dgarretson
Responses from dgarretson
| ARC LS2 versus B.A.T. VK-3i You're on the right track with the BAT VK-5i or 3i. They're open & transparent on top(though a bit rolled off), and warmer & bloomier in the middle than BAT's later preamps-- a good offset to the dry sound of Thiel & SS amp. If later o... | |
| Capacitor log Mundorf Silver in Oil As previously stated, I think you're missing the boat in not defering judgment until much further into the break-in process. However it's delightful to hear that the experience has salvaged speakers that you were considering selling after three de... | |
| Best way to add remote volume control to tube pre. An external box is convenient, but if you want the best sound, take a close look at motorizing the internal stepped attenuator-- or perhaps even replacing the stock attenuator with a better attenuator in conjunction with a motor drive. Assuming yo... | |
| Best way to add remote volume control to tube pre. If the pre has or can be refitted with a high-quality stepped attenuator, Bent Audio makes a nice motor-drive/infrared remote kit. | |
| Capacitor log Mundorf Silver in Oil I have no experience with Sonicaps. It might be interesting to wire them in parallel and plug them into an AC outlet for several weeks, then reinstall. | |
| Capacitor log Mundorf Silver in Oil Agree with Merganser. It's pointless to post an opinion of any new component until after 100 hours, and probably 200 hours for caps. There's a huge amount of misinformation that's circulated as a result of impatience. Some caps in some application... | |
| MC phono stage without transformer? The thing that puzzles me in all of this is in absolute terms, how much performance can be obtained with a very low-output MC cartridge that requires a step-up transformer and/or a high-gain transformerless phono stage, as compared to a medium-gai... | |
| Buying used vs. New I purchase only used equipment made by the relatively few remaining independent manufacturers that are highly supportive of buyers of used equipment. These are operations where you can talk to the principals. Atma-Sphere, Merlin, and BAT are a few... | |
| Remembering Frank Betz I bought many pieces from Frank at Soundex, and am sad to hear of his passing. He knew audio thoroughly & was a straight-up, low-key, fair trader. While visiting Soundex and waiting for Frank, I always enjoyed listening to him making deals on ... | |
| Looking for a good balanced preamp: Atma MP-3? Your impression of Atma-Sphere preamps is accurate: neutral, transparent, open & extended at the extremes, and great value if you need an integrated phono section. The tonality can be shifted with NOS 6SN7s. If you go for it, stretch for the V... | |
| SSM w/Rim Drive - Cloud 11 Vibration issues? I don't doubt that the speed stability of VPI's rim drive improves upon standard belt drive.Aiming for the correct amount of compliance in a drive system is probably an elusive design goal. With the 300RPM motor on a TNT, I heard significant impro... | |
| SSM w/Rim Drive - Cloud 11 Vibration issues? These posts suggest that there is a significant amount of noise & instability generated by VPI rim-drive motor/flywheel assembly. It would be interesting to compare this to Teres rim-drive, which is allegedly a quiet motor. Sayonara. | |
| SSM w/Rim Drive - Cloud 11 Vibration issues? Agreed, the rim-drive motor/flywheel assembly and the TT plinth should rest on one slab in order to fix the geometry between the two. Any play between the motor/flywheel assembly & the platter will compromise speed stability.You could fix thin... | |
| Have you heard the latest Merlin VSM-MXe speakers? Fosse, your experience mirrors mine with an Atma-Sphere MP-1 preamp. However, as the tape loop on this preamp is RCA only, and the LS output to amp is balanced differential XLR, it's not exactly an apples-to-apples comparison. | |
| Have you heard the latest Merlin VSM-MXe speakers? Spencer, The BAM is capacitor-coupled at input and will not be damaged by a DC pulse from an upstream component. Is it really possible that an amp could propagate DC leakage backwards through its input? I've never heard of an upstream component be... |