chilli42
Responses from chilli42
| Pass Labs Speaker Choices I am using Pass XA 160’s into an AR Ref 6 to Sonus Faber Il Cemonese. Musical with huge sound stage. | |
| What's the oddest thing in your music collection? Three Monty Python comedy LP’s from the 1970’s. My room mate eft them when he moved to another city. I have never played them but they have been with me so long I can’t bring myself to toss them out. | |
| Built-in vs. Standalone DACs It really depends on how demanding you are on the sound … what is good enough to make you happy. So for example, are you going to use your digital sound as background music while you work/read/play then getting things just right is not as importa... | |
| Digital enhancement Have no clue what Kelavin is about … even after a Google search. If you want to improve your digital sound you need to attack jitter first and then EM noise in your system. It’s not as straight forward as adding a new more expensive DAC | |
| TechDAS Reliability vs SME My experience has been the more technology that is in something the more there is that can and will go wrong. I have had an SME 20 for 19 years and never had a problem. Some minor upgrades to bearings and wire. It sounds as good as the day I bou... | |
| Neutral Dac? I am quite happy with my recent acquisition of the Weiss 502. I am not sure what neutral really means but the Weiss does get out of the way and does a great job of revealing what is in the recording. Tends to be in the “warm” side (Pass XA 160.8... | |
| Where should I go from here with my digital front end? Barts, There really is nothing you can do to eliminate jitter from the media provider companies as their signal pass through multiple computer servers and switches before it make it into your house. Unless you have a dedicated trunk from the Tid... | |
| Where should I go from here with my digital front end? Does not matter what you do. You will not be able to improve the sound quality sourcing through Tidal or Qobuz. The signal is full of jitter from upstream connections. Once that jitter is introduced, there is no way it can be changed or removed... | |
| Setup Speakers Along Long Wall? I like my equipment (TT, CDP, streamer, phono stage, preamp) well away from the speakers. To accomplish this, I went with a long connection (30 feet) between amps and preamp. It works fine as long as the connection is balanced. Don’t try this ... | |
| Volume Control Too Sensitive You have an impedance mismatch between the amp and preamp. Just add in a pair of Rothwell attenuators … 20 ohm might be best in your case. Low cost and no sonic downside. If you hate them (you won’t) you are out $30 | |
| Tubes becoming hard to get? Try ‘The Tube Store’ (the tube store.com) then. Prices and availability seem OK | |
| "Too much gain"? (Cary SLP05 question) OK let me tell you my experience. I have a Pass Labs CA160.8 amp connected to an Audio Research pre with Avantgarde horn speakers (16 ohm). The gain matching was all wrong. You could not move the volume button past a certain level without the s... | |
| Can a great system make a mediocre recording sound good? What I have found is exemplified by my run in with Jimi Hendrix ‘Are you experienced?’. When I play it on the system I have today (for nostalgia sake) it’s almost unlistenable … harsh, bright, compressed etc … though the music still good. It jus... | |
| DISCUSSION: "It only comes out at night". Does anyone else have this experience!? I think there is a whole host of things going on: less noise in the power lines, less of the visual disturbance caused by the electronic components between the speakers, being in a more relaxed (sleepy) state, the glass of Bourbon in my hand, less... | |
| What is the latest greatest word in isolation footers for amps? stands? I am a big fan of the various Townsend isolation products. Tried many different products over time. Should have listened to the “buy once cry once” advice and gone directly to Townsends. Made a remarkable difference in my system. Have them unde... |