Do you have a comfy-slippers system?

[Lurch]

Yep my 2nd system, built around my Cambridge C50 pre and A50 power amp I bought in 87 + Sony TC-FX150 & Sansuii T500L I've had since 89. I've since added a mk1 Marantz CD63SE, CCA + FiiO Taishan, a pair of 104ab and a 401 with R200.
Every time I listen to it I wonder why I have, and spent so much on the main rig, especially the 401. I've even gone as far as period carts (A&R P77Mg, OC5, EEI 555-MCP) and headlamp (EEI). The sound is spacious and detailed but also warm and satisfying.
It's also more than likely to be the system I will exhibit at the next show (minus CCA, cassette deck & tuner).

 

[rabski]

Nope.

My system sounds now pretty much how I like it. It makes any source and most recordings sound good, so I don't see the point of putting something else together that sounds worse.

 

[DUVET]

Nope my system like Rab's does what I want . I can listen to it for 15 minutes or 4 hours .

 

[Rockchild]

I can’t disagree with the above two posts. How I like it is how I like it. Don’t get me wrong, my system has had its moments of dislike but most of the time it’s been room acoustics and some mismatching but easily resolved when you know what it is.
Is it pipe and slippers? No, is it so dynamic and resolving? No, it’s how I like it.

 

[bigrod]

My main system is my pipe and slippers.. It fills the house joy ….Maybe not the ultimate in terms of what I could spend but I made the decision to build one main system that was both musically and visually appropriate for the room and hopefully trouble free ..In fact I will sell the whole lot along with the house when the time comes ,,

 

[antonio66]

I like what my system does, pipe and slippers maybe, but since my tinnitus got worse I don't want anything too forward/bright, that being the reason I've moved from a SS to valve amplifier and single drive unit speaker.
I do listen to my brother's system which is quite spendy and although SS is very smooth.

 

[George 47]

Yes, I use my main system and with the Luxman amps it does everything I want, drama, impact, musical.......but add the ARC Ref 75SE and preamp and the system has less dynamics, power and drama but the mid-range becomes really human and 3D. It is not 'right' but it allows me to get lost in wonderful singers.

Of course, I have a second system elsewhere which has an Audionote preamp and 300B power amp and that is the ultimate expression of musical but it is in a smaller room. The bass is not tight and powerful but I can get lost in there and look it is 1 in the morning.

 

[JANDL100]

I have a range of headphones which follow this line of thought.
Sound goes from warm, rich and relaxed to explicit and edge of seat, with points in between, depending on my mood.

With my main speaker based system this sort of change does occur, but on a medium term timescale over weeks or months, depending on the nature of the components currently installed.

 

[DomT]

I wouldn’t describe my studio system as slippers but it’s deliberately chosen to be a more relaxing nearfield listen. I use a valve preamp and a Quad power amp and with the Harbeth it means that I have a warm and unfatiguing sound.

The studio is normally where I play music that my wife doesn’t like and it’s more of a nostalgia trip and this system has a ‘similar’ sound to my first ever system.

In the lounge my system is more transparent and dynamic (but not fatiguing) and so I really like the differences. In the new house that we are building we will have three main systems and so I am considering what the set up will be.

 

[SMEagol]

My SHARP 1 Bit system. I can't make my mind up as to whether its not hifi or the future of hifi all at once. It's a very compelling listen from two compact but heavy boxes. I'm glad I kept it. Plus in keeping with my usual aesthetic it looks bonkers.

If I have mates over I hook up the big system, but I do feel like I'm betraying this little set up. Truth is I'd be perfectly happy with just this, but the other stuffs taken 20 years to put together. Lol.

At the moment the SHARP boxes are also a heck of a lot cheaper than running the valves!

 

[savvypaul]

I've got a few vintage receivers - Marantz, Harmon Kardon - they get used now and then in the office, when I want the radio to sound more chesty (which is strangely alluring, lol). Obviously coloured (hit that loudness button), but good fun. They look very pretty, too.

 

[Tony_J]

I have a cheapo system in the shed - a mark 1 AE Aego 2.1 active speaker system that I picked up on the 'bay for 40 notes or so, front ended by a Pi Zero streamer with a DAC HAT. Works surprisingly well, and loud enough to be heard when I am doing DIY stuff with power tools and such. Hardly pipe and slippers but provides very enjoyable background choons.

 

[oldius]

My SHARP 1 Bit system. I can't make my mind up as to whether its not hifi or the future of hifi all at once. It's a very compelling listen from two compact but heavy boxes. I'm glad I kept it. Plus in keeping with my usual aesthetic it looks bonkers.

If I have mates over I hook up the big system, but I do feel like I'm betraying this little set up. Truth is I'd be perfectly happy with just this, but the other stuffs taken 20 years to put together. Lol.

At the moment the SHARP boxes are also a heck of a lot cheaper than running the valves!

I love your comment about betrayal: we are emotionally connected to some systems, despite them not being 'the best', and that was the premise of my thread.