dougthebiker

Responses from dougthebiker

Rays Tubes
Telefunken smoothplate and Belvu Mazda grayplate 1964  
Rays Tubes
I’ve compared the Ray 12AU7s against two NOS brands recommended by Brent Jessee and against the Cryotones.    Prefer the Rays in my Elekit 300B amp.  
Speakers that disappear
@willy-t  has it right.  Ignore all the specific speaker recommendations.  
DAC options to consider for Innuos streamer
I had my Innuos Zen Mk III connected to a Schiit Yggy and loved it.  The latest iteration of the Yggy (+) has very good reviews.  Plus it's upgradeable.  
Amplifier Power tubes - important to sound?
Regarding the small tubes, I have an integrated 300B (Elekit with the new Western Electrics) and recently replaced a 5751 (superior substitute for the 12AX7 IMHO) with a Cryotone 5751, the brand  which DecWare offers as an upgrade.  I also added a... 
Find the Problem
I went through the problem of harshness on sopranos and forceful brass recently and discovered the problem was dirty power. I had a 30-year old power conditioner on the line and thought I had no problems caused by power.  Then I borrowed a modern... 
Power Cables <$500 for Digital Sources
GR Research power cables are within your budget and work well digital sources.  I replaced my Pangeas with them.  And you can return if you don't like them - the only way to buy cables.  
McIntosh tube upgrade - worthwhile?
You might want to check out Wathen's Cryotone tubes.  Decware is now offering them as an upgrade in their best amps.  At least one reviewer (HiFi Cave on YouTube) preferred their 300B's over the new Western Electric 300B's (which I have in my amp.... 
Not sure what to think
If you want to stop torturing yourself, get a copy of Jim Smith's GET BETTER SOUND and read it.  He points out the way you have your rig set up in the room is most of the reason for sound quality issues (like the reason you're not hearing differen... 
New DAC issues
@mlsstl   I bought the Yggy just as it was coming out.  As I recall, Jason said that in an interview. Regardless, there are plenty of DACs that aren’t broken in after 400 hours.  My Chord Dave comes to mind.  
New DAC issues
Even Schiit says to play their DACs for about a month before you even listen to them.  I had an Yggdrasil and they were right.  Sounded terrible for the first two weeks of continuous playing. After 4 weeks it was incredibly good for the money.  
looking to replace Fyne speaker jumper cable
Duelund no. 3 silver speaker wire from Audio Connexion.  It will rival the price is no object stuff for about $45/foot.  
Mad Scientist Audio Speaker Cable
Huff doesn’t run any controlled experiments when he reviews things.  He uses whatever he’s got on hand.  I tried one of the streamers he raved about and it was very harsh in my system. Don’t buy anything you can’t try in your own system and retur... 
High Pass Filter for Mains
I’m pretty sure GR Research, you can google their website, makes passive hi-pass filters.  They design crossovers for speaker manufacturers. They will use much higher components than anything discussed above and they are very reasonably priced. ... 
Audioquest or Nordost for speaker cable
Unfortunately, no one's opinion here will do you much good.  Everything in your system - and some things outside your system, e.g., power grid quality - changes the sound. I've found the only reliable approach is to borrow the cables you're consi...