adg101

Responses from adg101

Which AMP to Keep ?
I would definitely keep the Pass and sell the others.   
RME ADI-2 direct to amp
audioman58 Totally agree. I use a WyWires Silver Juice II Digital Series PC and a Synergistic Orange Fuse with great results. Made a nice difference, giving more openness and warmth, taking out the edge… what little edge there was.  
Ayon CD-5s
I’d reach out to Ayon directly before I gave up. Most dealerships don’t have a service department capable to work on digital components. Agree with Jasonborne52. Could be a simple fix.  
Potential upgrade path…
Backdoor What are you hoping to gain? $35k is a lot of money, even to those that don’t have a hard time pissing it away. Not a fan of DSP for a two channel set up - home theatre, sure. I’d suggest, because I suspect you’ll get a lot out of it is ... 
What is the most important cable in your system
It is best to start from the end, just as speakers make the most difference of any component. For cables it’s speaker cables, then amp back to source. Don’t believe me, A/B Ethernet Cables versus Speaker Wires. They all make a difference. It’s onl... 
Not sure what to think or do...
We’ll your here for advice so I’ll keep it simple.  Yes it should sound good out of the box, and will likely improve with more time… the amp that is. Thirty hours is nothing on a new pair of speakers so they definitely need some time to stretch ou... 
Recapping Mark Levinson 33H monoblocks
Open the cabinets to inspect the caps if they’re bulging or leaking. My guess is if you’re not hearing anything then they’re fine. Definitely be expensive. No doubt there’s probably better today but I bet you’ll spend more than recapping even if y... 
Pass Labs Speaker Choices
X250 with Aerial Acoustics 7B or Wilson Audio W/P 6. Both speakers sound great with the Pass.  
Klyne Audio Arts System 7 line stage
If that Klyne is playing well I wouldn’t do a thing. Play it until the wheels fall off. You have a very nice system. I’d spend the money on your digital front end if the money is burning a hole in your pocket or cables. A friend loaned me a few of... 
any thoughts on apogee centaur speakers?
Agree. I owned a pair about five years ago or so and thoroughly enjoyed them. Drove them with an Audio Research 100.2 and ModWright SWL 9.0 SE. Was a very enjoyable system that didn’t cost a lot on the used market. Those three components I maybe h... 
When were the best tube amps made?
How I used to lust for a pair of VT 150 SE’s when I was young. Never heard a pair, but they were all the talk in Stereophile and TAS in the early 90’s. I bet today with a LS5 they still sing. Remember around 1990 or so going to Audio Perfection an... 
Speaker Placement and Toe-In
Anyone bought Paul McGowan’s new book, “The Audiophile’s Guide: The Loudspeaker?” I recently purchased it with the SACD.  Not a bad read and if anything it refreshes what most of us probably already know. Haven’t messed with it yet but I’m going t... 
solid core VS stranded for inside speaker cabinet
Solid core is absolutely fine and many well known cable manufacturers use it. Many use a stranded cable that each strand is insulated which is referred to as Litz and there’s simple stranded which is like the old Monster Cable which my Wilson Audi... 
CD Cases / Furniture Recommendations?
Old thread but I’m still going to chime in. I have several Boltz stand which I really like but I question how they are doing today. Ordered a stand a year ago and it took about two months to get which with Covid I understood. Ordered another stand... 
Cables
I would stay away from warmer sounding cables and more towards faster or more revealing. Litz copper cables maybe too much of a good thing with McIntosh. Depending on budget I would look into Nordost’s Heimdall 2 or Frey 2. Local McIntosh dealer u...