We only want to talk on certain amps and not consider others. There is the BAT groupies, the CAT groupies, the per amp deal of the century groupies, ARC groupie Which groupie are you? I am a Cayin and Jadis groupie.
Marty, Les Paul is still there every Monday but I'm more onto the avantgarde such as Sun Ra which could be also heard in this venue once in a while. I could also be an ECM label(including Watt) groupie since I always follow their new releases and got plenty of old ones numbering near or above 100 on CDs and records. I even don't pass their compilations. The spelling of E C M was always for me pronounced as MUSIC.
I was a member of the Maggie Cult, and I suspect many will show their faces as their are maybe the most loyal bunch of owners. I escaped camp for a while but will return when I get the space to do then justice.
At the moment I am most intrigued by "soundstage." Mainly just having a setup that allows the music to breathe and layout into the room. I imagine most setups don't allow speaker positions to really allow the music to unfold. At the moment I get bother when I listen to systems that seem to have a congested or closed in soundstage. Personally, I've been looking for a thread to further explore this topic.
Some people are open minded and willing to listen to anything others like something special(their view) and focus on that. Why should it be anything different in audio than politics or food.
I'm a Deja Vu Audio groupie, once you set foot in that store you're hooked! I highly recommend it to anyone in the DC area, even if you're just visiting. www.dejavuaudio.com, and no I'm not affiliated just a very happy customer.
I'm a disciple of the timbre, phase and timing accurate so for me, when it comes to speakers, Thiel and Vandersteen are my only options now. All other non-speaker brands are fair game though.
And I agree with Undertow; when it comes to brands try to keep it positive or not say anything, except of course I encourage folks looking at other speakers brands to question why a speaker manufacturer intentionally will reverse the phase of some of the drivers in order to "make it sound better." Talk about intentionally screwing up the music content playback of a recording...
Mrtennis- Your confession about timbral fealty is utterly on target although I don't see how you can differentiate it from a concern for sound. I see soundstage as an entertaining but non-essential part of the presentation as it really doesn't occur much in live acoustic performances and can't occur in amplified venues. The other points about timbre, dynamics and bass are indisputable necessities in my opinion. I think Bartokfan was actually seeking brand name loyalties however, and asking us to confess our brand name biases. As is well known by now, I have fallen wholeheartedly for the Zu speaker line and have become a "Listening Post"/ dealer for their products as of last week. I have always admired cleverness as I see it in Zu designs and as I read it in Viridians comments. Hence the reference to being a Viridian groupie. Also greatly admire the input of Jax2.
Launche, yes i did break my commiitment to get the Cayin A88, as i saw the opportunity for the Xiansheng. But as you point out at these price points the Cayin can still bea possibility. That is if the Xian, due to arrive tomorrow, should not meet some expectations. If it does not, then I may not in fact get the Cayin , as it also has KT88's. I tried some EH KT88's in my JOR, and the sound was flat and just aweful. THe JOR has KT90's and offers a perfect balance with bass, mids, highs. . The PV web site mentions this amp has bass, so we'll see. If the amp turns out to be a dud, I'm only out of pocket $700, and may either list it (doubt it'd sell, but then maybe at $500, with the Cayin I;d be out $1200) or give it to a friend. When I say dud, meaning the KT88 is not the sound I;'m after for my classical. The new opportunities offered from china are entriguing, and they seem to learn well.
OK I'll bite. I guess becoming a classic Jazz (anything not smooth jazz) cult member.
And I'm looking to join Cult Cayin. Pretty nice what the chinese are able to pull off for the price. Now I don't know who makes these things as they may be branded and re-branded etc... I guess it's becoming like cars, almost every maker uses parts from and copies everyone else.
Bartokfan you've now given yourself free reign to start and praise in Cult Cayin, although I thought I saw you lusting after the lastest "brought to my attention" chinese import.
I worship at the Church of Linn. My only heresy is to replace the speaker connectors on the K400 cable with locking WBT angled bananas. For that, I will burn in Linn purgatory, which has a Bose system constantly playing in order to torment the unfaithful infidels.
Speaking of cults, I'm also a reformed Druid. What's the difference between a reformed Druid and a regular Druid you ask?
Well, ...we worship bushes as well as trees.
We don't have to paint our face blue during the annual Beltane Festival.
And the sacrifice.......it doesn't have to be a virgin.
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