tonionc newbie system

m4.0t amp
C-1 pre-amp
sony cd/dvd (all I have now since I spent all $ on speakers)
DQ10s
KEF 104.2 reference speakers

I am totally new to this forum and high quality audio systems. I have just made these purchases and I feel like I am in music nirvana. The speakers are quite different but both sound fantastic. The sonic hologram feature of the C-1 on the DQ10s is absolutely amazing. Thanks to this forum I felt confident in buying the Carver amp and preamp!

Way to go tonionc! I bet your system sounds Awesome! I just searched for some pictures of your speakers, and they look cool!!! You know what they say; put as much money as you can afford into your speakers and the rest will come.
Take care

Yep, I have had the same experience in the last year. It is quite remarkable to hear what youve been missing!!

Perry

Now that how to put a system together.

Congrats, Tonio! I can imagine the feelings you've got right now! Great prices for an excellent set-up! Enjoy!

ENJOY!!!!

Thanks everyone for all the encouragement! I guess you have all been there when you take the first step to upgrade your audio system. It really is a HUGE upgrade for me and I literally have spent hours and hours each day listening to all types of music. I have been late to work in the morning because I want to get a few more songs in! I can see how people could get obsessed! haha

Thanks to this forum for the suggestions on the amp and preamp combination! So far it sounds fantastic. I can say that this system with the KEF 104.2 reference speakers is extremely powerful, clear, articulate and sounds very good at fairly high levels. It sounds especially good with high quality recordings. The KEFs really highlight any imperfections in recording and since mine are not in the best conditon, some acoustic bass does not come across crystal clear. I would prefer to use this system with the Kefs for heavier music with the tone function pressed on the C-1 amp for added bass--this really changes the low end of the Kefs dramatically. The sonic holigram feature is noticeable but not spectacular.

This system with the DQ10s is outstanding! The sound is pure, right in the room, warm, real, and sounds great with the sonic hologram feature. I prefer listening to jazz, acoustic, folk, classical with the DQ 10s.

I need to invest in some better interconnects and speaker wire now! And I suppose next up in a quality CD player, or maybe a DAC. I would really love to find some way to lift the quality of my digital music file collection I have on Itunes. Some forum members have mentioned squeezebox. I think I have a lot to learn for sure.

Thanks again for a great forum! I have never enjoyed listening to music more in my entire life!

Keep up the good work...Beware of OCCD...!!!!

Keep up the good work...Beware of OCCD...!!!!

Are you shittin' me? He's WAY gone, man~

First, "tonionc", I'd like to welcome you. It sounds like you've jumped into this insane hobby with both feet. We will all do our best to drag you down with us, er, uh, I mean, help keep you on an even keel...

It sounds like you've put together quite a neat system there. We'd LOVE to see some pictures of your setup!

The KEFs really highlight any imperfections in recording and since mine are not in the best conditon, some acoustic bass does not come across crystal clear. I would prefer to use this system with the Kefs for heavier music with the tone function pressed on the C-1 amp for added bass--this really changes the low end of the Kefs dramatically. The sonic holigram feature is noticeable but not spectacular.

Yeah, the KEFs sometimes are described as being "overly revealing". I think this is because most of the KEF speakers are sort of positioned in the market right at the top of the consumer grade stuff, and at the low end of the "crazy-high-end" stuff, in terms of price/performance. They are great speakers compared to most of the major consumer brands, and a lot of new audiophiles put KEFs into their systems with "consumer brand" electronics, they will show every little deficit in the audio chain--something that lesser speakers simply can't do. This, of course, is what causes new audiophiles to plummet into a never-ending spiral of "upgrade-itis"...

Just be glad you didn't do what I did back when I first got out of college and got my first job with really good pay--I made the mistake of buying Martin Logans--they show you EVERYTHING that is wrong with your system, and I've gone through a small truckload of gear in the last 20 years in my quest for "perfect sound". Now that I've got the electronics dialed in, I'm probably going to end up buing new speakers in the nest year or two--and you guessed it--new Martin Logans.

This system with the DQ10s is outstanding! The sound is pure, right in the room, warm, real, and sounds great with the sonic hologram feature. I prefer listening to jazz, acoustic, folk, classical with the DQ 10s.

I remember when those first came out in the late 1970s. They looked WAY cool, compared to most of the other boxy speakers of their day. They looked like the impossible-to-find-in-the-USA Quad ESLs, and they were all the rage, because they were surprisingly affordable for their sound quality. Hopefully yours are in good shape.

I need to invest in some better interconnects and speaker wire now! And I suppose next up in a quality CD player, or maybe a DAC. I would really love to find some way to lift the quality of my digital music file collection I have on Itunes. Some forum members have mentioned squeezebox. I think I have a lot to learn for sure.

If you're already running iTunes, the easiest way to get your music from your computer into your stereo is to buy a good outboard DAC with a USB input, and hook your computer to it. Using the "headphone output" of your computer is going to give you pretty mid-fi sound quality.

Of course, this is assuming you've had the foresight to rip all your music in Apple Lossless format. If you did that, then running your computer through a DAC will give you sound quality similar to a CD. If you've got a lot of MP3's, then, wuite honestly, there is nothing you can do to make them sound good on your system. In fact, they will sound worse on your stereo than on your computer, because your system has the ability to show you ALL the details in you rmusic signal--good and bad--and MP3's have a LOT of bad and not much good in them...

Now if you want to get really slick and high-tech, you can get an outboard DAC with a TOSLINK input, and an Apple Airport Express, and stream your music to the Express via WiFi, and hook the Express to your DAC via Toslink. I do it this way in my system. This setup allows me to place my Mac laptop anywhere in the room and still stream to the stereo without worrying about wires. It also lets my sweety play music from her laptop through the stereo too, because she has iTunes and Airport drivers on her Dell as well. And yes, we rip all our new CDs to our computers using Apple Lossless. They take more space on the HD that way, but the sound is SOOOO much better.

Anyway, good luck, and welcome to our little forum. Hopefully you'll find lots of useful info here. There are a lot of very well-informed members, and we're a pretty diverse group--we've got everything from cost-is-no-object members to super-tight-budget members to DIY-cheapskates!

Now, please post some pics!!!
--Richard

Hi Richard,

THanks a lot for your message and all the comments and great advise on the outboard DAC. I posted a reply with pics earlier but I don't see it so I will try again. I am very interested in making my digital music collection, currently on my mac and an external drive, sounds like CD quality. I have so much music and I love the convenience of making playlists and searching quickly for tunes. Unfortunately most is burned as MP3s, but I have as a goal now to burn all of my CDs in lossless format and try to share with my friends who have flac files. Could you tell me more about these outboard DACS with TOSLINK capability? I noticed one on auidiogon (Cambridge Dacmagic) for a very reasonable price that appears to be able to enhance the computer stored music files as well as music coming from a cheaper DVD/CD player. What DACs would you recommend? Does getting a DAC take the place of having to buy a super nice CD player? My next buy will be interconnects and speaker wire, and then either a DAC or nicer CD player. Thanks for any thoughts on this. I never thought I would become obsessed but I can see how this could easily happen searching audio forums, sales, alwas wanting better sound. You are right, once you hear better sound it is hard to go back.

Oh, I do use an aiport express and would love to still use this with much better sound quality It is so convenient! Thanks for the comments on the speakers. I thought the KEFs sounded good with my cheap old amp but now with the Carver system, they are incredibly powerful and the bass feels like I almost have a subwoofer with the tone function and sonic hologram features of the C-1. I may look for another pair just to have back up parts!

I am not sure if it is worth the money to have the DQ10s refurbished (regnar service for about $1000) Maybe someday in the far future.

Ok, I iwll try to upload some pics of my new Carver system and speakers (DQ10s and KEF 104.2s) HAve a great day!

Question for those who know the C-1 preamp well:

There seems to be very little noticeable difference when I alter the bass and treble setting for both the left and right speakers on the C-1. Should there be a more noticeable and dramatic difference?

thanks!

(all I have now since I spent all $ on speakers)
DQ10s
KEF 104.2 reference speakers

I am totally new to this forum and high quality audio systems. I have just made these purchases and I feel like I am in music nirvana. The speakers are quite different but both sound fantastic. The sonic hologram feature of the C-1 on the DQ10s is absolutely amazing. Thanks to this forum I felt confident in buying the Carver amp and preamp!

I must agree with him on the DQ10s and the holography. We had a pair of DQ10's for a few years and the Sonic Holography button really did bring them to life! Welcome to the forum tonionc!

Rainman

Question for those who know the C-1 preamp well:

There seems to be very little noticeable difference when I alter the bass and treble setting for both the left and right speakers on the C-1. Should there be a more noticeable and dramatic difference?

thanks!

If you are used to the tone controls on run of the mill consumer (Sony, Pioneer, Kenwood) type equipment, you will find that the tone controls on the C-1 are much subtler and provide less ultimate boost than the sledgehammer approach other use. They have a choice of 2 cutoff frequencies and both are at a lower point than what you have been used to in the past. I never use my tone controls and have actually only used them once to see that they were actually working.

Silver 7, thanks for the comment on the bass and treble tuners on the C-1. I really don't feel the need to use them either. I just wanted to make sure they were working as well.