erik_squires

Responses from erik_squires

Who has gone fully active? What speakers and preamp did you end up with?
@daniel25  - Interesting that ATC lists the input impedance at > 10kOhms.  That does seem relatively low.  I'm used to seeing 25k or higher but hopefully it doesn't affect too many tube pres.  
Using non-terminated speaker wire?
I take it the heat gun (I have one) is for finishing the job with heat-shrink? Yes.  There's a lot of left outside the part that is inserted so good to have it well insulated.  Plus it looks nice. :) Is this going to present any particular ch... 
Standmount speaker suggestion
My universal recommendation for excellent stand mounts is Fritz.  Bargain prices and just really musical and natural.  
Anyone wear gloves to handle vacuum tubes?
Not always, but was careful to clean them with alcohol wipes before turning them on  
Using non-terminated speaker wire?
The biggest issue for me is that most speaker connectors come undone very easily. The lightest movement of the speaker cable, whether you use bare wire or a spade and the nut comes loose. For this reason and others I always prefer bananas and I l... 
Have JBL K2s...best Amp pairing please?
If you didn’t like the Macs for being bright you’ll love the Luxmans. Excelellent extension on both bass and treble, tube like liquid mids and glass smooth treble. Very close to D’Agostino in sound characteristics. Not nearly as laid back as say P... 
Do sound characteristics matter when moving from midfi to hifi?
Hypothetically, if going from Sony, Marantz, Schiit am I going to find something that I don’t like about Pass Labs, Conrad Johnson, Coda?   Oh hell yes. :) I think that our industry pushes you to upgrade based on perceived value ($$$) instead... 
Klipsch vs B&W brightness
These speakers are for kids.  If you are really deaf you need Triangles.   
REW with subwoofers
Weird I thought I answered this one last night.  Check out the miniDSP application notes here and especially here. Also ask this in the REW forums and DIYaudio.  
External Speaker Volume Control
Do the second amp.  Not just about sound quality but reliability too.    
Long Run to Wall Plug vs Short Run to Conditioner?
Short after conditioner. Reasoning: Noise pickup. A good conditioner removes audible noise and EMI/RFI as well from the AC signal. However this output is not guaranteed to stay clean. To ensure the signal stays clean you want a short and shielded... 
Do You Unplug Equipment During Thunderstorms?
@taoist just reminded me. Used to live near Boston and used DirecTV. Lost a couple of DirecTV receivers, but it wasn’t actually to lightning. It was to wind storms. The wind would cross the surface of the antenna depositing an electron charge. It ... 
Cheap crimp connection vs. Solder
No one should use a cheap crimp. However, there are good crimp attachments and tools and they are far better than solder for speakers. I say this as a speaker builder who also has 2 lbs. of Cardas solder under his workbench. I save the solder fo... 
Do You Unplug Equipment During Thunderstorms?
A little off topic, but here’s a fun site if you like to look at the end results of electricity doing bad things.   https://www.electrical-forensics.com/SurgeSuppressors/SurgeSuppressors.html  
Purifi Class D: Junk?
Thread from 2020