clearthinker
Responses from clearthinker
| Voltage mode vs current mode phono stages @drbond Firstly my Grail is the SB, not SE, sorry. I have had it about two years. The model range is Grail, entry. SB, separate power supply on umbilical, but same amplification circuitry. SE, separate supply for each channel. SE+, some sel... | |
| High current power cables Please try to stop worrying about power cables. As long as it is thick enough any power cable does the same job as any other. Remember the last 6 feet of cable joining your power outlet to your equipment follows miles (literally) of cabling that... | |
| Voltage mode vs current mode phono stages Yes, the Grail is a very under-exposed amp. I have had the SE for two years having auditioned it at home for three months against two other similarly priced units (COVID prevented the dealer taking it back). There are three Grails. SE is the mi... | |
| Balanced versus single ended Balanced makes for a more reliably low noise system. Others have noted hum, earth loops and noise can creep into single ended systems, requiring detective work to locate and rectify. There is also talk of more gain with balanced. As I understan... | |
| Butcher Block Acoustics @mijostyn Not a dickybird I'm afraid. You are underestimating the mass of the Earth. In the 17th century Newton coined the Law of Conservation of Momentum. Put the mass of the Earth in that equation and there is little room for movement. And... | |
| Butcher Block Acoustics Heavier stone and marble blocks are even better and probably cheaper than Butcher. My turntable rests on around 1000lb of marble spiked to the concrete slab in the ground. Infinite mass loading, or the mass of the Earth at any rate. | |
| Low Output MC recommendations? @dcdavis1978 You don't tell us your price point. Must look at Ortofons. Various pricings. I have both heir top models Anna (hi mass arms) and Verismo (lo mass) and both are superb. Anna best for rock and big programmes, Verismo for voices, cha... | |
| Best Home HIFi you’ve listened to @ghdprentice I quite agree on all your AR reference amps, although I only have Ref 6 right now. I can't use Ref 3 because for some unknown reason it can't be run balanced in and out (earlier AR Ref phonos could be). So I bought a van den Hul G... | |
| Why is used audio equipment so undesirable? OP must be a troll. Buying used is a no-brainer at his stated discount of 60-70%. People who buy new are just burning bills. | |
| UGH...The tired, "BEST" Rock guitarist thread @tablejockey All 20 somethings think all good musicians are irrelevant. That's what it's like to be young and inexperienced. But I wouldn't put Nugent in the top 1000 guitarists. | |
| Those that upgraded from Tekton Every change from Tekton is an upgrade. | |
| Large speaker recommendation $30k used is a BIG budget. It can take you above $50k retail. You could afford big Wilsons, or indeed pretty much any top-range speaker. Suggest you get out and do some listening | |
| Best audiophile earwax removal system? Take a length of strong thread and enter it into one ear. Keep pushing it in until the end comes out of the other ear. Hold the ends with your two hands and pull it backwards and forwards vigorously for five minutes. | |
| SME is selling tonearms again! I sold a mint 3012 mk 1 about 35 years ago for £80 to a Japanese, having replaced my home brewed turntable with a Linn. Fool I was for not being able to predict the future The CD will die before vinyl. Some say this is strange or even perver... | |
| SME is selling tonearms again! @lohanimal Idiot. You must be very young. If you are I will forgive you. Vinyl has been fashionable since about 1955. But you are absolutely correct about today's stupid blingy $000,000 turntables. |