Even after Axpona my ST120 sounds amazing! (pics added!)

corndog71 wrote:I never went to the major audio shows in Denver, Vegas, etc. because I usually just can't afford the travel, hotel, etc.  This past weekend I attended the 2nd year of Axpona (went last year too!)  and had a blast listening to the uber expensive gear.  I picked up some new vinyl as well as a Blue Circle power conditioner.

The best part was coming home to my mostly home-built system and hearing how it easily competes with dozens of systems costing 10 times the price!  Sure there were things that blew my system away but that's like comparing a top Mercedes to my Nissan.  I'll probably never be able to afford those state of the art speakers and electronics.  But I can get within spitting distance of them for a fraction of the cost.

I finally picked up a heavy vinyl, double LP of Muddy Waters' Folk Singer and it makes my stereo sound ridiculously good.  Now I get why it has long been an audiophile staple.

My modded ST120 has made a huge improvement to my music enjoyment!  Now I'm considering building a custom ST70... you know...  for fun.   

j beede wrote:
I will say that the MBL room has always been astonishing--not sure if it is good or bad--but it is astonishing. I'd be delighted to buy some vinyl at CAS. I've never seen any for sale.

Brap wrote:What a great venue this year.  Really enjoyed all the different vendors and 9 hours was not enough.  Found IMHO the best speakers I have ever heard -- Sonus Faber Aida.  Truly outstanding and just amazed at the imaging, soundstage, asthetics, etc.  At $120K/pair they netter be good.  

Two others worth a major listen and consideration are the Zu Druids (I will eventually get these  ) and the new Spatial open baffle -- those are really nice.  Need to save my pennies for the Zu's.  101 spl and the dynamics / attack were outstanding for a pseudo SDFR design.

tubes4hifi wrote:SKiZo . . . what I like to do is buy those old 70s receivers and totally GUT them out!!
Just make sure you get one that is at least 4" tall.   I've built ALOT of preamps and amps using tubes stuffed into those chassis.
One of my very first tube preamps was a clone of a Marantz 7 built into a $20 used Superscope integrated amplifier chassis (was probably $200 new back then).
I think my total cost on the project was around $100, or about 1/25th of what you would have to pay for a Marantz 7.
Let's see, 260 capacitors to rebuild your SS Sansui at 50c each and you'd have $130 into just caps.   I'd rather spend the $130 on good tubes and $5 capacitors!!!

sKiZo wrote:
PS ... Corndog ... sorry about the hijack. All ya got to do is tell me to shut up and I'll shut up. I'm good at shutting up but usually won't shut up unless somebody tells me to shut up. Seeing it's your thread, you can tell me to shut up and I WILL shut up ... so should I shut up now or maybe shut up later? And if I shut up now, should I keep shutting up later? And if I can quit shutting up later, how much later should I figure on before I stop shutting up again? Your call ...