dgarretson

Responses from dgarretson

Less Loss Firewall 64x Module
I heard improvements with the 1x, 5x, and 64x versions in a friend's SET system.  I borrowed his 5x version and heard improvements in my Pass XP-25 phono stage.  I've got two 64x on order.  I'm curious to try one on a standalone basis at the IEC i... 
We are buying and reviewing gear all wrong
@cd318 I’d like to believe in ATC as a full-service supplier, were it not for a dealer demo I heard several years ago with ATC speakers fed by an ATC preamp. The combination was opaque and sterile, whether owing to the speakers or the preamp I kno... 
Best MM?
I have a Sonus Blue Gold, acquired NIB in the heyday of Raul's MM/MI thread.  It's the highest compliance cartridge in my collection of vintage MM/MI. Mounted to a TransFi Terminator it was magnificent except for lightness in LF.  I need to try it... 
We are buying and reviewing gear all wrong
At various times in the odyssey I've gravitated to several components from a single manufacturer(first BAT and more recently Pass), but this pretty much ceased after discovering that almost anything can be improved or successfully re-voiced with D... 
Qubuz feedback and membership Plan Suggestions
Since yesterday I’m noticing that some Qobuz titles (e.g. Stones Mono box, Springsteen on Broadway) that are shown by Roon as hi-res at 24/96 or above, are actually coming through at 16/44.1. 
Qubuz feedback and membership Plan Suggestions
The only glitch with the Qobuz trial so far is that this morning the glorious 24/192 Stones mono box set crapped out in the middle of Disc 5 and now produces an error message instead of music.  Hopefully they'll get their act together so I can mov... 
Where would you sell your vinyl collection?
Contact the Presidents of the Philadelphia Area Audio Group and the New Jersey Audio Society and invite their memberships to a garage sale.  Princeton Record Exchange will give you only pennies on the dollar.  
Pass labs XA-160.8 monos - or -  Mark Levinson 536 monos for Magico's
I’m completely satisfied with an AtmaSphere MP-1 into Pass XA-160.8 monoblocks. It’s a super clean direct coupled differential balanced tube sound. Give Ralph a call. 
New Bluesound's Node 2i
I’ve been using a Node 2 as a Roon endpoint in a minimalist second system. The Node 2 benefits from a better power cord. I built a silver PC with Furutech and Oyaide ends. Also, it can definitely sound better through an external DAC. I took from s... 
Qobuz.
@lalitk In the beta version, so far I've found at least several dozen 24/192 albums in the pop and jazz genres. (I have not checked out Classical.)  The Qobuz and Tidal search functions to find them are similarly unwieldy.  Roon's search engine do... 
Qobuz.
Just today I was approved for the Qobuz beta free trial and have been poking around and comparing hi-res Qobuz to Tidal MQA streaming within Roon.  There are fewer 24/192 titles than hoped for on Qobuz, but they sound amazing and are a clear notch... 
Spam threads gone wild...
It's simple.  Any new member's first post should be moderated, and the member deleted if that post is spam.  
Doug Schroeder Method, Double ic
I made another 2M Schroeder balanced IC, this time using Oyaide Focus 1 XLRs(instead of Bocchino) with a double run of Connex/DH Labs BL-Ag, between AtmaSphere MP-1 preamp output and Merlin BBAM line-level equalizer into modified VSM-MX speakers. ... 
Lyle Lovett & John Hiatt, on tour
Saw their acoustic duo last year at McCarter Theater in Princeton.  Great though well-rehearsed repartee and contrast/synergy between Haitt's Memphis/Nashville and Lovett's Texas roots.  But Hiatt is the grandmaster... see him while he's still here.  
Quality of music after 1st MQA unfold
In my system Roon does the first MQA unfold of Tidal into a Roon-compatible SOtM EN/USB renderer, into the USB input of a non-MQA Esoteric K-01X CDP/DAC.  The first MQA unfold to 24/96 or 24/88.2 is a meaningful improvement over 16/44.1 streaming-...