ethan_bennett
Responses from ethan_bennett
| Need suggestions for a $1500 used system for my daughter....... My vote to the Vanatoos. They are incredible. Grab a sub and you'll be shocked. For a source I'd get a tablet, like a refurb Microsoft surface 4 pro, or something older but still powerful and elegant. Then when she gets a big-girl DAC she can use ... | |
| $1300-1500 DAC Gustard DAC X26. One of the best-tested DACs money can buy and right in that price range. | |
| Maggie owners (past, present, future) what do (did) you love and or dislike about them? Own a set of 1.7i. Drive it with a Pro-ject turntable and differential Emotiva gear. Pros are clarity, sound stage and Dynamics. They sound great even when out of position but it's obvious they are out of position. They really only "sing" when you... | |
| Bought a pair of Magnepan LRS. Should I buy a Schiit Vidar or Bryston 3B-ST? Emotiva XPA2 on my 1.7i sounds great. Can one used for the same price as Vidars. I highly recommend. | |
| Best speakers for max. $3000? My vote for the Maggie 1.7i with a REL sub of some kind. They serve me amazing. Auditioned Focal, PSB, GoldenEar and KEF in the range and walked away with the Maggie's. ALMOST walked away with the Vandersteens though, so second on those as well. | |
| Entry level turntable for my son Steer clear of "Toy" tables. I picked up an AudioTechnica AT-LP60 used for like 50$ off a friend (they retail at Best Buy for like 149 or something). It worked OK when I was using my HT receiver, but sounded miserable once I finally got around to ... | |
| A comparison between two DACs, one R-2R, the other ES 9038-based. It's all about resolution and fidelity with a DAC. If your gear can't reproduce it, it won't make a difference. A 10k$ DAC sounds the same as a motherboard's through the garbage packaged with your iPhone. Not commenting on your gear, just that the... | |
| KEF LS50 or Wharfedale Reva 2 -- which would you buy? Some of the only speakers I've had my ears. LS50. Hands down. Wharfdale is fine but they're bland and market friendly. The KEFs are made by a soulless Corp but actually HAVE soul. They really sound great. | |
| Surprised at this Chinese powered speakers for peanuts... The Edifiers are good. There is a Seattle company run by a couple former engineers that is making a jaw dropping set at a similar price range on Amazon. Search for Vanatoo. Transparent One were the set I heard at RMAF. They floored me with how ama... | |
| Has any inexpensive Asian DAC manufacturer harnessed the ESS Sabre ES9038PRO Chip? I own the Topping DX7s and it's pretty great, but it uses the 9038Q2M chip which is a reduced feature set mobile version that still sounds great. For the 9038PRO, AudioGD makes a very respectable implementation and Oppo has one that is widely rega... | |
| Emotiva equipmet, how good is it? I'm still a neophyte, but I first heard about Emotiva because of their big XSP-1 preamp, which gets great praise across the board. I follow them somewhat because I am quite interested in their PA-1 Class D monoblocks. It's driven by the same ICE p... |