Tube Audo Design 150 Pre. If the Cayin TA-30 is in hear, then the TAD-150 should be as it is even better..
Amazing ''Overachieving'' products...your pick?
I have owned both expensive gear (and I do mean expensive) and ''budget'' gear. Many components are mind-boggling on a price-paid versus performance ratio. Three of my favorites are:
1. The Bedini clarifier. This gizmo just plain works. You may like - or not - the difference it makes on your cd's. In my case, it clears up a lot of fog. The cheapest upgrade to ALL my cd's.
2. The Cayin TA-30 integrated amplifier . So much performance and flexibility for so little money. Put it up against anything up to 3 times the price, musically and from a build-quality perspective. Just plain amazing.
3. The Apple i-Pod Mini. Yes, even from in an audiophile application, playing cd's (not downloaded MP3's). You can snob it but you cannot ignore it.
What are YOUR picks ?
1. The Bedini clarifier. This gizmo just plain works. You may like - or not - the difference it makes on your cd's. In my case, it clears up a lot of fog. The cheapest upgrade to ALL my cd's.
2. The Cayin TA-30 integrated amplifier . So much performance and flexibility for so little money. Put it up against anything up to 3 times the price, musically and from a build-quality perspective. Just plain amazing.
3. The Apple i-Pod Mini. Yes, even from in an audiophile application, playing cd's (not downloaded MP3's). You can snob it but you cannot ignore it.
What are YOUR picks ?
163 responses Add your response
This is no joke !I forgot to mention one of the all-time greatest overachieving products in high-end audio. Next time you feel that you need new speakers or interconnects, invest $ 5.00 in a bottle of....Ear Cleaning solution ! Think I'm joking? try it. Its a mandatory ''upgrade'' ! Listening with fresh ears...how many of us really think of this? |
Here' one I just discovered for the tube dudes. Ei Yugo labeled 12AX7 tubes which can be bought new for about $7.00 a tube.....Just went up against my favorite RCA 5751 3X mica BP's and hold their own..in fact a bit more open with better bass...the RCA's have focus and resolution...but at about $100. pair for NOS..I like the Ei a little more!!! FOR SALE: 1 pair RCA 5751's Black Plates!! :) |
sonic impact digital amp $20. See 6moons.com review. YOOO! 24gauge copper speaker cable - for PEANUTS Petra music boy interconnects. 50 metres for $90 or 3 terminated 2metre cables for $11. $thousands cables WEEP! Goldring Lenco L75/78 turntables $200 with mods - ALL high end decks prepare to be matched or SLAUGHTERED! Quad esl57's. Got refurbished pair with new treble panels for £1000. Midrange is UNSURPASSED! (I know, bass is less and treble, well is less too). Stepped attenuaters with Vishay resisters for $50 from some guy in Taiwan on ebay. TRUST him 70's Tuners. I got sansui tu710 for $60. It's AWSOME. modding it takes it into SUPERLEAGUE. 10 years desperate buying to here! (oh, and home made pushpull triode monoblocks 8watts - $180 parts cost.) HEE HEE |
Great value products can still be system dependent, but here are a few: 1) Marigo Signature, cd/dvd stabiliser 2) Pass labs Aleph 3, (given sensitive speakers) 3) Aurios 1.2 isolation devices 4) Living Voice Auditorium Range of speakers (Not such a good deal in the US with the current Xchange rate) 5) Creek T40 or T43 tuner An eclectic mix and some seem very expensive for what they are $199 for the Marigo. But sometimes you have to pay over the odds to get really good value, if that does'nt sound crazy, which it does. |
1) Jolida JD-100. No brainer. Here's an easy recipe: juice the tubes to NOS 5751s; switch the PC to something like a Chris VenHaus Flavor 1; hit the tube pins, RCAs, and PC/IEC prongs with Walker SST; and add a bit of isolation (granite, marble, maple, points, whatever). 2) Polk SDA 1-C speakers. Yeah, I know, Polk. They don't make these anymore. From the mid-late 80s, these have crazy wide/deep soundstage with excellent imaging and voice/instrument placement, wonderful top and low end (mids could be a bit more detailed); they do need plenty of current to make them shine. They respond very well to modest or even intense tweaking. I still prefer my 1-Cs to numerous, much more expensive speakers of today. |
1. LABELS : Naim, Mapleshade, 6 Moons Sampler CD (Nothing improves the sound more than a properly recorded Software) 2. Signal Cables - value at all price points - honest dealing and great service 3. Tube Research Labs - Digital Mods for $550 - compares with CD players above $2000 - great service - super mod 4. TAD-30, TAD-60, TAD-150 Tube Integrated, Pre, Power from 2baudio.com Paul is a great guy - offers best bang for the buck products 5. Von Schweikert Speakers - VR1 - for small to medium rooms |
In the large ticket category: AMR CD-77 In the mid price category: Subbase écho platforms: extremely effective resonance damping platforms, up there with the very, very best; customized constructions, each one a piece of art; not sure whether Thomas exports, though. Website in German only, I'm afraid http://subbase-audio.de/index.htm In the amazingly affordable category: edenSound solid brass and TerraStone vibration isolators http://www.vermontaudio.com/index.html |
I don't know about amazing, but it's very good - the Sony SCD-XA5400ES. In standard form it is almost the equal of my much modified (by Ric Schultz) Sony XA777ES - which was $1900 plus $1500 mods. The Sony is $1500 from Crutchfield, although there are cheaper outlets (that I can't recommend). It is a fine player for both CD and SACD, and has a nice balanced output stage that's done pretty well. Not as solidly constructed as the XA777ES, but it does multichannel over HDMI. Good platform for modifiers. Regards, |
I would nominate the Music Reference RM10 MKII ($1,950) which may very well be the very best sounding 30-40 watt amplifier there is (The Atma-sphere S-30 maybe as good and possibly better with some speakers, but quite a bit more expensive). This RM10 with the right speakers and passive preamp like the Lightspeed Attenuator is world-class in almost any way that I can detect, matching equipment I have and had several multiple more expensive. It is also overachieving in the sense that it is less the 10lbs and about the size of a hardcover book, it looks too small to be great, but great it is. |
Audio Physic Virgo II Speakers. I've 'upgraded' four times since then and yet the Virgo has a balance, imaging and unfettered beauty that in some way eludes my more expensive speakers. They are an outright bargain if you can set them up properly. My current speakers are $35k. Are they better than the Virgo II? Sort of, maybe.....but it's definitely not night and day. YBA CD1 CD Player. I'm guessing this older player doesn't have the latest 192 resolution etc.... But, it plays music beautifully. I owned it, sold it and now miss it. Supratek preamps. My Syrah replaced a $5k Sonic Frontiers Line III, easily. I bought a Musical Fidelity KW phono stage, and sold it because the Supratek's internal phono was better. I think I can only sell this to get another Supratek - it helps that it's so beautiful looking too. |