audio-b-dog

Responses from audio-b-dog

Need to learn about Audio Research
I've owned a PH-3 and PH-7 phono preamps. Both excellent for their time. I grew out of the PH-3 and looked in the used market for an upgrade and found a PH-7 in Canada. I didn't think there was anything new or used in its price range that was as g... 
The new dCS Varese DAC...it is so good that all others are now relegated to history??
rikkipuu struck a nerve with me and perhaps put his finger on what bothered me about the Varese review. It was given many more pages than any other review I can remember. So many pages for perhaps a handful of readers who could consider purchasing... 
Do I need upgraded power cables?
On what I call "fine" changes to your system, in which I include power cables and power conditioners, I don't recommend A/B ing. Have a friend change (or not change) the setup while you leave the room for a while, then walk back in and see if you ... 
The new dCS Varese DAC...it is so good that all others are now relegated to history??
I don't mind reviews from time to time about very expensive audio. I think it would be good, however, if the reviewer would at least nod to the readership that probably less than 1% of us will ever be able to afford this. Perhaps the reviewer coul... 
The new dCS Varese DAC...it is so good that all others are now relegated to history??
It is a judgement. When I go out and buy what I call expensive equipment, I judge myself. I don't have an audio budget, it all comes out of the common fund which includes wife, daughter, grandaughters. In the review, Michael Framer pronounced the ... 
The new dCS Varese DAC...it is so good that all others are now relegated to history??
$250,000. That's a quarter of a million! Should we only decide what to purchase with excess money in the audio world? Wait. Who am I talking to? Who is DCS talking to? If somebody wanted to show me their system and it had a $250,000 digital front ... 
Is there usually a dramatic difference between $5k and $10k cartridges ?
The big question is can you enjoy your $10K cartridge more than I enjoy my $2K cartridge? I ask because I have never enjoyed a system more than my $100 Sears Silvertone suitcase stereo when I was in college. It must have had a steel stylus. Smoke ... 
Turntables currently considered top of the range. Do you know what they are ?
jwei, I purchased a VPI Prime Signature 21 and am very happy with it. It’s about $9K with Fatboy Arm, decent isolation feet. Heavy platter and powerful motor. Standard VPI stuff. I don’t think I could justify spending more on a turntable. IMHO VPI... 
Thinking of changing things up. Need advice on DAC/Streamers
I purchased a Moon 280D DAC/streamer with a slick "Mind 2" user interface. It was the bottom of Moon's line at $4K. At the dealer I compared it to a Linn at more than twice the price and I could not hear the difference. Probably if I'd sat with th... 
When to change a cartridge?
Thank you. I'll look for it on Quobuz and/or Tidal. I'm testing them one against the other to see which one I want to keep.   
When to change a cartridge?
whart, 12,000 is a whole heaping lot of records! I can understand why you thinned them out.  I have about a tenth that many, and that's a lot. Like most people, I will go back to certain records many times before I play a more obscure record. Some... 
When to change a cartridge?
ghdprentice, what brand of streamers and DACs would you recommend to compare to analogue? I owned a Moon CD player that was fairly expensive and I did not like it at all. It exaggerated the midrange, sounding pretty good at first. It took me a lit... 
When to change a cartridge?
whart, I wish I could warm to digital. Perhaps I have not spent enough $ on it. I recently bought the least expensive Moon (280D) streamer with DAC. I compared it against a $9K Linn and hardly heard any difference. When I put on a record (varying... 
When to change a cartridge?
The guy at Phono Cartridge Retipping, a retipping place suggested by mofimadness, said that he would retip my EMT which has a "super fine line" stylus with a "medium fine line" stylus. He said, however, that the word "super" is subjective and his ... 
When to change a cartridge?
301oil, did you send your EMT cartridge back to Switzerland to have it refurbished? My online dealer gives a 20% discount for trade-in. I wonder if that would be just as good a deal, since I don't have to pay shipping both ways. Thanks.