Jaw-dropping experiences - post them

Every time I hear a piano, and the gap between the reality and the reproduction.

More face- than jaw-dropping, to be fair.

 

Big electrostatics can do a decent piano impersonation IMO, but lots of speakers fail miserably for sure.

 

My Quarts can sound very impressive on solo piano.

If I wire the Clavinova to the Quad driving the Quarts I can believe I have a concert grand!

 

It's particularly galling to have a piano in the same room as an audio reproduction system: I wish sometimes we'd discuss our hi-fi moments in terms of 'least rubbish' rendition rather than kidding ourselves that the noises emanating from those cones (or ribbons or panels) is honestly akin to reality!

 

Three for me.

1. The day I slipped a pair of cheap set monoblocks into my set up to replace a pair of expensive SS amps.

2. Introducing a pair of 15" Tannoys into the system

3. Adding an SPU to the SME 3012/301

Andy

 

First time I heard my brothers 12"Tannoy Monitor Golds(c, 1971).
First time I heard a Funktion1 dance stack.
First time I fired up my JBL's.

 

Tannoy's seem to be popular jaw-drooppers


<off to google 'Function1 dance stack'>

 

Understandable.

 

touche, i was 13 when i heard tannoy's they were to me better than girls when i bought a pair girls came to enjoy them

 

Late 1980s - Lintone Audio in Gateshead. Casual visit by mate & me - Linn Isobariks on demo playing Dire Straits first album (loud). - Fkn awesome! Just finally bought a pair last year and love them )

 

Quad 57s for me — that was my first exposure to high fidelity.

Joe

 

My first exposure to HiFi was a pair of large Tannoys (no idea which model) driven by a Luxman in the late 70s.

 

First time hearing the Quad ESL2805s.
Hearing the Ayre CX-7Emp cd player and K-5XEmp Preamp.

 

Six Of The Best

No 1: 1984 Buying a National (Panasonic!) portable hi-fi and in Akiharaba too!. This sober yet smart device seemed to me the Mercedes Benz of the cassette boombox world. Sound quality wise, its detachable two way speakers blew my flimsy Akai into the weeds! :student:

No 2: 1987 Hearing my first CD purchase on my brand new Yamaha CD player (with remote control!) into a 30w Yamaha amp with little Wharfedale Delta bookshelves. I am sure I would be horrified nowadays, but at the time, and with only my parents Akai rack system to compare against, I thought CD was the ducks guts!

Postscript, my sister still uses the Yamaha CDP, I still use the amp now and again and even the speakers get dragged when I need bookshelf speakers that actually work on a bookshelf! However I have never been able to work out why the CDP (it was quite pricey for its day) had a CD tray with a built in sprung support!

No 3: 2001 Hearing Kevin Scott demonstrate an SME 10 into my Sugden amp and LV speakers. 14 years after going digital, I realised I may have been a little hasty in writing off analogue.

No 4: 2004 Megabuck MBL setup, with top of range RadialStrahler speakers, amp and CDP. It was truly jawdropping. It filled an enormous room with effortlesss lifelike sound. Most ultra hi-end systems leave me cold, this was a revelation. :cry:

No 5: 2008 Listening to some stupendously large 60's Celestion (or similar) speaker with a huge woofer and a jury rigged vitavox style horn on top. Massively ugly. fabulous fun!!! Made me realise that when it comes to a big sound, there is no substitute for size.....:JPS:

No 6: 2010 15" Monitor Golds in a well built horn loaded cabinet (step forward Speedy!). Not so much jaw dropping as this how hi-fi should be! :latte:

After a barren patch, it seems my jaw has been dropping more in recent times. This is surely a positive sign!

 

Sound Perfection, Grimsby, Lincolnshire, 1983:

Logic DM101, Syrinx Gold arm, can't remember the cartridge.
Crimson Electric pre/monoblock powers.
Active Mission 727 speakers especially modified by Mission.

I listened to 'Ten out of Ten' by 10CC and was totally gobsmacked. I still haven't heard a sound as good as that one.

 

Esl57's driven by a Leak Stereo 20 which I had extensively modded for a mate, with an expensive Marantz CD player (CD11?)

Tannoy Westminster royals at the old Harrogate show driven by bridged Crown DC300A amps playing the Sheffield drum record.... took 2 days for my ears to recover! Dynamics

There are others but these two spring to mind.....

 

I think my last jaw-dropping experience was to hear my Tannoy CPA12s in Steve's cabinets. I couldn't believe it was the same drivers!

 

hi Dev,
just checked out the thread, very interesting. If Steve ever produces an insert for the 10 inch driver, I would love to hear what my HPD 295s are capable of!

 

Have a word with Steve. He's very helpful.

 

Around 1981/1982 I was invited to a demonstration of the latest range of speakers built by Friedrich Schäfer (the guy who developed later the ASR Emitter amps). It was my first exposure to real high-end stuff and I was totally awestricken by the sound.