FROM: Denon
(cd player DCD 1015 and amplifier PMA 735R)
with B&W speakers (DM 310)
TO: Tivoli (Music System+)
https://tivoliaudio.eu/collections/radios/products/music-system-plus-fm-dab-bluetooth-cd-hifi-system?variant=35173933285529
--
Roland van Gaalen
Amsterdam

And how do you like the sound?

I' d wish there were no radio and alarm clock in it.

Op vrijdag 1 december 2023 om 22:16:29 UTC+1 schreef Herman:
> And how do you like the sound?
>
> I' d wish there were no radio and alarm clock in it.

I like it. Don't ask me why, because I don't quite understand it myself, and I'm not even sure if it makes sense (given that I only have to bend down to adjust the volume knob of my old sound system), but I discovered that I tend to prefer the much less overwhelming sound of small speakers -- in fact, a lot of music sounds just fine on my computer (Apple MacBook Air, a few years old now).

(Could this be analogous to pop music from the sixties often sounding better on AM radio?)

Moreover, I had come to dislike a big cd player with a big amplifier and huge speakers and thick cables cluttering up my living room, and finally recognized that I will always remain too lazy to install all this cumbersome stuff properly.

In short, I was fed up with my huge Denon/B&W sound system, it's ugly and unwieldy and generally too loud, and wanted something more manageable, including the radio option (especially NPO Radio 4 Klassiek).

Judging from various Bruckner 5 recordings, the Tivoli 'sound system' is perfect for me. Even the Celibidache recording (Munich Philharmonic, EMI, 1993) sounds pretty good, although it still falls short of greatness, just as it did in my Denon period. It's a bit slow (in a slightly pretentious way), isn't it?
--
Roland van Gaalen
Amsterdam

On Friday, December 1, 2023 at 10:56:06 PM UTC+1, Roland van Gaalen wrote:
> > Moreover, I had come to dislike a big cd player with a big amplifier and huge speakers and thick cables cluttering up my living room, and finally recognized that I will always remain too lazy to install all this cumbersome stuff properly.
>
> In short, I was fed up with my huge Denon/B&W sound system, it's ugly and unwieldy and generally too loud, and wanted something more manageable, including the radio option (especially NPO Radio 4 Klassiek).
>
I feel the same way about all these pretentious electronics in one's sightlines. It's also been my experience that the more CDs we have the less we can find anything, because they all look the same. It really would be better just to have, say, 200 CDs - but which ones?
I was not aware Radio 4 still is any good. In the 70s and 80s there used to be a live relay almost every night coming from a EU concerthall somewhere.

> -- in fact, a lot of music sounds just fine on my computer (Apple MacBook Air, a few years old now).
>
> (Could this be analogous to pop music from the sixties often sounding better on AM radio?)

One of the blessings of age is one hears less.

On Saturday, 2 December 2023 at 08:56:06 UTC+11, Roland van Gaalen wrote:
> Op vrijdag 1 december 2023 om 22:16:29 UTC+1 schreef Herman:
> > And how do you like the sound?
> >
> > I' d wish there were no radio and alarm clock in it.
> I like it. Don't ask me why, because I don't quite understand it myself, and I'm not even sure if it makes sense (given that I only have to bend down to adjust the volume knob of my old sound system), but I discovered that I tend to prefer the much less overwhelming sound of small speakers -- in fact, a lot of music sounds just fine on my computer (Apple MacBook Air, a few years old now).

I tend to agree. Mainly because ultra-hi fidelity exposes too many flaws in the recording process, especially with purely digital recordings. I have always found the results largely very clinical especially with headphones. In fact often it is the loud speaker quality or slightly lack thereof, and subsequent sound colouration that compensates and makes more likeable the end result.

>
> (Could this be analogous to pop music from the sixties often sounding better on AM radio?)
>
> Moreover, I had come to dislike a big cd player with a big amplifier and huge speakers and thick cables cluttering up my living room, and finally recognized that I will always remain too lazy to install all this cumbersome stuff properly.

I have a Denon PMA and DCD 720 amp and player, but mostly used when I am mixing my Bandlab 'creations' with my Korg arranger. For classical listening, Shosty sounds good through the small Denon speakers I have, but it isn't for me anything really that special that I cannot get through a micro system.

> In short, I was fed up with my huge Denon/B&W sound system, it's ugly and unwieldy and generally too loud, and wanted something more manageable, including the radio option (especially NPO Radio 4 Klassiek).

As a veuf (widower) I don't have anyone pestering me about untidy wires so am not ultra bothered.
>
> Judging from various Bruckner 5 recordings, the Tivoli 'sound system' is perfect for me. Even the Celibidache recording (Munich Philharmonic, EMI, 1993) sounds pretty good, although it still falls short of greatness, just as it did in my Denon period. It's a bit slow (in a slightly pretentious way), isn't it?

Celi's Bruckner is ok now and then, but my gotos are Wand or Jochum.

Ray Hall, Taree