big_greg

Responses from big_greg

BEST CD TRANSPORT
Jay’s Audio CDT3 Mk3 One of my friends has this along with the Jay’s Audio DAC and it sounds amazing. For comparison I’ve owned a Rega Apollo, a Marantz Ki Pearl, Oppo 105D, to name a few, and currently have the CD transport in the Rockna Wave... 
HDCD vs the Newer SHM-CD, BluSpec, UHQCD, etc
Blah blah blah "my Oppo 205" blah blah blah. Please consider the possibility that the bottleneck isn't where you theorize it is.   
HDCD vs the Newer SHM-CD, BluSpec, UHQCD, etc
Get a high quality purpose built Redbook player like Jay's Audio and load up on Redbook CDs. Or go the "jack of all trades and master of none" route and waste a bunch of money buying bright sounding proprietary disc formats.  
Who turns center off when listening to music
Wait, what? NO! I have a combined 2 channel / HT setup. The AV processor is OFF when listening to music. No need for a center channel. Conversely, for casual TV watching, I often don’t use the two front speakers, just the center.  
speaker cables under 1k for Harbeth 30.2XD?
++ Duelund. Gig Harbor Audio will make custom lengths and terminations for you.   
Stereo or monoblocks
I simply don't have room for a stereo amp in my main system, so monoblocks are a must.  They sit behind my speakers, and yes, I've been able to use very short speaker cables.  Of course, your interconnects between the preamp and amp will be longer... 
Something other than Harbeth SHL5
I went from SHL5+ 40th Anniversary to Kef Reference 1. More neutral, huge soundstage, and great imaging. Detailed, but easy to listen to. Joseph Audio would also be a strong recommendation. The Pulsars are amazing.  
Better story teller than Edmund Fitzgerald?
I'm sure you've heard of a fellow named Johnny Cash.   
What's in your CDP tonight? the minority report
Beth Orton - Central Reservation  
How much does a DAC do the more expensive it is?
Cost is only one of many indicators of how good something is. Having said that, like many things in life unless someone is totally screwing you typically get what you pay for. If you can't tell the difference between a $200 or $2,000 or $20,000 ... 
Whats on your turntable tonight?
Listened to the reissue by Friday music of Chicago V on gold vinyl earlier today. Sound quality was quite good, vinyl had a light warp and a little bit of noise on side two but sounded better than a lot of new releases.  
Herron VTPH-2 added to system (almost)
You're lucky to find one now that Keith stopped making them. It will match up great with your preamp and I have a feeling you're going to love it.  
Au revoir, MHDT Orchid, you're a great DAC but...
I really liked mine and still have it in a second system. I moved on some time ago, first to a Teac NT-505, which had a similar "warm" sound but more detail, then to an Aqua La Voce S3 FPGA DAC, which was more neutral and transparent and now to a... 
Whats on your turntable tonight?
Nothing like a little Queen to start the day - News of the World.  
Whats on your turntable tonight?
I haven't been keeping up with the thread.  I've been on vacation and haven't been around the computer much.   Working my way through Elton John - Madman Across The Water, and possibly my favorite - Tumbleweed Connection.