Latest kit pics...

Always been a big Rotel fan, owned a fair bit of their product range over the years. This combo is brilliant- I prefer it to my old Roksan Kandy integrated-power combo. 

The DDE v1 sat on top is not connected by the way, it's got a dicky connection and needs either hitting with a mallet, or some TLC...

And just for a laugh, here's down the back:

Really should sort this out at some stage. 

Down the back is somewhat awsome.... my own set-up looks kinda tidy now  :)

Looks decent mate.... that's some size of radiator  

Yes it is rather large. 

Well, as long as it keeps the room warm....        

Yup, this is what's under my bed.

2 pairs of MS3.10, pair broken Mission 731, pair Yamaha NS300M, dirty gert Denon av amp, semi-dead NEC projector, two pairs of Atacama speaker stands and a box of Mission 753 bass drivers. 

Ooh nearly forgot the Nakamichi CR3 buried at the back somewhere!

So here we have the corner of my room:

Pair modified but currently dismantled 753s- I did such a shocking job of the paintwork that the project has stalled now.

Another pair of Yammy NS300s, broken Myryad Z140 amp, working-but-sick A400, Rotel 930AX (my 'official' spare amp), box containing loads of pc and hifi cables/connectors, Acoustic Solutions amp (buried...), old Orion VCR (also buried).

On top out of shot: Pair of semi-knackered Ditton 66 bass units (approx. 2.5" of dust accumulated), pair of slightly knackered '66 midrange domes, assorted tweeters and a box of, err, boxes.

My final instalment today features the end of my bed:

Mission 773e, Mission 751F, TDL RTL-G20, Technics SU-A900mk2 and another pair of stands.

I have a pair of TDL RTL3 SE down in the basement, too. And they can stay there.

There you go, a bit of an insight into my sad, slightly neurotic, bachelor lifestyle.

Must go now, the nurse is here with my medicine.

All the best folks...

Wow

regards

You got it bad.

Love your kit though.

Thanks.

I've actually just re-capped the Studio 0.5s this afternoon, popped in some nice high-grade polypropylenes. The sound has been transformed, with masses more detail, and much better imaging. The drivers sound better integrated too- I think the old electrolytics must've been well past their best.

My alternative speakers, wot I got last week for £70 (that's including delivery, and they weigh a ton. They came in a box you could live in.). The tweeters were pushed in, so I took them apart and pushed them out again. They sound sublime already, but they're next up for a refit; new caps and tweeters methinks...

Next instalment: Arcam CD72 on the way! (Having discovered that my Sony BDP370 sounds better than my CDP...)

New caps have broken in on the 0.5s now, I think I'm fully in love with these speakers. Not in the biblical sense though- that would be quite painful.

The guy I bought them from is a real hifi buff and knew his onions, and he enthused that I wouldn't get better speakers for anything this side of a couple of grand. I have to say I agree with him. The synergy between my amps and speakers is superb, even with my CD6000 it sounds incredible- the speakers disappear immediately, the entire frequency range is detailed and sounds very natural, with practically no ear-fatigue on long sessions.

Treble sounds float round the room in the largest soundstage I've ever heard, everything in its rightful place. And the bass... Solid, deep and well-defined, with enough oomph to rattle my spleen.

To say I'm very happy with my current rig would be a huge understatement. Can't wait for the CD72 to arrive now...

Dougal if your wanting some second hand av stuff i have some....

Seriously tho i think its fab you can re-condition these units and get the best from them,propa' hobbie

Cheers, I've actually sold on some bits last week, trying to clear a bit of space here n there!

I guess it became a hobby because I couldn't afford new midrange kit. So I buy old midrange kit that needs some help. I've tried building my own speakers, but it was too much hassle and my first couple of efforts weren't good...

I have only rudimentary knowledge of electronics, but I'm pretty handy with a soldering iron. To be honest, I've had a lot of great results with self-modded speakers. Re-capping is pretty easy to do- just a case of swapping 'like-for-like-but-better'.

Twenty or so quid to totally rejuvenate and transform some amazing but ageing speakers seems like a no-brainer to me. I imagine many people have got rid of older speakers because they're not crisp or detailed enough- where in many cases the crossovers will use cheapo electrolytic caps with low operating voltages and poor tolerances- changing them would return the speakers to factory condition, in many cases better, as the replacement caps will be better than the originals. 

Slapping in some fresh polypropylenes is something I'd recommend to anyone with speakers from say mid-90s or earlier. So easy to do- I will happily offer advice to anyone tempted. Love to do this sort of thing for a business, but a bit more experience required yet!