cycles2

Responses from cycles2

what speakers to buy
@dragonbutx, I agree with Ina about the Focal Alto Be speakers.  I used to own their bigger brother, the Focal Utopias and the Utopia house sound, build quality, aesthetics and re-sale value are reasons I would also recommend these speakers.You ma... 
Greatest Rock Drummers
These 'best of' lists are tough and very subjective, which is why they attract so much attention on forums such as A'gon.  So many of you have terrific suggestions.Best rock drummer doesn't mean much as rock music doesn't require a lot of drumming... 
PassLabs 350.8 versus Ayre MXR Twenty
@vindanpar, all Class A/B amps change sound characteristics when they transition from Class A to Class B. However, we're talking pretty high volume levels depending on your speaker sensitivity.  I wouldn't worry about it as you may never transitio... 
PassLabs 350.8 versus Ayre MXR Twenty
@mikey8811 As I mentioned above I consider the X350.8 to be a bargain. Don't believe all the tube-like characteristics that Ayre claim in their marketing material. It's just marketing speak.  IMO, if an amp doesn't get the bass foundation correct,... 
PassLabs 350.8 versus Ayre MXR Twenty
I agree with others that suggest to audition both amps in your system, but realistically I don't know how you arrange for that.FWIW, I owned the Ayre MXR-20s and the Pass Labs X350.8 at the same time.  My speakers are Rockport Altairs.  They're no... 
14 Year Old Female Drummer
No disrespect to Sina but it seems that someone is trying to market her via a series of YouTubes rather than give her decent drum lessons. The rock songs she's playing along with are so basic that most student drummers can get to this level in 3 -... 
Puzzled...
This may help as a reference to view DRC rates for various albums & CDs, http://dr.loudness-war.info/ 
ARE DCS Dacs worth the high cost?
As folkfreak has commented, it depends on many variables.  I've owned many DACs which recently included a 4-box Paganini stack (DAC, Upsampler, Clock and SACD/CD player), a Lumin S1 single box music server/DAC and a Rossini single box music server... 
The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway
@folkfreak I have the ATCO SD-2-401 release and agree that it's well done. Not to divert this discussion but is everyone familiar with the live recording in LA of Lamb on the 'Genesis Live 1967-75' 4 CD box set (Atlantic 82858-2).   It's an amazi... 
What's needed to Steam Tidal
@luvrockin It's not the quality of the USB or optical cable or running a different music player on your MacBook. The reason your BlueSound Vault 2 sounds better than your MacBook is mainly because your BlueSound is likely specifically built for au... 
How Is MQA Fareing?
@bec1195Lots of back & forth about SQ improvements of MQA on TIDAL. IMHO, I've only heard improvement when comparing MQA to CD Redbook (lossless) tracks on TIDAL and that's only with the initial unfold to 48k/24-bit. Admittedly, improvement on... 
Would "Sgt. Pepper's" be a better album if.....
@sbs38I think the 50th anniversary edition of Sgt. Pepper's that Giles Martin  produced was released earlier this year. Here are details, https://www.beatlesbible.com/2017/04/05/beatles-sgt-pepper-50th-anniversary-edition/I believe you can stream ... 
2017 Honest Cabling that doesn’t promote bankruptcy
blindjim,Yes, over the years I always had a full loom of matching SR cables & typically purchased their most costly model starting years ago with the Tesla Apex series, then Element CTS and most recently the Atmosphere Level 4 line. I also had... 
VAC vs Conrad Johnson Amps?
Prof,Speaker mating is important especially with many tube amps.  I had a VAC Phi 300.1A and it drove my Focal Utopias very well with ample bass control.  When I upgraded my speakers to Rockport Altairs, I lost a good deal of bass reproduction. It... 
2017 Honest Cabling that doesn’t promote bankruptcy
I agree with the Cerious Graphene Extreme (GE) recommendations for their build quality, sound quality and unprecedented value.  I have a full loom and in my system they're more extended (better high & lows) and three-dimensional than Synergist...