garrettc

Responses from garrettc

What is the average dealer mark up?
In the end, I think that what matters is that it's a free world, at least in America, and you can't tell business owners what they are suppose to charge or how much profit they're supposed to make. Nor should you want to. Too much price cont... 
Michael Fremer's system
Seems like a typical gearhead, audiophile, mad-scientist laboratory.  When you are as busy as he is there isn't time to be neat and pretty.  He's eccentric, extremely knowledgeable and pretty humorous as well.  Good for him!  And - I'll take the A... 
Best indoor FM antenna, your experience.
I agree with Erik.  I was in a quandary about getting an FM tuner for my stereo setup, but then I realized I can get all local and far away FM stations on my internet radio.  Recently I bought a Vault 2 and connected it to my stereo.  It gets ever... 
Trade in value to a dealer
Dealers aren't called dealers for nothing.  Also, the only dealer near me charges 40% commission for consignments.  You'd be better of to sell whatever you have on ebay or some local craigslist or such.  From what I've learned, stereo gear is much... 
Best standalone music server?
I have a Bluesound Vault 2.  I'm happy with it.  It does everything I want it to do, rip CDs, catalog them, play them. There are CDs that do not have their information and picture on the Grace Note internet database, so you have to use Mp3Tag to a... 
The awful truth about CDs, do they have the same shelve life as LP's ?
Unrecorded CD-R and CD-RW: 5-10 years Recorded CD-R: 50-200 years Recorded CD-RW: 20-100 years Recorded DVD-R: 30-100 years Recorded DVD-RW: up to 30 years Recorded BD-R and BD-RE: 30-200 years From this link: http://www.cd-info.com/archiving/... 
What is most important part of a system?
Speakers.  I have some Wilson Sophias.  They sound great through my McIntosh preamp/amp setup.  And they also sound pretty good through my 30 yr old Technics 40watt integrated that I dug out of the basement and used until I found a new preamp to r... 
Should I consider the newer Audio Research pre & power amps, when I play records not CD's
You might look up various amps and gear on stereophile.com.  I've found their reviews to be really good.  They usually include some serious testing reports as well.  I always thought ARC was great gear, but I went for McIntosh instead.  For a digi... 
Would you sell to someone with no feedback?
I few well worded email exchanges can help you to judge the person's character.  Use Paypal always.  Ship only within the USA.  Take precautions if in doubt.  Remember, if you are not comfortable, you don't "Have" to sell that item. There are othe... 
New Component Upgrade Success Rate
Getting the "bug" to upgrade can be expensive.  Knowing what you "need" and filling that need is a different matter.  A friend of mine once said, "the two most expensive things in life are vanity and impatience."  I agree totally. 
NEED ADVISE ON AN AMPLIFIER TRANSACTION
A lot depends on what terms you put in the listing.  Always state return policy or as-is, or whatever you are willing to support.  Barring that, I would also state No Sales outside the USA.  Different countries has different electrical systems, an... 
Great integrated amps with narrow depth under 12 inches?
Buy a deeper TV bench. 
Network Audio Player - need some basic advice
I recently bought a Bluesound Vault 2.  Just about have half my CDs loaded on it, but it also does internet radio and streaming from most of the typical streaming services.  At $1200 for a 2TB system that RIPs Cds and has a decent tablet control i... 
Wilson Sofia 2 vs marten dajango L
I have Wilson Sophia 1's, running them on an MC401.  They sound fantastic and the MC401 drives them on 4 ohms just fine.  Before I bought them 2nd hand, I listened to everything, including Martens, which were very nice, but the Wilson's took the c... 
Sony Hapz1es or blue sound.......
I bought a Bluesound this week.  So far sounds great and easy to load CDs.  The biggest complaint I have is the lack of documentation for the tablet app.  You'd think they would include some explanations about what the various icons do, how to cre...