chocaholic
Responses from chocaholic
| MBL Insolvent As long as companies like MBL and Audio Research ignore the consumer market, their demise (or acquisition by companies that do NOT ignore the consumer segment) is certain. There is a massive audience for great music. The diversity offered by str... | |
| Encouraging people to consider a traditional 2 channel stereo system. The breath-taking cost of quality gear is doing a fine job of keeping this hobby out of the hands of people who might otherwise enjoy it. | |
| Why the huge increase in the price of Sonus Farber Amanti G5 speakers. SF was recently acquired by Bose. Surprised no one mentioned that as a contributing factor. Bose is a consumer brand with armies of marketers. I would speculate that Bose wants to use SF as an ultra-luxury brand. No easier way to do that than si... | |
| Qobuz vs Tidal I also landed on Tidal, as much for the sound quality as their extensive jazz portfolio…and I prefer the Tidal user interface. Between the two, I could tell no difference in SQ. | |
| R2R next? Don't like ESS Another vote for Denafrips. Haven’t heard the Aries but I’ve really been impressed with their Pontus ll 12th. You owe yourself a listen! | |
| If you HAD to purchase a used (over 4 years old) DAC, what would it be? Hard to go wrong with a Denafrips Pontus if it’s within your budget. | |
| Would I be wasting my money to get a turntable? Unless you just want to play with a turntable, the answer is yes, you’d be wasting your money. Sound quality is no better and on most recordings, it worse. There’s no amount of money one can spend to make a poorly recorded album sound like a grea... | |
| ARE SUPER EXPENSIVE STREAMERS REALLY WORTH IT Crazy thought but forget about the geek-a-thon tech analysis and buy what sounds best to you in your system. Im convinced that more thought goes into marketing spin than technology. Hence all the wildly different opinions. This is not an exact sci... | |
| Stereophile review of the new Wilson Watt/Puppy @ckr1969 Well, it’s consistent with the review being discussed, so not a bridge too far….even considering your snarky response. | |
| What were your favorite gear additions in 2024? Canton Reference 7K speakers. Took probably 250 hours + but have just blossomed into what may be the best pair of speakers I’ve ever owned. | |
| The HARD ROCK & HEAVY METAL Thread Continued …and for some fun hard rock and roll, you can’t go wrong with Sweaty Knockers”. | |
| The HARD ROCK & HEAVY METAL Thread Continued @johnnotkathi A few that I like are Bad Asteroid, Flatlands, Get it like that, Sittin with a duck on a bay. Worth a listen. | |
| The HARD ROCK & HEAVY METAL Thread Continued The Aristocrats. Current, virtuoso-level instrumental rock-fusion. And stunning sound quality. Just unwrapped their latest double album “Duck”. Stream a few tracks. You won’t be disappointed. | |
| Are new Mark Levinson Preamps better than old? No direct experience here, but recall reading of some having reliability issues with more current ML gear. Hopefully others will chime in. | |
| Any regrets in selling gear? I sold a PrimaLuna HP Dialogue integrated amp with 8 KT-150’s. Had read so much praise for Hegel that I now have an H390 that pales compared to that PL…at least in my room. Nice feature set but the PL was absolutely holographic by comparison. |