We may be facing a moderate global recession by the end of the year.
Maybe the best approach is to encourage others to buy the sort of HiFi stuff you want.
Hit them up at a reduced price once they get desperate for cash.
Maybe the best approach is to encourage others to buy the sort of HiFi stuff you want.
Hit them up at a reduced price once they get desperate for cash.
Laudable in a perfect world...
I'll happily buy something on credit and pay the financing though 🙂 Just easier to manage for me.
I enjoy the challenge of getting the most sound for as little money as possible. That probably comes from being into hifi well before I was a teenager and having to save up for years to buy gear. I buy stuff from Kleinanzeigen, the local Craigslist variant, and try to keep my spending in the double digits. The only exception are the needles on my record players. I grew up in the digital age, had my Sony Discman when I was six and can't enjoy anything less than a line contact or shibata. I tried all lesser types for years before I finally bit the bullet, no nude elliptical could ever make me happy.
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its odd that NO ONE claims to have ever borrowed money for hi fi... which logically and statistically, is BS.
Do most folks have the S.O looking over their shoulder, or are are their just tonnes of people who are minted? I'd bet former over latter hahahahahha 100%
Do most folks have the S.O looking over their shoulder, or are are their just tonnes of people who are minted? I'd bet former over latter hahahahahha 100%
Could just as well be due to the fact that this is a self selecting sample, or that we as DIYers are not like most people when it comes to spending money we don't have.
As a DIY'er the time window of getting your components etc is quite long, so you don't have to spend a lot of money at once.
Is this a safe confessional thread? I'll bite. One time back in 08 when I had placed a successful wanted ad for my incredible ESL hybrids, on pickup evening, I needed to exceed our ATM limit and asked a friend to cover some of it until the next day. Technically that qualifies as a loan? I'm also a really crummy DIYer lately....
Crummy DIYer, I hear ya. My DIYing is mostly limited to software lately. My stereo is based around a PC so I have things to fiddle with without making a mess or needing tools. After becoming a dad, moving, then buying a house, renovating and moving again my soldering iron is still packed up in a box. I have a speaker build on hold, amps to build and no workshop setup worth mentioning. I'll get around to it, eventually. At least I don't have to borrow money for my hobby, just finishing what I started should keep me busy for quite a while.
What ESL hybrids did you go for? Martin Logan? I might end up in the same situation like you described, exceeding the ATM limit to pick up a used set...
What ESL hybrids did you go for? Martin Logan? I might end up in the same situation like you described, exceeding the ATM limit to pick up a used set...
Nowadays I have ML Ascent'i' so I don't need these which seem in nice shape. But one of you locals should go down to Santa Cruz and check these out! Borrow money if you have to...
https://sfbay.craigslist.org/scz/ele/d/santa-cruz-martin-logan-accent/7586007899.html
https://sfbay.craigslist.org/scz/ele/d/santa-cruz-martin-logan-accent/7586007899.html
Should be perfect when retrofit wíth an active servo feedback system on the low frequency driver... Retirement plans.
I'm quite partial to servo bass. I've got a pair of old Philips 22AH587, brought back to spec by @chriscam and tweaked to an f -3dB of 32Hz. In room response has an f -3dB of 28Hz, with an impluse response as dry as I've ever heard (apart from the new servo stuff chris has cooking in his lab). Going to an ESL would be a significant upgrade while going to a non-servo bass would be a downgrade just as big. I'd like to have my cake while I eat it, therefore it goes back to my "retiremennt plans" pile. Even if I could afford the hardware, not having the time to do anything with it would give me the blues.
It's been a while, but I must have borrowed money from a parent a few times to buy audio gear at rummage sales. I probably shouldn't have torn that Heath W5M apart to get parts for a ham radio transmitter.
"Don't let perfect be the enemy of the good." And your hearing is not getting any better. The top end is 'where it's at.'
How high can your servo bass go?
Ascent'i' woofer crosses to ESL at 280Hz, and I'm quite partial to keeping mine a 2-way speaker. Besides when the top end resolves the bass harmonics so far up, your brain puts the 'total bass sound' back together! And the Vifa aluminum cone woofer in the large strong sealed box is quite 'hydraulic' once driven directly by the amp. So you want me to go down and pick those up for you, or what?
I borrowed some money to buy my first cassette deck back in the early 70s. Paid it back and got many years of good use out of the thing. No regerts.
In 1978 I borrowed $5 from my sister to buy the Dynaco SCA-80Q. It was $133 and i had only $128. She told me I was stupid because it was a kit. Should have listened to her then I would have at least one flat surface in the basement without an amp sitting on it. Well the table saw is empty.
I like the best bang for my buck, so I keep things on the inexpensive side. I save for what I want and make sure I don't impulsively buy something. Plus, my 64 year old ears don't need the perfection others might require. My main system is my PC, a Fiio DAC/BT receiver, A hifi mediy amp, a Marantz amp I use as a preamp, and a pair of DIY Sunflower Redux speakers. I got all the drivers used. It took me a while to put together, but I'm very satisfied with it. I have a lot of vintage receivers if I want to change things out, but I'm thinking of selling some so I can have the cash to buy/build more listening equipment. I like to keep it simple, plus a lot of the fancy stuff is above my level of comprehension.
@chriscam has an 8 inch woofer that has the feedback loop running up to 330Hz IIRC.
Yeah that's the trick Bose bluetooth speakers use to an extreme. Just generate harmonics without the fundemental. Doesn't really work for me.
A sealed enclosure goes a long way. The Vifa would probably only need an accelerometer and an amp upgrade to go servo.
The speakers you mentioned are a bit far away for me,there's lots and lots of water in between us. Also I'd have to undo my vote of not borrowing money for hifi in this thread's poll 🙂