Whats in your second system?


Just curious as to the people who like myself have many thousands "invested" in their main system with all the latest tweaks, cables etc and also have a second or even third system.

Did you assemble that with the same love and care and dedication and costly tweaks?

Or did you throw something together from bargain bins or indeed your old leftovers and then sat back and thought...Wow this sounds really good!

And if so did that get you thinking on the main system...lol.

My second system cost way less than the speaker cables on my main system but I am constantly shocked at just how nice it sounds for such a no frills setup.

Linn Classic all in one
Tannoy 2 ellipse small floorstanders
20 year old (at least) Jensen 50w 8 inch sub.
Monster Cable 12/2 speaker cable bare wire ends.
Home brewed power cord just cos I had it laying around.

The Linn just sits on top of a chest of drawers with the Tannoys flanking the chest either side and the lil sub sitting behind the chest.

And it sounds darn good tbh!
128x128uberwaltz
I recently made a complete changeout of my office system.

Before:
  • Musical Fidelity X-A1 Integrated
  • Kef Q15.2 bookshelf speakers
  • Rotel 971 CD Player

After:
  • Kef LS50 Wireless Speakers
  • Sonos Connect
'Very impressed with the upgrade in sound and smaller footprint. The WAF has increased considerably.

I'm almost a bit sad about how much better it sounds, and the thought of giving the original system to my nephew feels like giving away a family pet.  :-)  Anyone else ever have those feelings?


I have a secundary system in my study at home:
Harbeth P3ESR as desktop speakers
refurbished Quad 405/2 amplifier
Emotiva Control Freak plus some additional inline attenuators as volume control.
ODAC usb DAC
Computer as source for streamed music.
I have the speakers on IsoAcoustics desktop stands to get the tweeter up to ear height, and to reduce bass reinforcement from the desk surface. Even so, there still was a bit of a bass boom from the desk and I cured that with a REW equalization curve for the Equalizer Apo installed on the computer.
There is one definite upgrade in the not too far away future and that is a quieter (preferably fanless) computer. The other would perhaps be a little subwoofer. Before I do that, however, I first want to experiment with the subwoofer from my main system, to see if my study  is large enough to handle deep bass. In any case, the sound is already very good indeed for a smallish room.

I also have a very simple but nonetheless pleasant tertiary system in the bedroom:
Wharfedale Diamond 9.0 speakers
Ava Maestro 50 amplifier (with optical input)
Chromecast Audio as an optical digital source.
The amplifier is a very small and completely digital affair with an auto on/off function as its main virtue. It sits out of sight, tucked away in a wardrobe. It is turned on by a signal from the Chromecast, and is usually turned off by the TuneIn sleeptimer on the Chromecast. Unfortunately Chromecast does not have a native sleeptimer - that functionality has to come from the app for the streaming service. TuneIn has one, but Spotify e.g. does not. The amplifier is about 2x25 watt, and that is enough, but only just. I also tried it with my (insensitive) Harbeth P3ESR speakers, but it was not really powerful enough to drive those well. But I am quite happy with the more efficient Wharfedales - they are mostly used to listen to late night talk radio. But even for some casual music they are by no means offensive.
My current second system is a ridiculous hodge-podge of leftover components that makes no sense (the digital front is is 10x the speaker price, so taking the full Linn approach here), but hey, if you've been an audiophile long enough ... 

Accuphase E-406V integrated amp
Emm Labs DCC2 DAC / Preamp
MacIntosh MVP-881 Blu Ray
Usher BE-718 Speakers
Purist Aqeuous, Silversmith cables

Its an AV system, but sounds pretty decent for where its set up (not an audiophile approved location)

My bedroom system:

Speakers:
Kef LS50s

Amplification:
Creek Evolution 100a Integrated Amp
     w/ Ruby DAC module

Sources:
Chromecast Audio (digital in to DAC)
Old Pioneer CD/DVD player for CDs
TV / DirecTV
FM Tuner built into Ruby Module
Occasionally move a VPI Nomad turntable to this system but it doesn’t live there normally due to space limitations. 

Wanted to try the LS50s after reading all the amazing reviews and loved the small footprint and great flexibility/connectivity of the Creek w/ DAC module considering the limited space. 

Considered adding a subwoofer but the wife won that coin toss so instead the bedroom got an upholstered chair...it doesn’t add much to the sound quality but does make for a nice spot to enjoy the music.