Ian on the gear he uses, why he uses it, and where each piece sits in the chain.

Ok.. so as I do, you also love your music, pretty much any style as long as the sound grabs you. On that basis, rather than go into my boring self, I'll dribble on about the equipment I use and how it sounds to me, because everyone will hear things differently.

We'll start with the heart of it all, the Marantz PM6007 amp. In my opinion, probably one of the best budget amps out there right now, not a massively expensive piece but well worth the price and punches well above its weight.

It has a nice neutral sound but is easily changed with the use of the tone controls, which I have set on mine to zero.

The reason for this is based around the other components of the setup working to complement the DAC in the Marantz.

For the less tech-minded, the D.A.C is the digital-to-analogue converter, which basically changes the sounds of your digital media, CDs, streaming sites and so on from that digital form into an analogue one that your speakers can play. Vinyl, on the other hand, is recorded in analogue, so in many cases the DAC is bypassed.

Next is the Wiim Pro Plus, which is a network streaming device. The Wiim is a fantastic piece of kit, basically connects to your WIFI network, plugs into your amp and allows you to stream whichever music platform you use. the part of this that makes it flippin awesome is it doesn't use Bluetooth, so if you're listening to your favourite track and you get a call or message on your phone it won't interfere with what you're listening to unlike Bluetooth which as we all know when your phones linked to your car stereo you get a message or call and it goes through the speakers which is a proper pain in the arse so if streaming's your thing you really should have a look at one.

Speaker time.. I use the Elac Debut B5.2, which are bookshelf speakers that, as the name suggests, sit either on a bookshelf or cabinet or whichever piece of furniture you choose, or on stands. You'll always find the terms bookshelf or standmount when talking about non-floor-standing speakers. Generally, they're around the same kind of size, so there's no real difference, chances are if you type either as a search you'll get pretty much the same results.

People go on about placement, which is a pretty big deal depending on how far you want to go with the sound. If you're happy with your speakers generally, and you're just using your system as a basic background noise kinda thing, then I don't really think it matters where they are as long as you can hear them and it sounds ok to you.

If, however, you want the best sound you can pull out of them, then the general rule of thumb is this.

Have them so that when you're in your music listening to happy chair, the tweeters are at ear height and approximately the same distance apart as the distance from you to them, so creating an equal triangle or as best as you can, have them slightly turned in so they're kind of pointing at your shoulders, and depending on if you're using front or rear ported, which is basically a hole in the cabinet which allows air and sound movement inside the speaker to get out, rear ported away from the wall and corners because it makes the bass boomy by reflecting the sound, unless you like it that way, front ported can be placed closer because the air and sound is being pushed out of the front anyway so is far more forgiving.

And there you go.

Now, I mentioned earlier that the tone controls on my amp are at zero. This is because, as well as the Elac speakers having a remarkable sound for their price, I also use a subwoofer, the Wharfdale SW150 subwoofer to be exact.

I use a sub not for the stupid amount of bass like some cars, you hear shaking your windows as they go past, but just to give the overall sound a bit more body. Many bookshelf speakers can only produce sound down to a certain level, so sometimes your music can sound a bit tinny.

The subwoofer deals with the bass sounds that your speakers can't reproduce, so for me, it gives a much fuller sound. If it's something you think would benefit your sound at home, I highly recommend it. The settings for them are based around how deep a sound your own speakers will go, which you'll find on the back of them, look for the crossover frequency.

You will more than likely need to tune the sub to your own taste.

I also use a CD player, Cambridge CD4, which is an older model but as good as I need it to be. I tend not to play CDs so much, purely based on the fact that I have the Wiim streamer, but sometimes I'll chuck one on.

There is a noticeable difference between Digital media, whether it be streaming or CD and the analogue vinyl sound; it becomes very personal. But there is a massive element of convenience with streaming as well.

Last but far from least is the turntable.

The Systemdek iix, which is a vintage one, for some reason, certain HiFi items are classed as vintage rather than old, as in my CD player, no idea why, but I can live with it.

It's a fully manual turntable, so basically I have to put the stylus onto the record, take it off when it's done, and if I want to change the speed, 33 or 45 rpm, I have to take the platter off and manually change the belt onto another pulley wheel. It's a bit of a chore, but I think it's worth the effort.

Obviously, there are many turntables out there of a similar look and sound that are fully automatic, but generally it's the first thing you see when you look, so it just makes sense for it to have that touch of class, and in my humble opinion, the Systemdek is exactly that.

If you are planning a vinyl-based setup, remember that as much as you pay for any turntable, in many cases, it's only as good as the stylus you have on it.

Feel free to get in touch, tell me about your own setup or critique mine.

Music is personal, and how you choose to listen is too; there's no right or wrong, good or bad. It just is.

Amplifier: Marantz PM6007

Network streamer: WiiM Pro Plus

Bookshelf speakers: Elac Debut B5.2

Subwoofer: Wharfedale SW150

CD player: Cambridge Audio CD4

Turntable: Systemdek IIX (vintage, no longer manufactured, eBay UK is your best bet)

Until next week,
The Ditty