cellorover

Responses from cellorover

Recommended Carrier for Speaker Shipments
Call the manufacture. Get (buy) new packing material from them. Have them refer you to their shipper. Insure, insure, insure. Avoid UPS for anything over 10 pounds. 
Which Integrated?
Why not the Portalaudio integrated? 60 day home trial. Good reviews to date. Joe Abrams is a long-time and highly respected industry player and I can only guess who designed the unit. Check out www.portalaudio.com and give Joe a call. If you do no... 
Mccormack DNA125, Conrad Johnson MF2250 or AVA Ome
I agree with Sean about the 1.3s. Great sound but at the expenses of your amp. You need power. The CJ should be the better option. 
Any small monitors that dont sound thin and bright
Sequerra MET 7's. Meadowlark Vireo and Swift. Dynaudio Countur 1.1 and 1.3SE. ProAc 1Si or old 1 SC and Reference Signature 8. New product from Finland being introduced this year at CES -- Penaudio Charisma (penaudio.fi) probably blows them all away. 
2nd amp or one bigger amp?
Since you are staying with CJ, call Knut and spend some time on the phone with him. He is a true gentleman and will give you honest and good advice. And, since CJ owns McCormack, he can also give you comparison feedback. He will out perform any of... 
Any small speakers equal in sound to Hales Rev III
I would look at the new ProAcs or the SC1's. All would be a step up from the Hales and smaller in physical size. I have not heard the new Dynaudio 42 series, but that too may be a consideration. The new Meadowlard Swallow is more musical than the ... 
2nd amp or one bigger amp?
I agree with Czbbcl above, first call Knut at CJ. He will walk you through all the scenarios. Also ask him what they have on their shelves in the form of reconditioned amps. One other option is the bi-amp route as mentioned. Pick up a used CJ Sono... 
New Meadowlark Ospreys
I cannot give you a direct answer, but hope the following helps. The new technology surpasses the old. It has allowed Pat to use different drivers and build more efficient and simplier cross-overs. It has also allowed him to take transmission line... 
CDP directly into amp?
How handy are you with a soldering iron? I recently direct wired a very good quality stepped attenuator into my CD player. I mounted it inside the chasis with a long shaft to a volume control knob on the face plate. It is directly fed into a CJ am... 
Minimonitor Choice: Proac 1sc vs. Totem Model 1s
Gunbei--Before you go out and spend money, experiment. Try sand and shot or just sand. Are the stands spiked to the floor and the speakers to the stand? And are they level? Other considerations are your speaker wires. What is in the rest of your s... 
Minimonitor Choice: Proac 1sc vs. Totem Model 1s
I am not a stand expert, but each stand appears to have its own sound regardless of dampening. I have old Targets, some others that I cannot remember where I even got them and some that I made years ago that are twice the mass as the Targets but o... 
Minimonitor Choice: Proac 1sc vs. Totem Model 1s
Correction on above thread. The new ProAc is the Signature Referecne 8 
Minimonitor Choice: Proac 1sc vs. Totem Model 1s
The 1SC's are a great speaker but very stand sensitive. If this is an issue you may want to consider a new speaker ProAc is just introducing that gives you all that the 1SC does, but not as stand sensitive. I think it is the Tablette Signature 8 a... 
Electronics don't matter, Part III
Since you are no stranger to controversy and accepted one of the more difficult challenges in building a great system, tell us how and why you went with the Naim 5. 
Non fatigueing speaker under 1500
Gooddomino -- I knew about the Kestrel II but was not sure if Pat wanted to make it public yet. They are amazing. They have Pat's head spinning. Good luck.