billstevenson
Responses from billstevenson
| Has anybody heard or own the Conrad Johnson ET6SE Preamplifier Well it has been a while for me, but let me try, I had an ET5, which led to the ET6. I then had a GAT2 and I now have an ART. They all sound the same. That is to say, C-J has a house sound. Naturally as you go up the price ladder the sound im... | |
| Do You Unplug Equipment During Thunderstorms? Such a simple question, my answer is nuanced. Here in South Florida lightning is part of the deal. Almost every summer afternoon we can expect an electrical storm. According to our local weather stations every day we will get somewhere over 5,0... | |
| Potential relief for tinnitus? I have found relief, total remission in one ear and partial in the other with no ringing for several hours per day. The product is Cortexi. I have been using it for about 2 years. I have no affiliation with this company. Hope it helps. | |
| Recommendation for phono stage When I had a Cadenza Black after a lot of experimentation I settled load impedance at 200 ohms. If you are happy with that cartridge you might want to rethink your budget for a new phono stage though. There is nothing wrong with what you suggest... | |
| Specific SUT with unusual case scenario question from a LOMC N00b FWIW, Bob recently explained comparing my Sky 10, which I described as having a warm sound, that the improved "S" versions are more neutral. I am tempted to order one out of curiosity, although I need another SUT like another hole in my head. As... | |
| Advice on turntables Dr. Feikert turntables are world class. I have experience with a Blackbird and must say that it is impressive. If I am not mistaken Music Direct sells them and if so you can turn to them for specific advice on both models. They also offer a 60 ... | |
| Help me build up a jazz album collection. Can you suggest a must have album? Jazz is a very broad range. I suggest you try to determine what period you like or develop some focus before going to far into just buying records. It all started in the 1920s of course and one approach would be to take a historical guided tour.... | |
| Tube Pre/ Class D Amp - Who has done it? I recently bought a Marantz PM10 for my summer home, but had it shipped to me at my Florida home first to check it out. The PM10 was used in lieu of my Conrad-Johnson ART 27A which is Class A, and I used my C-J ART 88 as the line stage. My speak... | |
| Talk me out of buying Monoblocks and into a stereo amp instead When you are in this league there are no bad choices, buy what you want. | |
| If Bi-Wiring is an option, should I choose Bi-wiring over single banana with free jumpers The same tired old myths keep re-surfacing don't they. Bi-wiring made sense back before we had good speaker wire and everyone was using zip chord. Those days ended around 1978. There is no benefit to bi-wiring today. None, nade, zilch this ha... | |
| Do you grade your albums? This gets at the broad range of approaches that each of us takes to the hobby. For many years I have listened mostly to jazz, and have generally gravitated through the course of time to older and older styles. When I was a kid I was listening to... | |
| The Wizard of Vinyl Is in Kansas My wife saw this article first and brought it to my attention. It served to alert her to what I am spending to a limited extent. She thought the big bucks were wrapped up in equipment. Little does she know. To put it mildly, this article was n... | |
| Piano is just 300 years old? There's more. This timeline intrigued me. It struck me as illogical as it tells us that the earliest instruments were flutes. My Grove Dictionary says there is a lot of controversy on this subject. I always supposed some sort of rudimentary drum, but thinking... | |
| Can you do anything to make power tubes last longer ? This is a situational maybe. In South Florida especially during hot weather in densely populated areas we experience fairly large voltage fluctuations. During peak demand hours at my location voltage can range from ~105-120 VAC. Power tubes wer... | |
| Cartridge - sweet spot on the cost/sound curve? Everyone has their preferences. As mulveling points out aluminum cantilevers can sound very good. Personally, I tend to prefer them over other exotics such as boron or beryllium. This is a personal taste thing, there is no right or wrong, just ... |