Hi from Oz

More of a fan and collector of favourite music than any kind of hifi purist. Mostly into nearfield listening in a dedicated room/office via 'vintage'/old equipment: Yamaha (RX-V420) amp running Pioneer, Celestion and DIY speakers, Aegis centre speaker, Wharfedale sub, Sherwood turntable, budget stuff — in a 'sort of' HT placement. Like sitting in giant earphones: plenty of clarity, definition, depth, surround, even with the music of the past that I love: fifties rock'n'roll, rockabilly, country, big band and other classic jazz, fifties pop, some orchestral, etc; cut-off point: pre Bleatles, Rolling Drones, etc. My 'system' sounds spot-on to my admittedly geriatric (78 year) ears. Old enough to appreciate what's good/great/adequate/affordable and to laugh at the endless proliferation of snake oil claims and other hifi BS. But always cruising the related websites and forums, interested in learning more. Hence my presence here at the first forum I've registered for: really dig the civilised exchange of opinions and lack of carping and point-scoring — a bit unusual in such a forum .
 
Welcome to the haven! Much of what has drawn you hear has brought me and other’s as well. Make yourself comfortable and feel free to jump in with both feet!
 
Yes welcome. I registered for 3 or 4 other sites before I landed here. I eventually stopped visiting the others because of the snobbery and the mean spirited discourse. I also operate in the budget realm, but have never been talked down to or ridiculed. It is refreshing.
 
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Welcome to the Haven. Thanks for the compliments. Relax and Make yourself at home. Don't be shy about starting new discussions or contributing to existing ones.
 
The bat cave works Andy. I would bet most of us on here, while have a main system somewhere, mostly listen on a similar home office rig or similar. A lot of advice can be found here on how to dial things in there as well.
 
Hi guys, thanks for your kind comments, especially Drugolf with one helluva system indeed, a far cry from my cobbled-together setup. I got into the near-field thing by default through wanting reasonable-to-good sound around me while I worked at the computer (as a freelance copywriter). When we downsized a couple of years ago (our grown kids having long gone) we found that the previous owner of our new home had already used one of the bedrooms as a home office, so I quickly monopolised it, after which additional speakers kept creeping in, closer and closer to where I sit. Upgrading (so to speak) to a Pioneer 5.1 amplifier, I was able to add the extra speakers and totally immerse myself. Inherited my present Yamaha 420 from my son — and much prefer the A+B speaker option with tone and balance switches on the front panel. Having grown up in the jukebox era with rockabilly and rock'n'roll I've always preferred an over-supply of bass with reduced treble. (I can sense a lot of you cringing at this heresy. My son especially, calls it a 'cloth-eared' setup, something I can't really deny.) I hadn't actually heard of the term 'near-field' at that stage, only encountering it in my website/forum reading fairly recently. I also have a stereo set-up in the lounge room for TV and movies, running another old Yamaha amp (V1600) which takes A+B speakers plus centre and has more than enough oomph for my needs (my wife doesn't really care for any it, especially disliking the sub, but is a model of tolerance). In this day and age with all the horrors going on, I feel very lucky indeed.
 
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