Headphones only - bedroom listening rig

[Rob_In_MO]

This is my very small listening setup in the bedroom - a vintage NAD 7125 Receiver and a Sony SCD-CE595 SACD / CD Player.  

Headphones are a set of Pioneer SE-A1000's and a vintage  set of Sony MDR-V6's that need a new set of earpads. No pics of the headphones yet, but will when time allows.

The NAD has the cleanest, warmest, yet most neutral sound from the headphone jack i've ever heard in a receiver.  Simply amazing!

While i'm still 'on the fence' regarding the SACD format, this player was quite affordable and sounds very good even playing regular CD's.

 

[hobie1dog]

Thanks for sharing this with us. The Head-Fi forum just had its NC regional meet last month. Got to hear the Focal Utopia headphones, 4K dollars.

I never got to hear the Sony V6's

 

[Zeno Marx]

I feel old NADs (green displays from the 80s) are one of the greatest values in hi-fi today.  You have to spend a lot more to get that quality of a pre-amp piece, which is why the phono stage, headphone section, etc sound so good and warm.  I ran a 7240PE for a long, long time.  When I finally bumped up to separates, which is what I dreamed of doing for as long as I could remember, the first thing I noticed was the big difference in phono stages.  This was a long time ago, before people collected vintage gear.  There's a part of me that was always sorry to see the NAD go, but it was time.  For people not wanting to fly into the 4-figure markets, I always recommend those NADs.  They're a steal for what they sell for today.  They might not be the coolest looking gear (I happen to like their minimalist approach, but I know the fashionistas prancing around as vintage gear buyers want something more flashy for their room decor), but shouldn't fidelity come first?  Don't answer that.  I see people spending $1000s of dollars on reissued vinyl, that can still be found in early and superior pressings for $5 per, and then playing them on USB turntables and "systems" that are little more than pretty-colored toys made for young adults.  Sound quality is an afterthought...a distant priority, if you will.  DUHr.

I can't speak to the rest of that gear, but NADs...golden to my ears.  I use an old pair of AKG-240s when I need headphones.  At $100 (at the time), they were difficult to beat.  An awful lot of recording studios used those as their reference, which is a big reason I decided on them.

 

[Rob_In_MO]

Thanks for sharing this with us. The Head-Fi forum just had its NC regional meet last month. Got to hear the Focal Utopia headphones, 4K dollars.

I never got to hear the Sony V6's

I wish there was a Head-Fi meet closer to me, i'd definitely go.

The V6's aren't really anything spectacular, as they were designed for studio work. Comfort and incredible frequency response are their strongest attributes. Imaging - not quite so much.

 

[Rob_In_MO]

I feel old NADs (green displays from the 80s) are one of the greatest values in hi-fi today.

The more research I did into the older NAD's, the more I concur with all of your above statements.  Absolute best sound for the price, and sound much better than most newer systems (plastic crap from China).  And, Yes!  I love their 'minimalist' approach in the looks department.

But i'm also pretty happy with my living room system - a Pioneer Elite VSX-79 drinving a pair of original Realistic Mach One speakers.   With a pair of 15's in the living room, and more than enough power to drive them, there is absolutely no need for a subwoofer.  And you've gotta love the 4"x15" mid horns.  :lol:   I'm definitely not impressed with the 'tiny Satellite speakers with small subwoofer box' setups.  Give me the old-school big-box speakers any day.

While the NAD has the obvious advantage with headphones, that old Pioneer Elite (very early 90's, last of Pioneer's really good gear) has the edge with most speakers i've driven with it. And it actually has a very nice and warm sound to it.

 

[hobie1dog]

I just listed my NAD 7130 receiver on CL last night. It has an intermittent drop out due to a speaker selector switch(it got squirted with cleaner but it didn't fix it). Likely just another age related issue, just like humans.

 

[Rob_In_MO]

I just listed my NAD 7130 receiver on CL last night. It has an intermittent drop out due to a speaker selector switch(it got squirted with cleaner but it didn't fix it). Likely just another age related issue, just like humans.

That's a nice looking unit!  Not a bad price either.  You should sell that one pretty quickly.
If I lived closer, i'd make you an offer.  Shipping would be a bugger on that one though.