Oh you want timeless classics? That thread has been done before several times on this forum, check the archives if they still exist.
But so far as a giant killer goes I also concur with the JVC 1050 cdp. The laser mechanism on mine went several months back so I ended up trying a Sony DVD 9000 in the interim. The Sony was smoother with better bass and greater resolution. So I should like it better right? I wish. The Sony just sounded, what's the word I'm looking for? Audiophile, yeah that's it and in addition it doesn't play CD-r, just another strike.
So I decided to find another JVC and did and am waiting for delivery. Man I'll tell you for 200.00 used I do not believe there is anything better for a transport. At least I haven't heard it. Sorry for the long post but I truly believe there is something intrinsically right about this unit, dynamic and a product that involves me in listening to music and not the system. This is regardless of the system I've heard it in. It offers something indefinable, something I've never heard in any Sony product regardless of price. This design is about 15 years old btw which makes it ancient in the digital world but it is special.
Vandersteen 2 series has not been slain by any speaker in its price range that I've heard. Of course this is an issue of preference but the Steens still fare well against their competition. The Maggies too are great but offer a different set of priorities, but not necessarily better, sorry Douglas. Ah, yes, the midrange of Quad speakers at 50 years old still embarass the vast majority of speakers out there, like 99% ;^)
In the true hi-end cost no object sweepstakes I've stated before and will again that I haven't heard any amp best the Berning ZH-270 in a given application. It does everything right. After owning this amp for over 3 years and comparing it against many other amps in different systems I believe this to be true. To really understand how great it is is to hear it in an optimally set-up system, this amp will go down as the next step beyond the Futterman design in tube amplification for all it offers. Ah, the best sign to me is still being as excited as the day I first heard it.
But so far as a giant killer goes I also concur with the JVC 1050 cdp. The laser mechanism on mine went several months back so I ended up trying a Sony DVD 9000 in the interim. The Sony was smoother with better bass and greater resolution. So I should like it better right? I wish. The Sony just sounded, what's the word I'm looking for? Audiophile, yeah that's it and in addition it doesn't play CD-r, just another strike.
So I decided to find another JVC and did and am waiting for delivery. Man I'll tell you for 200.00 used I do not believe there is anything better for a transport. At least I haven't heard it. Sorry for the long post but I truly believe there is something intrinsically right about this unit, dynamic and a product that involves me in listening to music and not the system. This is regardless of the system I've heard it in. It offers something indefinable, something I've never heard in any Sony product regardless of price. This design is about 15 years old btw which makes it ancient in the digital world but it is special.
Vandersteen 2 series has not been slain by any speaker in its price range that I've heard. Of course this is an issue of preference but the Steens still fare well against their competition. The Maggies too are great but offer a different set of priorities, but not necessarily better, sorry Douglas. Ah, yes, the midrange of Quad speakers at 50 years old still embarass the vast majority of speakers out there, like 99% ;^)
In the true hi-end cost no object sweepstakes I've stated before and will again that I haven't heard any amp best the Berning ZH-270 in a given application. It does everything right. After owning this amp for over 3 years and comparing it against many other amps in different systems I believe this to be true. To really understand how great it is is to hear it in an optimally set-up system, this amp will go down as the next step beyond the Futterman design in tube amplification for all it offers. Ah, the best sign to me is still being as excited as the day I first heard it.