almarg
Responses from almarg
| Are audiophiles still out of their minds? My point is of course you can construct absurd cases where some generic wire might win in a shoot out with a superior wire due to some contrived assemblage of variables. But those case can be thrown out. They’re outliers. You cannot put the genie ... | |
| Are audiophiles still out of their minds? Hey, Al, correct me if I’m wrong but the whole point of thorough and conscientious testing is to eliminate all those persnickety variables you refer to, or at least as many as you can. Well, of course, Geoff. Not sure what your point is, though, w... | |
| Is DEQX a game changer? Good info, Kingrex. Thanks!BTW, although it undoubtedly has no relevance in the case of your Mate, I'll mention that according to a communication I had with Alan Langford of DEQX last year, incorporation of Larry's mods into a unit that is under ... | |
| Are audiophiles still out of their minds? Regarding the $24/foot in-wall power cabling, I would certainly envision that it might make a difference in many applications, to a greater or lesser degree depending on many variables. Including the length that is required; whether the incoming A... | |
| I used to think passive preamps were superior to active preamps given right the setup, but Mitch2 6-17-2016 4:59 am EDT It is not just about gain but I believe also about ... frequency variations with impedance. This is a good point that warrants additional emphasis, IMO. If the component that is driving a resistive-based passive preamp... | |
| Possibly dumb question: can I use two cable runs for each channel, not bi-wired? You’re welcome! One more point: Be very careful not to mix up + and -. Specifically, when two speaker cables are connected in parallel if + and - are interchanged at one end (and only one end) of one of the two cables (but not both cables), the re... | |
| Is DEQX a game changer? Andrew (Drewan77), congratulations on the new HDP-5! And thanks once again for the many valuable inputs you have provided to this thread.Best regards,-- Al | |
| Possibly dumb question: can I use two cable runs for each channel, not bi-wired? Hi Stuart,There’s no problem either bi-wiring or paralleling the same gauges or different gauges. All of those approaches will function well, aside from the caveat I mentioned about cables having ultra-high capacitance (which appears to be inappli... | |
| Possibly dumb question: can I use two cable runs for each channel, not bi-wired? Good comments by the others. I would add that the only situation in which I would definitely avoid doing that is if the cable happens to be one of the few cable types that have ultra-high capacitance, such as Goertz, or the old Polk Cobra cable. P... | |
| Is DEQX a game changer? FWIW my HDP-5, which has superseded the HDP-4 as DEQX’s top-of-the-line model, uses a switching power supply. I don’t know if it is the same supply that is used in your Mate, but it is an XP Power model ECL30UD02-S. Here is the datasheet for that ... | |
| An Amplifier Change for my Wilson Sophia 2's? The signal response measurements are done at 1kHz. Most ARC amps have lower effective output impedances than the majority of tube amps, and the VT100 is no exception to that. Specifically, it has a specified damping factor of 11, which for the 4 o... | |
| An Amplifier Change for my Wilson Sophia 2's? That ARC VT100 would be able to supply to my guesstimate only a third or a quarter of specified power which is only 25...30W realistically at highest volume setting. I would respectfully but completely disagree with this, Czarivey. First, most tub... | |
| Jeff Rowlands Amp and Dac vs. VAC amp and DAC If you see or hear of a used CD player that you think would be good for not a lot of money, let me know. Hi Rinpoche,The Aeris DAC does not provide any analog inputs, so until and unless you purchase a preamp you would want to connect a digital ou... | |
| An Amplifier Change for my Wilson Sophia 2's? Hi Mark,Regarding the relationship between gain and wattage, as I mentioned there tends in general to be a loose correlation, but one that is so loose that it is typically of no usefulness.As you’ve probably found, the gain of both integrated ampl... | |
| Jeff Rowlands Amp and Dac vs. VAC amp and DAC Guido, FWIW I interpreted your post exactly as Facten did, and in accordance with the clarification you provided just above.Best regards,-- Al |