blackie

Responses from blackie

Where are you? Do you know what your FM is doing?
Berkeley, CA and there are some great stations here like the college station (90.7 KALX), jazz station (91.1 KCSM) or classical (102.1 KDFC). I have a Marantz 2110 tuner (which I love) but I had the luxury of having a Magnum Dynalab MD108 here for... 
Comments on Clearaudio Aurum Beta S
My friend picked up an Aurum Beta S a few months ago with the same defect. The dealer tried it on their TTs and found the same problem, take it back to the dealer you bought it from for an exchange. 
Nick Cave fans?
Been a fan for years. His album "Your Funeral...My Trial" was pressed on two 45rpm LPs and sounds fantastic (besides having some great songs). You can't go wrong with any of his albums but two of my faves are "Henry's Dream" and "Tender Pray". 
Musical Fidelity A3.2pre/power vs 308 intergrated
After borrowing those MF amps from a store for a weekend home demo, you bought on line?! I bet the people at the store are less than happy about that. And people wonder why some stores are reluctant to do at home evaluations... 
What's under YOUR CD player?
Putting Tara Labs Vanishing Points under my Linn Genki made a HUGE difference. Three points, one in front & two in back (ala YBA) made everything wider, deeper and less glary. No joke, I took them out after a few months to see if I was imagina... 
Linn vs Audio Research
Linn is more like a Saab than a Corvette. 
Clearaudio Reference Solution
I am familiar with the Solution, Master Solution and Maximum Solution, not sure wht you mean by Reference Solution. Do you mean their flagship, the Master Reference? 
Shhhhhh Don't tell my wife. Looking at B&W 802Ns
I'm sure that would sound pretty darn good and probably make you very happy but nothing is sadder than having to return a piece of gear becaue "the wife said no." I used to work in a high-end store and I've seen it happen. I almost had to take an ... 
Whats the BEST audio site :
For coolness:http://www.classic-audio.com/marantz/mindex.html 
Sonus Faber EA II being replaced?
Don't hold your breath, the SF Cremona was one of the biggest letdowns I've heard from Sonus and this will be just a mini monitor version of that. 
Equipment Break-in: Fact or Fiction
One explanation of why power cords make a diference is because all of your components are giving off RF & EMI and this gets into unshielded power cord while the shielding on better cables helps prevent this hash from entering via the AC. Could... 
Attention to detail
The 602s3 is one of the best speakers for the money IMHO but the 603s3 isn't chopped liver! The new 603 (series 3 vs. series 2) has a much tighter defined bass and a more natural midrange than either of the previous incarnations. I think one reaso... 
Sinatra - good vs great
I know the Capitol CD mastering has come under alot of criticism for it's poor sound. If you think the Reprise CDs are great you should pick up some of the original LPs, talk about involving and toe tapping! 
Am I the only one who thinks B&W is mid-fi?
I agree, personally I find the B&W + Levinson (383, etc.) combination very bland and uninvolving (and I own and am very happy with N803s). Remember that system matching is probably THE most important aspect of good sound. It isn't as simple as... 
Musical Fidelity CD Pre 24 or Linn Ikemi?
Get the Ikemi! I used to sell both of them so I have very good experience with them. The A324 (& NuVista soon to be replaced by the TriVista) are overrated POS IMHO. The Pre24 is transparent but very sterile sounding. If you prefer musicality ...