Hi,
I've been a lurker for about a year on this site, now a member. Computer techie by trade, but now (last 10 years) project management and operations in IT. I love quality and have a knack for finding it, even if I can't afford it. Recently got into the vintage game when I did a search for Mac computers (I love restoring these beasts) and found a McIntosh MAC1900. I had always wanted a McIntosh system, and after auditioning, bought it as a birthday present to myself. That was the start. My girlfriend calls me OCD, and after the obsession I have gone through in trying to find the "sounds" I heard growing up in the 70s (Quad, Nakamichi, Pioneer, and Marantz), I believe it. I have owned a Marantz 1530 receiver, NAD 7240 PE receiver, Sony Home theatre something not too memorable in the mid 90s, back to a NAD 7240 found at a garage sale for $5, then a NAD C320BEE integrated, added to it a Yamaha HTR-6080 and started collecting bookshelf speakers from local garage sales, and finally added a second HTR, a Denon 2309ci. I had bought a pair of Bose 8.2 speakers in 1987, just before my eldest daughter was born thinking I wouldn't have much money for a while after that. I was right, and it has only been since 2008 that I have started investing in audio equipment again. I paired the NAD C320BEE with the Bose, and it sounded pretty good in my living room. Then I got the McIntosh. That changed everything. I saw a huge benefit in pairing the MAC with the Bose, but after a week, realized I had to upgrade speakers. I sold the NAD and the Bose, and bought a pair of Celestion Ditton 66s. These sounded much better, but there was always a harshness to the highs that drove me crazy! I started buying different kinds of speakers. Celestion Ditton 44s, which I liked better than the 66s, Philips bookshelves (beautiful teak all around enclosure but only 40 Watts), Altec Lansing Model 5s, Sansui LM220, Klipsch Tangent T10s, Paisley AE400s, Tannoy Mercury MX4s (which sounded great, but not in the only place available to them in my living room), and finally Kef Concerto's. I was still hearing that harshness in the highs even with the Ditton 44s and the Kefs, so I started on the receiver. I upgraded to a recently restored Sansui 9090, which was better, but not good enough. Last week, I found a Kenwood Supreme 500, and suddenly I knew I was on the right track.
I believe that the reason the highs were harsh on my Dittons and Kefs are because the receivers were not providing enough current for these 4 ohm speakers. The 66s were the harshest because they need the most current. The 44s and the kefs are pretty close. I am in the process of following the DIYAudio thread to restore my Ditton 44 crossovers and am looking forward very much to hearing them paired with the Supreme 500. I need eye candy and ear candy to be really happy.
Interestingly, throughout this process, I have found that I hear differently from a lot of others. I hear the tiniest bit of distortion and have to turn down the amp well before most others would. Benefit is I have never blown speakers or amps, but I think it also translates into needing better equipment to make me happy.
Nice to be on this forum. I am always brought here when searching out reviews and specifications on the various equipment I research. I am also very much enjoying meeting all the great collectors locally. A lot of really nice people with some really awesome equipment!
