HiFi Subjectivist ¦ Audio Forum ¦ NVA User Group

Happy new year

It was very helpful and kind of Tomasz and Paul to share their intentions for 2020. This can help us all to plan any upgrades and buying decisions for the year ahead.

So what is afoot for the year ahead ? I will start things off

*finish my last two nva amp board based amplifiers
*finalise my speaker design
*finish my cd player modifications
*play and refurb my record players

That should be enough for this year. I think 2021 will be the year for building the final products and housing all the electronics in a sideboard type enclosure.

After getting my TAS upgraded I'd just like to actually use mine a bit more!!

The A80 Mk3 upgrade, sending them off tomorrow. Think that will be it.

Build something for myself for once
Probably a direct drive deck out of a dual eds1000 motor.
Fix the Cole lcr phono stage I have been given, It sounds really special but it needs some work to get it back to its best.
Thinking about it, I haven't done anything with my own setup in a couple of years, I've been playing with other people's stuff. There is something to be said for stability in a system, I am happy with mine, it doesn't need any new boxes or mods or cables to cure any perceived ills.

I do have product ideas, but wether I get them developed is another question entirely

I have no plans over and above the Oehlbach reclocker, my "new" Schiit Wyrd, and a couple of new cables to hook them up.

I'm really happy with my system just now. However, I'm caught in a dilemma. I'd like to simplify to a single source and reduce the overall size. My aim would be to try the A80's when Paul puts them up for loan to try and make a decision before there's and extra 20% VAT on them. The other problem is that this part of the year is reasonably expensive for me and I've got car problems that may mean significant expenditure as well.

Life's a bitch then you die. Happy 2020.

Upgrade my P90SA, and chop out A40 for A80 monos.

I started 2019 without any upgrade plans for my setup. I had just installed the Allo DigiOne Signature as my main streaming source and was very satisfied.

So, what went wrong?

Doc's lost demo gear suddenly reappeared after sitting in the back of a warehouse for 10 years. The guy selling it on Ebay hadn't realised that it had been stolen. From that I acquired the original prototype pair of Cube2 mkII.

After we lost Richard to the great gig in the Sky, a BMU came up for grabs, so I grabbed. He had often nagged me to get one.

Needed a DC Blocker to go with that. It came from Bulgaria.

Getting curious about cheap ChiFi led me to Aliexpress, two disappointments later things finally got interesting with a nice LPSU for a Pi and several seriously impressive DAC's from Topping and Teradak.

Ending the year with the semi-accidental discovery of the Asus Tinkerboard and USB audio.

Actually it was a rather good year for the HiFi. So, for the record, I have ABSOLUTELY NO INTENTION of upgrading the stereo this year.

We'll see what happens....

No plans for 2020, apart from the A80s upgrade, as I am more than happy with the sound of everything I have.

2019 was a big year mainly because of the Mscaler. After hearing it in my system I could not be without it. This is all down to the transparancy of the NVA kit as it did not do much for me at the dealers where the partnering equipment with WAF speakers cost more than my system. I can see why opinion about the Mscaler is split, a transparant system and a DAC with dual BNC inputs are essential. The other major upgrade to the main system was the P90 SA modification which improved SQ as well as eliminating the crackling. Worthwhile tweaks have been the MCRU power supply for the Qutest, better quality dual BNC cables, ferrite rings and Audioquest Carbon USB cable.

Before the Doc's sad passing I bought the NVA starter system, which was on offer, for the bedroom. This was a real steal. I found out exactly how good the P20 is when operating in the main system during the P90 upgrade as the A20 is now. One purchase did not work out and had to be returned twice, the Chord Poly. If it had been made c!ear at the outset that it was not compatable with my router it would have saved hours of frustration.

Cubix upgrading the guts and woofer's, going back to the Planar 8 after flirting with yet another LP12, modifying my LS6 cables, building even more whizzy interconnects and maybe upgrading my A70s to the latest A80s, fitting a dedicated earth circuit and finally installing a dedicated FM Ariel.