this little blue box is intended solely for computer hookup. But read further and you'll find it's designed to work on any sound system. If you want to upgrade your crappy stereo in the cheapest possible way, definitely look into a WOW Thing box; it'll really bring your music alive...to the extent that music will sound flat without it.

Nice system SCimmerian! I'm glad to see there are some audiophiles on this board. As you say, proper speaker placement is the key when it comes to getting good sound. You can have the best gear in the world, but if the speakers aren't positioned properly, the sound will be lousy. These days you can get really good sound starting at about $1000, provided you're willing to sacrifice bass. That may seem like a lot of money, but if you keep your gear for ten years, that's only $100 a year! Heck, that's a midpriced dinner and a movie with refreshments for two these days!

My system? My speakers are NHT 3.3s, a Classe' CA-200 amp, a Classe' CP-50 preamp, a Sony SCD-1 SACD/CD player, Nordost Red Dawn speaker cables and balanced interconnects, and Synergistic Research A/C Master Coupler powercords. A PS Audio P600 power regenerator is in my future as well.

http://www.filmscoremonthly.com/board/wink.gif">

I'm forced to content myself with either headphones (currently, Sony's MDR-G52 model) in conjunction with a Sony Discman (D-E305), or my laserdisc player (Pioneer CLD-M301 - a 5-disc changer, which is indeed quite cool) with the built-in speakers on my Trinitron - hardly the zenith of sonic reproduction, but I can't yet afford anything better. http://www.filmscoremonthly.com/board/frown.gif"> I sometimes use the CD-ROM drive in my Mac with Altec-Lansing external speakers.

As soon as I can afford a real stereo (or video) system... ah, what a day that will be...

- JE

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“There it stuck fast, and would move no more...”

Anyway, here's what I've got:

• Arcam Diva AVR100 Receiver (DD/DTS)
  
• Arcam DV88 DVD/CD Player (plays DVDs, (S)VCDs, CDs, CDRs, mp3 CDs and HDCDs, plus there's an upgrade coming for DVD-A)
  
• Tannoy Mercury surround set (2 front, 2 rear, 1 center, 1 sub)

The most amazing difference to my old (rather) cheap Denon compact system is the depth, good recordings nearly sound as if there's an orchestra sitting in your room. http://www.filmscoremonthly.com/board/wink.gif">

The DVD-A upgrade is the reason why I'm hoping that those Goldsmith SACDs are being released in DVD-A format as well.

I listen to CDs in simple Stereo mode, because it sounds much clearer than Surround, even with Dolby Surround encoded DVDs. I suppose discrete encoding (DD, DTS, DVD-A) sounds much better, but the only surround music DVD I have is a sampler, so I haven't really compared yet.

NP: Looking for Richard (Howard Shore)

• Pioneer Receiver
  
• Technics CD player -- on its last legs
  
• Technics dual cassette deck (collecting dust)
  
• Technics record player (also collecting dust)
  
• $50 Radioshack speakers with scratchy sounding tweeters
  

I won a "WOW Thing box" and wasn't impressed with it. Perhaps it might work a bit better on my small computer speakers.
[This message has been edited by jonathan_little (edited 07 June 2001).]

quote:

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Originally posted by Timmer:
Hey Brian, glad to see I'm not the only one using coal, mine is steam driven using pistons, it's a bit noisy but once you crank the volume it's not too bad http://www.filmscoremonthly.com/board/wink.gif">

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Steam? Damn! Now I have to start shopping all over again. I absolutely INSIST on having the newest.