decooney

Responses from decooney

Ken Fritz article
noted a comment by the kids in the article  -  “Nobody wanted to come to our house, because he wanted to put them to work,” said his daughter Patty, 58. “I think we went camping twice, never took vacation. It was just work, work, work.”  
Jim Winey (Magnepan) has passed away.
Sept 2023 - a few months ago...      
Tubed preamps and Power amps- How old is too old???
With tube (non-transistor) Pre & Amp components, change to modern designs is not always better imo. Maintenance for checking and ensuring tubes, caps, bias - is required, periodically. My current mono tube amps model a basic design from 50 yea... 
Are Quicksilver power tube amps in the same league as VAC, VTL, BAT, ARC, ...?
"@russellrcncom Czarivey: Agree. in terms of breaking down the 8407 monos were in a league of their own. They made me swear off of tube amps forever."   8417 you mean? Not 8407. After the supply of good 8417 output tubes became more scarce, b... 
Good measuring DACs vs.
I sent back a few of the aforementioned great measuring DACs and kept the ones that measured worse. Another lesson in learning that listening matters, a lot.  
Speaker Pairing - First Watt F8
To @doyle3433 - nice, that would be a real treat and experience in the journey to be able to go onsite, and sit with the designer-creator of special speakers - and even listen to them on a well orchestrated setup [away from a show setting - if pos... 
Efficient speakers -- What was your journey from A to B to ?
@ozzy62 ..."the current models of Heritage speakers are more forgiving and linear than older versions.". . Was glad to see this point, and wanted to resurface it. I tend to believe word and "belief" about the recent design changes are still g... 
Cable upgrades
@jimboman ..." but sometimes I feel, for my ears, I’d love a bit more openness / brightness in the higher end." --- "...An update on my cable journey: ...1) Cardas Clear Cygnus (recommended by Brian at Cardas)".   Yes, Cygnus will work as pr... 
Anyone listen to Music on a FM tuner anymore?
Try listening to your FM tuner >> EARLY SUNDAY MORNING. <<. It’s amazing how it can sound even better with less airwave traffic going on. Fired up the Magnum Dynalab FM tuner early on the all-tube system today. 98 Rock never sounded... 
Efficient speakers -- What was your journey from A to B to ?
On that note - Sometimes inefficient speakers need the volume turned up a little more to hear their full potential. Whereas more efficient speakers, and/or amplifiers well matched to the speaker, can be more effortless sounding, and at lower volu... 
Is toeing speakers a bad idea?
@tomsch decooney mentioned something important that i forget about and that is to take notes which does help. 1000%, its amazing how many times we can test something, thinking we’ll remember the results each time, then comparing to 5-10 other t... 
Speaker Pairing - First Watt F8
@norust decooney - thanks for the article link on the Razz. I have communicated with Gregg at Volti and he has been helpful. Since I am in the southeast, I plan on making a roadtrip to TN to hear his speakers in the next 6 months.   Sure.  I’... 
Adcom pre amp versus Van Alstine
@mrdmbman "...I am getting the Van Alstine next for the comparison!"   Paired with the 2125 amp, ill be curious what you report on which is weighty vs transparent at first, then with more time comparing - which one is more engaging and enjoyab... 
Is toeing speakers a bad idea?
Toe varies by room and system. Try no-toe, slight toe-in, even trying radical crossing of toe up to 10" crossing in front of the listener - -  would have never believed it until my local 53-year-in business dealer showed me with a few AudioNote sy... 
Speaker Pairing - First Watt F8
@norust - from your list above, I’d pick the Volti Razz for your FW F8. That’s my .02 cents. Also, a comment from stereophile recently on impedence with Razz, fwiw. Lots of others out there you could check out, but this is a good example. I agree ...