Haha! Hi Kris, thanks for dropping by. Glad to hear you're interested in the headphone system. It's a bit of a niche thing! :-) Cheers. Mark.

Hi Paul. The CJ is lovely (to look at and to listen to!), though I do get a bit fed up with tubes now & again. Gone are the days of sensibly-priced NOS tubes, and there are very few new production tubes that are worth the time. Tubes do of course provide a flavour that is all but impossible to find in solid state gear. Having said that, the First Watt F7 comes very very close...enough that I could live with it as my main amp I think. The Freya is indeed quite noisy in the tube stage, JFET is ok, but I don't think it's worth buying Freya unless you like it's particular tube flavour as via JFET and passive it's merely "ok". It's tube stage injects an artificial bloom that is quite pleasing though...despite my inner audiophile telling me it's distortion and shouldn't be tolerated :-). If you don't need balanced IO or any gain, you may want to consider their Saga pre-amp instead. It is reputedly better sounding and more neutral than the Freya (I can totally believe this), despite being cheaper. One thing's for sure, Schiit are doing a great job of making this kind of gear affordable. I also demo'd their Vidar power amp at home and it was quite good, with especially impressive bass control and depth. Just don't mono-block it into 4ohms...it really doesn't like it! I agree, it would be great to see a tubed version of the Mani from them. I'm surprised they haven't done one yet actually. Cheers! Mark.

Thank you! :-)

Yay, someone is as nerdy as me! :-) Thanks Jeff...your recent video prompted me to get on and sort this one. Tubes can be a pain in the backside tbh, but when they work they really have a quality that I've never found in solid state gear....although, the F7 amp I also show in this video is the closest I've heard to a tube power amp. Cheers mate. Mark.

"and a large collection of vinyl that we enjoyed listening to, usually with friends who also shared our passion". That's precisely what I miss today, because unlike Headphone lovers, a Music System put together with lots of love, effort and dedication can Only be really truly enjoyed with friendly souls sharing our passion.

@@athathsonty2925 Headphones are fantastic when you are in bed at night or just want a bit of solidary music.

I Totally Agree. For reasons stated by you, I do have quite a few decent Headphones, OPPO PM-1, Beyerdynamic DT 880 Pro, AKG K712 Pro, Grado ... But nothing is quite as thrilling as listening to Music with friendly souls with a decent Music System, day or night. Your Take ?

@@bighands69 Yes, I agree. I actually listen to my choice of music on my noise cancelling headphones (Sony WH-1000XM3) while my wife watches her television programs. However, just two nights ago we enjoyed a dinner with old friends (since the early 70's). We managed to listen to plenty of great music as well as enjoying the dinner and the good company.

Hi Dean mate. Glad you weren't put off by the geekiness! Just wait for my headphone rig video, haha that'll have you rolling your eyes at me :-). Tubes are great and a pain in the arse at the same time. They do often have that special something that you just can't find in solid state gear (although for me the First Watt F7 gets very close!). Take care mate. Cheers. Mark.

Cheers Steve :-)

That's great! Did your Mum ever bring her work home? :-)

HaHa, no she was a production line worker, I believe she was handling some of the point to point wiring. It took a few decades to really assemble my McIntosh system. I like the way you blended the best from the past, with the new gear that is now on the market. You have a serious system, here and you should be proud of your design and your selection. My fellow Audiophile buddies love seeing the next generation coming up with their approach to high end audio. Conrad Johnson is great gear, and your vinyl setup is perfect. Great job on the video production and your approach to showing the VC your system. I have a few photos on Instagram, my handle is Alpinenordicsurfer.

@@rwoodford9812 Thanks for the kind words! Your McIntosh system must be wonderful...I do have a soft spot for their gear. I checked out your Instagram. It seems we also have something else in common...we're both into endurance cycling :-)

Thats pretty common with some of the Audiophiles that I am connected with. I raced bikes for 38 years and retired from racing when I was 60. I still ride a lot, but now just for the fun aspect of biking. I like the fact that you are aware of the musicality of tubes. They really give music a warm and airy sound.

@@rwoodford9812 38 years wow. I only started racing in my 40's...I wish I'd done so a lot earlier. Cheers!

Thanks! Lovely bloomin' system yourself too! Subbed right back :-)

Extremely delicious system he had put together :-D indeed !! Hope you are doing well in Canada too Buddy :-D!!! with your McIntoshes too!!

@Iris Zizka Hi Brother 🤗 enjoy your Harbeths!!! Thank you for your feedback. Hope you guys have a lovely Sunday. My wife and I are travelling to Japan this evening for a week with my kids. Let me know if there are any small hifi things you have in mind (my email is hivinyws@gmail.com)... cartridges/ mats/ jap cables/ jap tonearms...that are worth getting there. I can post them to you guys✌😄👍. You can look at my previous video of "prices revealed" on equipment (I filmed at Yodobashi Camera last year June 2017). Warmest Regards, to you Mark, Michael and Harbeth user Iris.

@direstraitsfan98 sorry Buddy I saw your previous cover photo of a Harbeth speaker😄

poetryonplastic 7

Thanks Edward, very kind words :-)

Lmao it's really not serious dude. Listen to your music how you want to.

All that stuff due of course also to money to pay would be not my choice. When I listen I close up my eyes :).

Because they listen music, not a sound

Hi Richard, good to hear from you. I also really enjoy room tours, and watching Jeff Kempin post his recently reminded me to do one of my own. Tubes can be a lot of bother to be honest, but they also have that unique flavour (aka distortion!) that is hard to get with solid state...although, I must say that the F7 amp I also show here gets very close to the sound of a really good tube amp to my ears. Great to hear you're using Roon...I'm a huge fan & became a lifetime subscriber a few months after they launched. I just hope they're able to get another (bigger) streaming service on board before Tidal kick the bucket. Perhaps I'm being pessimistic, but I can't see Tidal lasting for too much longer. All the best Richard. Cheers. Mark.

Hey matey, thanks :-) Very cool that you're a CI Audio fan!! I bought the CI Audio gear (I also have another of their DACs upstairs) from Dusty way back in the late 00's I'd say. Lovely little DAC this one, a little brighter than my absolute favourite DAC (that'll come in my headphone rig video), but a total "bargain" in audiophile terms imho. I've never met another CI Audio owner in the UK, they're an import-only thing, or certainly were back in the day. I don't know the history behind the name, so it'll be cool to hear about it. Obviously, I would highly recommend the TD125 over the LP12 :-) . Actually, they are compared a lot, with the general consensus I think being there's not a lot between them if the TD125 is set up right. In fairness, I've not personally played with the LP12, but I do know it's rather fussy and requires a lot of fiddling to keep it running well. These old Thorens tables just sit there and keep on trucking. I've also been into vintage amps in the past, so I'll be very interested to hear more about your system plans! Cheers mate. Mark.

Great system, Chris! Happy holidays :-)

haha sorry yes I get a bit nerdy with this stuff. Of course, it's still the MUSIC that matters! Honest :-)

Thanks for watching :-)

I bet the SIT3 is wonderful. I listened to a SIT2 at a mini-meet here a few months ago and it really impressed me. A very different flavour to the F7. Good luck with the TD135, I'm sure you'll love it!

Thanks mate! Happy new year :-)

Thanks! My wife doesn't like the finish on them so much, though I reckon they look yummy. As I mentioned in the video, they could use a bit more space to breathe but nevertheless I love them to bits (and was lucky enough to get them at a bargain price) :-)

@@BacktotheVinyl Hi, a very nice system indeed. Thank you for this tour. Can I ask you please, are the 6550c for the Conrad Johnson original or the new reissued one. I have the same amplifier and in need of new valves. thank you. Oren

@@orenben-dor4085 Hi, thanks! The 6550c are Tung Sols from the 1960s. The originals were Sventlana Winged C. I don't own this system any more, but if I still had it, I'd have gone for the new issue KT120 that I hear are a great match with this amp. Cheers!

Thanks! I was lucky to find the rack on ebay super cheap a few years ago. Doesn't hide the mess of wires very well though!

Thanks, and yeah oops haha :-) Merry Christmas!

You can do so much better than a 3020...

Thanks Alex! :-)

Hi Roland. I have not heard of Rowen, but I will check them out, thanks for the tip.

Haha I'll admit I have watched crusty old nerdy shaky-cam hifi videos that were uploaded ten years ago and have thousands of views :-)

most any kind a good tour video gets lot of hits

Haha hi matey, thanks! Who knows, maybe I'll be doing a video in my swim jammies next ;-). Hope all is good with you. Still freakin raining here!

No budgie smugglers please🤓

*shudder*!

Thanks! Yes I agree, ours is definitely an ageing hobby. High-end price inflation doesn't help though, imho. Sensible pricing like that of Schiit is definitely helping though, particularly in the headphone market.

Are you high?...young people buy more albums than ahem...us

@@joebloggs8636 Aye, how many young 'uns spent £300 on beats headphones in the last five years. People still care about music but if the average age of a first time buyer is in there mid 30's in the UK, whose going to spend a grand on a Hi-Fi rig for there poky bedroom instead of a mortgage deposit.

@@megasoctopuslegionofcake6248what I'm saying is ...young kids have been buying "albums"......the next step for them is buying the equipment as they ...ahem..age. I know lots of people in the buisness and thats the prevailing thought ...ad they start making money many will upgrade the "hobby"anyway its been proven that these same "kids" are not into Home owning....

@@joebloggs8636 I'm in agreement with you.

Unfortunately these speakers only have a single pair of taps, but yes I've heard bi-amping can have excellent results .

Thanks for the kind words, and the Telefunken tip :-)

Thanks Carlos, very kind of you to say so :-)

Back to the Vinyl you're very welcome:)

Thanks Chris! Headphone setup will be coming sometime in the next few weeks... I need to tidy my study a bit first :-). I for one would be interested in your room tour! Do you think you'll upload it? Cheers. Mark.

Mark, I will probably redo it. I tried watching it just now, and it was pretty bad. The video was very choppy and I sounded drunk, so I need to re-shoot it. There might be two parts, because I have one room with vinyl and its stereo and a separate listening area for CDs with another system. Sounds like a good project. - Chris

Wow sounds like you have a cool setup, Chris. Looking forward to seeing it!

The rare time that it's sunny here in the UK :-)

Good advice. Please discuss with my wife :-)

@@BacktotheVinyl L😂L

Back to the Vinyl 😂😂😂😂😂

Thanks Ron! The oc9ml is curious as it's a similar price point to my cart (and MC), yet presumably they are different enough to both be produced by AT. I do indeed find my AT cart tracks very well, and with a good pressing is super quiet. It's sounds very balanced to me, with no obvious issues across the frequency range. It's nice not to have cartridge upgraditis!

Yup, good spot! That's my wife's CD rack :-)

Thanks! I tidied the room up specially :-)

Good idea. I'll get that sorted.

:-D

Hi Matt. Thanks for dropping by. Cool to hear your Uncle had one of these. I agree the Nottingham Analogue decks are excellent. I considered a Spacedeck and would again in the future. Cheers. Mark.

Haha that's all that really matters :-D

@bcdhifi Not every amplifier will allow KT 120's to be drop in replacements for their 6550's, as the 88's are.

Thanks! I'm not really into cable-fu, so I'm just using some Talk Cable 3 these days IIRC.

Hello, fellow soundstage junkie and thanks for the sub!

Back to the Vinyl welcome🤘🤘🤘

They're Blake sleeves. Really nice & clear :-)