I see videos from this individual frequently he's got a show every night almost on YouTube which is live. It's interesting.
I'm not familiar with the brands on his website and he doesn't seem to be happy about lots of stuff. He visits stores and complains about how terrible their equipment is and that no one knows what they're doing without really explaining him himself.
I've learned many things from him but I don't know why his gear that he represents seems lacklustre, I'm not gonna mention it here but maybe I'm wrong. There are many outstanding so-called higher end audio gear that's out there and he doesn't seem to carry any of it.
Everybody is free to spend as much or as little on audio gear as they so choose. However, don't fall into the trap of thinking expensive is always technically superior sounds better. A $100K amp is not 1000 times better than a good $1K amp.
Also, you are free to believe the black sheep act and ignore Mikey products marketed with the same meaningless techno-bable claims as those he is on a mission to expose as frauds.
Finally, you are free to ignore his application of situational ethics. Come to Audiogon to deceitfully bait members making unproven accusations that number of posts equates to being a manufacturers shill. Then promote himself as an honest broker with only customer happiness his goal - if you spend more than $4K.
I learned reading your posts that you are a very sensible and sensitive person... It is better than high I.Q. with no heart intelligence... Then dont be too harsh on yourself ...
My very best to you ...
I enjoy his videos when they short and to the point and filled with commentary about audio components all the extra rhetoric is very very annoying.
Brilliant minds work differently than the rest of us I guess. Although being blissfully ignorant with a low IQ like me has its advantages to.
What OCD mickey said here is true completely from my limited experience and very important then i believe you about OCD mickey tcutter :
“Unless you can have a dedicated listening room, especially if you need to share the room with family and you musnt have speakers in to the room , etc, then realize you can take things only so far. Not as far as with a listening room, so make it good and stop there. no expense on equipment can make up for poor room positioning or acoustics. You can still get much enjoyment, and everyone will understand why you keep it sensible and conservative.”
Ironically, I have been pursuing hard a new DAC and was reading tons of reviews and watching a variety of videos. It wasn’t until I viewed a few that I put it together and realized that some were from that OCD guy mentioned in this Audiogon thread. I also found that he carries one of the DACs in which I’m interested. This led me to his website where I found two things that earned my respect.
First, he is someone who appreciates the contribution the room makes to the sound and advises you don’t go nuts if you cannot hear the sound the equipment provides. From his website:
“Unless you can have a dedicated listening room, especially if you need to share the room with family and you musnt have speakers in to the room , etc, then realize you can take things only so far. Not as far as with a listening room, so make it good and stop there. no expense on equipment can make up for poor room positioning or acoustics. You can still get much enjoyment, and everyone will understand why you keep it sensible and conservative.”
Second, he requires a conversation before you drop (a lot) of your hard-earned cash. From his website:
“We believe that you should have quality products that fit your needs. For that reason, all of our products with a price of $4000 or more requires a brief consultation. We want you to be 100% satisfied and we look forward to speaking with you about this product.”
I look forward to talking with him because I want to know if the crazy money I may be spending will bring me a DAC that is in line with my system or is so far above it I will be wasting my money. As Maghister says, it’s all about system matching.
I had neither seen nor heard of him until this thread and only now am reading it. So far, all OCDMikey has demonstrated to me is that he is human. I have no quibble with that. I trust him and I trust me to figure out if I should not.
@emergingsoul, Thanks. The Magma New tubes are quite a bit bigger than the Magma M tubes. The Magma New chassis is also taller than the M chassis.
I’ve listened to a number of different tube amp designs. I prefer the SET topography best of the different designs I’ve heard. These are very musical. They pair the best with my speakers of the different amps I’ve had in the rig.
If he doesn't have them in stock, Mikey can get the amps relatively quickly. If there is an issue with one, he has several qualified techs in different parts of the country. If an issue arrises, the details are worked out based on the location and circumstances. It’s not a big deal.
I love how your NAT amplifiers look. I think the tube size on your amplifier seems more appropriate for since the oversized tubes I see from OCD. How long does it take to get an amplifier from him? What happens if they need to be repaired do you send them back to Mike Powell or back to Serbia?
I had a return issue on some amplifiers and fortunately my dealer was nearby replaced the amplifier but if I had to get it serviced, it would've taken 3 to 4 months if I'm lucky.
Maybe they can fix it here in the US if I was to buy one.
The NAT amps sound amazing. I just picked up the Magma M HRS mono's. I got home yesterday. I also own the 805 Generators, there's a picture of them in my virtual system. The Magma M's are single ended triode. The Generators are push pull triode. After listening to them in my rig last night and most of today, I can tell you that the Magma M's are more musical sounding than the Generators. They both have great range and bass response. My speakers need massive power from tube amps given that they are 88 dB at 1 meter and 4 ohm.
One of my Generator mono blocks died in October. My tech has been trying to fix them since then but was unable to. He tried everything. There aren't any schematics available for them. We called NAT in Serbia and they couldn't help either. If I can find a single mono block somewhere I'd have a working pair. They're 17 years old.
Mikey gave me an INCREDIBLE deal on the Magma M's. I couldn't pass it up. I'll upload a new photo.
Mikey didn't have to do anything for me after my Generators died. I bought them from him used a couple of years ago. They worked great until they didn't. That's the way the cookie crumbles. All I can say is that he really stepped up to help me out and I greatly appreciate that! He treats his people right. Spend some money with him and you'll know what I'm talking about.
There not experimental, they use the largest triode ever made, every part in the circuit has to be able to handle the voltage. One tube can be over 150 watts of output power, so you can use a set amps like these for lower efficiency speakers.
Are these experimental? and that’s a lot of electricity flowing through those things. What does “more of a justification” mean as you indicated when comparing to other amplifiers?
Anyway you are right about my syntax and style and right about Joyce...
My best to you...
@mahgister I did make a mistake. I should have said James Joyce at his most stream-of-conscious best! Read Ulysses twice. Still have a hard time with it. Who am I to argue with one of the greatest authors? Maybe Infinite Jest is the better analogy; more footnotes than Dante's Divine Comedy.
@mahgister I did make a mistake. I should have said James Joyce at his most stream-of-conscious best! Read Ulysses twice. Still have a hard time with it. Who am I to argue with one of the greatest authors? Maybe Infinite Jest is the better analogy; more footnotes than Dante's Divine Comedy.
OCD Mikey is a legitimate dealer who has an eccentric flair. He is right that a lot of big box stores are designed to impress rich people who know as much about audio as they do rebuilding their Porsche PDK gearboxes themselves which is zero.
He cuts through the hype and has premium brands that are known but a lot of you are not experienced to be in the know and lambast and chastise him because you don’t have the experience to have learned right from wrong yet.
@emergingsoul the price of the NAT amplifier you speak of has more of a justification than a lot of other high end amps. Those tubes need about 2kv on the plate,so everything inside the amp has to be able to handle that voltage or you can get corona discharge. You don’t have to worry about breaking the tubes, it comes with a cage around the tubes from the manufacturer.
I like Mikey and his channel. I happen to think a pair of Kef Blades and Classe monoblocks make a very high end sound though. I wouldn't buy them at Magnolia but it is a very good sound in my opinion.
But perhaps it will suit me more to be a lesser James Joyce ...😁
Thanks anyway for your caring ...😊
My best to you for sure and the warmest welcome ...
@mahgister, why not type out your thoughts in your native language, then run it through an English translator, followed up with something like Grammarly( literal translations can still be confusing). You’re more difficult to follow than James Joyce at his most stream-of-conscious worst!
I never noticed how bright these things are. Anybody ever try these nat amplifiers with their oversized tubes. Is it a good thing to have tubes so big?
These are $100,000 amplifiers. What makes them so expensive??
Acoustics experiments was not a "dumb hobby"... Nor was my experiments in headphone or speakers modifications...
It is "related to an old guy" though yes, because i had plenty of time to do it being retired...
All my system cost is 1000 bucks... All my experiments costed nothing or very low amount, all being homemade with discarded materials or peanuts costs devices then all "old guy" here are not "with more money than sense" ... But some here have less brain than anything else for sure...
Really, who cares? It’s just a dumb hobby mostly related to old guys with more money than sense.
...enjoying the show....but the popcorns’ down to the unpopped....
As for a ’crystal wafer disc that resonates’, I think I can hold off on that for awhile...😏 No firm idea on WTH it’ll need or have to have to work proper....
Besides, my samurai Iaido classes are taking up free time of late....
Maybe somewhere, sometime Mikey recommended a piece of gear he doesn't sell. Good for him if that happened. Unfortunately, that does not fit with his industry black sheep, expose industry lies and rip offs, trust me, join the Tribe schtick.
Again, I ask how is this marketing hype any different than what the big bad industry insiders promote? "passive RF/EMI filtering technology utilizing rare earth minerals in a polymer matrix, as well as treatments to the live and neutral leg to reduce magnetic flux, as well as a crystal wafer resonating disc which activates in the presence of AC power."
No doubt we all need a crystal wafer resonating disc, maybe several, to make our systems sound great.
Pretty safe bet Mikey is sweet as apple pie when you put your hard earned dollars in his pocket, thus becoming a full fledged member of the Tribe.
Pretty sure he also tells guys to go out and buy something else he doesn't carry, if he thinks it's a better fit for them. Pretty safe bet he's not all that desperate for your hard earned cash and will try and say whatever to get it (like certain others).
I like to watch OCD have his nervous breakdowns and then recover. In the recovery stage he can be charming and level. It can be suspenseful and entertaining to watch him go though his process. He is the very embodiment of the hyper audiophile, and that is we when we are at our most exposed and vulnerable to our passion.
When dealing with you as an individual I and others have found him very respectful, not putting down your equipment, taste or budget. He seems as much or more interested you being moved by the music and establishing a long term audiophile friendship, as in making a sale.
I like Mike. I follow his YT channel and he’s entertaining and I’ve learned about some brands I didn’t know. I don’t always agree with what he’s saying but that’s a good thing. Makes me think a bit more. I’ve also met him a couple of times and he’s been a genuinely nice guy. Keep doing your thing, Mike.
I had the pleasure of speaking with Mike a while back. I found him to be very knowledgeable. He gave me some advice concerning cabling that helped me out.
At this point if you want to depend on OCD Mikey for information, that is your choice. However, there are others with knowledge that are without drama and easy to understand. Suggest you broaden your horizons.
Mikey might know audio inside out. Unfortunately, his deceitful actions for nothing more than self promotion disqualify him as an honest broker. He reminds me of a car dealer trying to lure in customers with this line - "We loose a little on each deal, but make up for it in volume".
So much baiting. How can we trust the positive comments?
I listen to his videos and learn but have never really heard much about speaker construction outside of the exterior cabinet materials.
Mr. Powell does a great job explaining the insides of a Power conditioner and talks about Cable and power cord construction every once in a while. But I don't recall him talking about the construction of crossovers within the speaker in any great detail.
I wish there were more opportunities to learn from these guys who may have the knowledge. Maybe they turn off the viewers if it gets too intellectual. We know the manufacturers won't do any of this.
The rogue outsider routine cannot be taken seriously.
his ecstatic announcement about baiting Audiogon members, exposing handles, and making unsupportable accusations is not the actions of an honest person with no agenda....If you think that stunt was OK, then a whole different discussion about what constitutes an upstanding ethical person.
If Mikey moves enough merchandise brands are happy - and that makes him legit?
real folks here should make sure their b-s meters are working... there are layers upon layers of it here
@jjss49Hard agree. I'm not sure everyone has one of those. The idea (down in this thread) that one "just doesn't have to watch" is good advice for a child, and fatuous for adults. Of course no one *has to* watch. The idea is to call out b.s. rather than just let it happen. Kind of like any other with any other odious phenomenon. It can be ignored -- but it shouldn't be. It should be called out and criticized, debated, etc.
Brands like Jeff Rowland or TAD wouldn't let Mike sell their product if he wasn't legit. I picked up a pair of F&F speakers at his house in Jan. His wife was fantastic and a music lover as well. She's a better salesperson than he is! I trust Mike's ear. I agree with him that some of the hyped lines are overpriced or sound over analytical to me. He recently had a video where he complimented brands he doesnt rep like Borreson and Avant Garde for their rooms at Florida Audio Expo.
That’s nice to hear about explaining what’s inside the mystery box. Maybe mikey can do a video on this. I wish more videos about what goes on inside the mystery boxes would be done. Also would be nice to hear explanations about crossover electronics used inside all these noteworthy speakers everybody talks about. Crossover electronics really impact the sound and I hear that lots of speaker manufactures try to save money on what they install because no one focusses on this stuff.
Yeah, Audio Note UK spends a little time on their crossovers. In fact, in their signature speaker models, some of the capacitors are the size of soda cans. They spend an incredible amount of time on their crossovers….and its a two-way.
The OCD Mikey schtick is a like it or not proposition. However, his ecstatic announcement about baiting Audiogon members, exposing handles, and making unsupportable accusations is not the actions of an honest person with no agenda. That action was driven by an agenda mixed with a big dose of ego, make no mistake. If you think that stunt was OK, then a whole different discussion about what constitutes an upstanding ethical person.
The just another fool on Youtube with an opinion act does not wash. No amount of "aw shucks, I am just a little guy speaking the truth, really, trust me, I'm on your side" Barnum & Bailey act can cover up the fact Mikey is part of the high end audio industry.
He's entertaining, has a point of view that he's pretty clear about, has legitimate background/experience in the industry and no apparent agendas beyond what he says. He often proclaims he's just another jackass on you tube with an opinion. I have no problem with any of it. He's more straightforward and honest about what he's doing than most "experts" on youtube or in the magazines. He fashions himself as the "black sheep" and anti establishment, which gets a little shop-worn, but he mostly is. If you don't like his schtick, don't watch it.
That’s nice to hear about explaining what’s inside the mystery box. Maybe mikey can do a video on this. I wish more videos about what goes on inside the mystery boxes would be done. Also would be nice to hear explanations about crossover electronics used inside all these noteworthy speakers everybody talks about. Crossover electronics really impact the sound and I hear that lots of speaker manufactures try to save money on what they install because no one focusses on this stuff.
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