fsonicsmith

Responses from fsonicsmith

Europe vs the USA
It is hard to argue otherwise than that Japan has been at the forefront of handwound transformers and hand built phono cartridges. Most semiconductors used in high end electronics are sourced from Japan and Germany.  It is also hard to argue other... 
Stereophile reviews the active Grimm LS1C
It's always interesting when a review and particularly the corresponding measurements section objectifies a loudspeaker as being nearly perfect. IMHO, loudspeakers are like human faces. How can there be a perfect; perception in this case is realit... 
How long should high quality speakers last?
From personal experience these kinds of questions only arise when someone is straining to justify a big purchase given the available budget. Sure, money management is a critical life-skill but guess what, life is short and other than passing on ge... 
Need to learn about Audio Research
I'd use a used Ref 5 or 6 preamp as they are arguably "straight wire with gain" and don't color tamper with the input signal. I don't quite agree with this, fwiw. The Ref 6 when running balanced does something to the input to make it more spati... 
Need to learn about Audio Research
If you do a search you can find Mike Fremer's video tour of the ARC factory. With the recent acquisition by Acora little if anything has changed. Dave Gordon can be seen in Fremer's video doing listening-tests of each and every Ref Series amp that... 
Stereo Times review on the Tekton Design Encore Monitor
@jetter  What was actually accomplished?    Not a thing, and for that, I do apologize. I am sincerely not proud of just trashing someone else for little reason other than a flowery review of a product that I would never buy.   
Stereo Times review on the Tekton Design Encore Monitor
@jetter  I was over the line, accepted my post being deleted with an apology, and then unfortunately felt the need to make my point.  Funny thing though-thinking about this thread made me do a search for Stereotimes and another "flavor of the mo... 
Devore O/96 with high powered amplifiers
The DeVore can do bass nicely but its important to keep in mind the speaker is not designed for a tube amp with a higher damping factor. At shows DeVore is often seen using an SET with no feedback which has a lower damping factor. He is relying o... 
Devore O/96 with high powered amplifiers
I was expecting strong bass, especially with the high powered amps; however, this is not the case.  Looking at your virtual system it is curious that you went from Wilsons to the Orangutan 96 if strong bass was your priority. There are always t... 
Stereo Times review on the Tekton Design Encore Monitor
@teajay  We are in times when it is critical to find commonality and goodwill in others. I understand you are a fine person and I will try my best to show you a bit more respect. I should have simply ignored the entire thread rather than publish ... 
Stereo Times review on the Tekton Design Encore Monitor
You take this much to too seriously!  Fixed. To be quite frank, in my opinion, many of the print magazine reviewers use some of the stupidest analogies , metaphors and abstruse/esoteric language in their reviews. Irony, I imagine.  I'm just a Ho... 
Stereo Times review on the Tekton Design Encore Monitor
Please step back and think about the concept of being a reviewer. The reason for the word "reviewer" rather than "tester" or "researcher" is that subjectivity is involved. Food is a good example of subjective taste (pun intended). If looking for a... 
Stereo Times review on the Tekton Design Encore Monitor
I accept as valid my post-deletion. Apologies! But what if we were on a wine forum and one poster repeatedly posted links to his wine publication in which he onlya touted the wines of a single producer who happened to be a good friend of his?   
Devore O/96 with high powered amplifiers
I have powered my Devore O/93's with an ARC Ref 150 SE and it sounds better than with my ARC Ref 80S. They simply come alive to a greater degree with the higher power.  High powered amps with high efficiency speakers are fine so long as hum is not... 
NEW Tekton Design Speakers - The Bonnevilles
Has Mr. Alexander ever put together a concoction and then thought to himself, "This is a bad idea"? Even the most revered masters of fine painting were known to have painted over their work such that one canvas worth millions is known to have ano...