drbarney1
Responses from drbarney1
| Re: streaming recommendations for newbie I use a separate DAC which uses the new ESS9032Q2M which for single ended use with the SET preamp and amp, outperforms R2R ladder DACs. (Some reviewers consider the more expensive R2R ladder DAC better for balanced output.) I purchased a Bluesou... | |
| Comparison of sonic qualities of some tonearms A 9" pivoted tonearm using the Lofgrin A pivot to stylus distance and a 30-degree offset has a tracking error less than 2% and this causes second order harmonic distortion far below that of a SET amplifier, which is inaudible. Good luck mounting a... | |
| Yes, cables do make a difference -- regardless of price... Be suspicious of wildly expensive cables. You can't spend $20,000 to manufacture speaker cables. Watch out for junk science claims which include the attenuation of treble in speaker cables due to skin effect. The difference is about 1/100 dB for t... | |
| Anyone has a reference system where amplification is SS ? It is easy to build your own tube amplifier and if you use premium parts, the most you will spend will be a few hundred dollars for the same design that costs five figures. Learning how to design one from a book such as Beginner's Guide to Tube Au... | |
| "The Ultra High-End Speaker." I admit up front that I do not consider myself a true audiophile. The extreme sensitivity of audiophiles to differences to subtle for me to notice does not justify my wishing to have speakers costing six figures. The music's emotional content and ... | |
| Discuss The Viv Lab Rigid Arm I had wanted to circumvent the need for anti-skating in a tonearm, but the approach of a Viv, which promises this, makes the "cure" only worse. Thank you for the history of the research on this. | |
| WHY CABLES MATTER! I tend towards the skeptical because there have been faulty physics claims in advertising of cables and famous cable designers in ads show no physics or engineering training at the graduate level. Here are three examples of a little knowledge is a... | |
| Why is solid state more popular when tubes are better? If a transistor goes bad, you have to take it to a technician to isolate it and to replace it. This added expense is likely to exceed replacing most tubes. Tube circuits are so simple that you can check the resistors and capacitors (for shorts) an... | |
| Immersive Audio and How to Achieve It I am skeptical of the value of having a sweet spot so minuscule that you cannot have more than one person enjoy a system. If only one seat lets the system sound right, you might as well use headphones and save on speakers. There is another limit... | |
| If the DAC is the same, how different do CD transports sound? If a DAC is good enough, it buffers by storing bits and releases them in a precise enough clock, the bits just before conversion should correct inaccuracies in most transports. It becomes hard to hear the difference between the transport and a fil... | |
| Can a system sound too Holographic? In the 1930's Bell Labs determined that the best simulate the sound of an orchestra in a concert hall with proper acoustics, there should be three channels, the center channel playing the sum of right and left channels. Magnepan did listening test... | |
| 300b lovers Stereophile published an article on the Westinghouse 300B, which, unlike cheap modern 300B triodes, had a triple coated cathode which lasted longer and was the secret to the better sound. If you can tolerate less power the NOS 45 globe tubes were ... | |
| Sat front row at the symphony... This is why I find the difference between a sound system costing $5000 and one costing $700,000 almost trivial. Both are too far from the live concert hall sound to make much difference. I have heard $50,000 speakers that did not sound as good to ... | |
| Is it possible for a high end manufacturer to overprice their goods? I am not convinced you always get what you pay for and I am skeptical of extreme prices. In 2005 the WAVAC 833A stereo amplifier was reviewed in Stereoplile magazine. Its price was $350,000. It had the grid of the 833A transformer coupled from a 3... | |
| Were you an audiophile in the 1980s and 1990s? In the late 1990's Stereophile ran an article about the 300B "God's tube" single ended triode. You could buy as a kit or a schematic to build your own such SET from Cary Audio in North Carolina. I built my first SET and began my journey. The moder... |