CDinMB
Active Member
Hello, my name is Carmen and I am new to the forum, living in central east coast Florida. I have played guitar and loved music since primary school. I am now retired and able to buy a stereo system I wanted but with kids, houses, cars, etc. could never afford. I still play guitar, own some classic tube amps and build my own Fender clone classic tube amps, so I am familiar with tube circuits. I went through the digital age and bought into the early Dolby surround systems. I concluded I am a tube guy, SS and specifically digital systems were fine for tv and movies but I hated the music they produced. My wife does not appreciate hi fidelity and is happy with iPhone music from a $30 Bluetooth speaker, so we were also at odds on large speakers, multiple components and wires all over the living room. So I gave up on enjoying good music for 20+ years and used simple small 5.1 systems attached to the TV.
All that said, it has been 20 years. I am retired and still married, and shopping for the system I always wanted even if some of the components may be as old as I am! I've auditioned the best that my local shops offered and came away underwhelmed. There may be good SS systems out there now that can reproduce the tube warmth but I just haven't heard them. In the guitar world, SS modeling amps are getting close to classic tube sounds. So I know it is close.
My first purchase a week ago was a pair of Klipsch La Scala speakers. I am running them with the only source I have, an iPhone headphone jack output and they are amazing! I am waiting to receive this week's purchase, a pair of McIntosh MC30s to power them. I kept all my old vinyl from the 60-80s and intend to find a good quality turntable of new production to play them. Phono input is my priority. My CD collection is on hard drives so I'll need to figure out how to interface them eventually. I am currently undecided on the need for a fancy preamp that may color the music, but realize I may need that for multiple inputs and remote control. As a stop gap I bought a Schiit Mani until I can figure out what I want.
I am currently spending a lot of time, reading, getting back up to speed understanding where technology has made advancements and where old is still better. I appreciate any patience with my questions as I do that.
All that said, it has been 20 years. I am retired and still married, and shopping for the system I always wanted even if some of the components may be as old as I am! I've auditioned the best that my local shops offered and came away underwhelmed. There may be good SS systems out there now that can reproduce the tube warmth but I just haven't heard them. In the guitar world, SS modeling amps are getting close to classic tube sounds. So I know it is close.
My first purchase a week ago was a pair of Klipsch La Scala speakers. I am running them with the only source I have, an iPhone headphone jack output and they are amazing! I am waiting to receive this week's purchase, a pair of McIntosh MC30s to power them. I kept all my old vinyl from the 60-80s and intend to find a good quality turntable of new production to play them. Phono input is my priority. My CD collection is on hard drives so I'll need to figure out how to interface them eventually. I am currently undecided on the need for a fancy preamp that may color the music, but realize I may need that for multiple inputs and remote control. As a stop gap I bought a Schiit Mani until I can figure out what I want.
I am currently spending a lot of time, reading, getting back up to speed understanding where technology has made advancements and where old is still better. I appreciate any patience with my questions as I do that.
