TrackiTT
05-04-2008, 11:01 AM
After listening to both bookshelf and floor standers, I plumped for a pair of CM7s and am very happy with them so far.
They sound better at home than in the listening room and have opened up my system nicely. I'm slowly breaking them in and feel that they will settle in nicely to the room and the system.
The 'bung' is a must in our room and our worries of ehcoes and poor sound in the apartment have proved to be completely unfounded. They sound great and I've found new detail in my CD collection already. It's nice to sit there and listen and get that 'never heard that bit before' feeling.
Next is a Turntable and I will need to look at cables and interconnects as well. Am looking at the Pro-Ject RM9 as a contender. Still no idea on cables. That's a minefield !
Rubberduckie
05-04-2008, 11:33 AM
Having speakers as revealing as yours, it might be beneficial for you to experiment with some inexpensive tweaks such as micro-vibration isolation and speaker cable lifting.
The Project RPM-9 (which I believe is now available as the 9.1) is a fine deck. It has some stiff competition in it's price range;
Marantz 'TT15-S1' (which is a tweaked ClearAudio Emotion)
VPI 'Scout'
Rega 'P5'
Funk Firm 'Vector'
Origin Live 'Aurora'
My only concern with the Project is the arm (I used to own an RPM6). It's a fairly flimsy design with a counter-weight that is something of an after-thought and a the anti-skating weight it quite primitive. It's fairly easy to adjust overall (always a plus) but isn't especially durable.
In your shoes I'd give a long, hard look at the Origin Live, the VPI and the Marantz. The last two being particularly good value as they both already include a (really nice) arm.
Turntables need vibration isolation more than a house of cards. And providing a separate phono stage is a must if you don't already possess one of the few amplifiers with a nice one already built-in.
Any ideas as to which cartridge? I don't remember which amp you have, but your B&W's work best with a cartridge which isn't too bright (so that excludes the Sumiko BPS EVO III!).
TrackiTT
05-06-2008, 02:37 PM
I'm all about inexpensive upgrades for the rest of the month and into the second half of the next but I'm hoping to pick up a Turntable soon so maybe this time next month.
Anyway - the speakers are settling in nicely and they just sound terrific. I've got visit the whole layout of cables and will address, as much as I can, the micro vibration. Maybe a complete rack is the answer. That's probably down the road though.
As for the decks and aesthetics I liked the look of the Marantz and the Scout, the P5 I've already been looking at and I took an instant dislike to the Funk. The Aurora, on the other hand, instantly caught my eye and I've been concentrating on that one.
It is, however, costly ! Especially with that Silver arm.. Not sure I can spring for that - maybe the upgraded OL1 arm will work.
With all of these decks though, my issue is finding somewhere to audition them. I haven't found anyone around here that carry quality turntables or have them hooked up to listen to. I'm really in the dark when it comes to the sound and interviewing two of three of them together seems to be next to impossible.
Is it really just a case of buying and trying ? The Origin Live guys give a 30 day return policy which wil probably be the way to go with all of them.
Anyway, I'm still in awe of the CM7s and am looking forward to getting the vinyl coming through them properly but will continue my saving and research and hunting through the local record stores for those old bargains. I need a record cleaner and de-static-er or whatever they're called so will be hunting for one of those.
Thanks again for you help and I'm open to all suggestion, as always.