desktopguy

Responses from desktopguy

"Too much gain"? (Cary SLP05 question)
@docroasty, I've never heard any Cary electronics. I've used the Rothwell attenuators (single-ended, rated @-10 dB) only on the Kinki Studio THR-1 headphone amp/preamp. In that application, the Rothwells did nothing I could detect to the overall s... 
How do you high pass your main speakers?
I’m familiar with ATCs (mine pair is the ATC SCM12 Pro passive monitor). These are sealed/acoustic suspension designs with terrific bass that disappears rather abruptly below the resonance frequiency, which I believe is in the mid-40s. As for the... 
Prospectives on Chi-Fi
(who is Lord Melton?) OK, here's my 2 cents. In my audio journey, first decades ago in big 2-channel gear, and in the last 10 years, all desktop audio & headphone audio, I tend to follow talented designers and the companies they build to real... 
Sat front row at the symphony...
It was purely by accident, but one of the best things that ever happened to me was attending large-scale classical concerts and opera performances well before my obsession with high-end audio, and continuing through the years when I had the most g... 
Low level listening
This is a topic close to my heart: I listen to low volume classical ~11-12 hrs/day and so it's important to me that I actually hear the music. From long trial and error, I found 2 interrelated factors that help with this: 1 - Use relatively ineff... 
LOUDEST Concert and Tinnitus
Woodstock was very loud. So were two Jimi Hendrix concerts; a number of Jefferson Airplane concerts; Jeff Back. But the loudest, the one that hurt me in the moment and continues to, was Junior Brown at the Turning Point, a tiny cellar club in Pier... 
What is your experience with amp power?
In this home office setup, I’ve come to really appreciate 2 pairs of fairly large, sealed 2-way speakers. Both are relatively inefficient, as most sealed/acoustic suspension speakers are. So on the rare occasions when I really crank the system, ha... 
New Class D amplifiers
+1 to Wyred4Sound IcePower class D amps. I have the ST500, which I bought used. It sounds at least as good as any solid state amp I've had. Just as important, it doesn't have thin/parched harmonics, dry treble, or that soulless "accuracy" class D ... 
Tube DACs
I've never had a tube DAC, per se (where the tube amplifies signal). But I have had tube buffers, both external and internal to a DAC. In my experience, a well designed and implemented tube buffer can add to the sound quality of a DAC, especially... 
50 years of Hip Hop- How Come?
I liked hip-hop pretty much from day-1. Greatly prefer it to rap, though some rap really rocks me, too. I tend to hear hip-hop as more continuous, more part of "music/time." Some of the best hip-hop I ever heard came out of France. It turns out t... 
Has anyone noticed a slow down in sales?
I definitely noticed a slowdown. I've had a headphone amp (interesting, quality design & well priced) F.S. in various places since August. Just two sorta/kinda inquires about it, neither serious. The world is kind of in a mess now, more than ... 
Speakers with deep/powerful bass
@Sandthemall is right--it’s the room. At least part of it is the room. My biggest system was Vandersteen 4s driven by tube amps >80 Hz and by a heavily modded Adcom GFA-555 amp <80 Hz. Prior to the mods the Adcom was a decent but unexceptio... 
Is a highly discerning system enjoyable?
It’s easy to start thinking we have audio mostly figured out simply because it’s 2023. But that’s not true. Audio gear continues to fall far behind live music in real spaces, primarily in dynamics, scale and bass. With the exception of the lucky ... 
Classical music newbie needs your suggestions
Rather that rattle off a list of my favorite pieces of classical music (we’d be here all day), I would advise you to do a couple real-world things to inform yourself so you can figure out what you like (of music on-hand now) and what might thrill ... 
Advice for bookshelf speakers
Can't help with any real-world suggestions (neither of my favorite 2-ways would work well with an AVR) ... but I totally agree w/OP's comment about sealed/acoustic suspension possibly being better close to a wall. My home office system is space c...