ghdprentice
Responses from ghdprentice
| Can you provide context on First Watt? Yes First Watt is still in business and producing new products. You get service through Pass Labs now. I would not be concerned about service… Pass has always been committed to long term service. About five years ago I got my 1980 Threshold 500s s... | |
| Entry CD player question? Very nice system. Looks like you put it together with thought. Also looks very nice. Well, I can’t definitively say the Rotel would sound better. But I think it is very likely. I have a lot of experience with Rotel. The Rotel is purpose built w... | |
| cleaning gritty surface noise on LPs Yes. It is pretty easy… but requires a bit of effort. For most albums the answer is a vacuum disk washer. There are many on the market… like VPI, I use the German Nessie… there are many. Some are ultrasonic, these may be slightly better than trad... | |
| Next step? Amp or Streamer or… +1 for Aurender. I would not worry about the connection type… especially a new and relatively unusual one. The difference in sound you will get by carefully choosing a great component will vastly outshadow a special connection type. Also, well... | |
| Which Streamer/Dac Sounds like you are on the right path. Sim makes very well built quality components. While I would purchase a separate DAC and streamer. I would not worry about a ripper. You can always do it on a PC… although these days there is less and less... | |
| I need a phono pre amp for my ARC VSi75 Used Audio Research PH8 plus or minus. I have owned a PH2, PH2SE, PH3, PH8, and REF 3, REF3SE. The gains were huge until the PH8. To me the PH8 is the minimum standard to get the phonostage out of the way. After over 30 of having an Audio Researc... | |
| As An Experiment I Stuck A Few Things Under My Pre-Amp And Am Now On A Quest In order of increasing efficacy. vibrapods, NobSound springs, Townsend Seismic Isolation Pods, Silent Running Isolation Base. The last is by far the best. They are custom made for your particular component. I have one on my turntable… highly r... | |
| Which Streamer/Dac What is the rest of your equipment? This is necessary and it would be really helpful to see your system. There is a place under your ID to create your virtual system. My rule of thumb is that the streamer and the DAC should be at the same inve... | |
| I’m getting a hum in my integrated tube amp and it’s bugging me alot Any hum is not a characteristic of tube amps. Definitely do not give up on tube amps. I have more than 15,000 hours on tube equipment and have had to replace one tube that misbehaved. Typically, you get at least 2 - 3,000 hours between tube change... | |
| Resolving CD Transports Crowd Sourcing There is nothing fishy here. My dealer had a close relationship with owner at the time and heard about this straight from him. ( my friend is very savvy in manufacturing and has good EQ, so he was not being deceived. Audio Research keeps a stock ... | |
| Cardas Clear Beyond XL PC vs The Rest OP, One thing to consider visa vie the inflexibility of the Hurricane is that they sound better longer. So a two meter sounds better than a one meter. I have had both and tested them. Say maybe 20% better for the two meter. With two meters I f... | |
| Going to replace my Fluance rt85 I agree with others that an alternative strategy is to upgrade the phono stage before or after. I found that phono stages to be as important as the tt + cartrige) and are worthy of the same investment level. | |
| For wi-fi streamers--a discovery to increase wi-fi strength I also am interested in hearing your conclusion. | |
| 10 gauge power cord. Too much power for tube amp? No chance 10 gauge has any negative effects… the gauge unless tiny is not going to change voltage fluctuations. In every case… for instance in installing direct lines, and power cords, larger gauge has produced better sound quality. Also, @mulvel... | |
| Cardas Clear Beyond XL PC vs The Rest I have extensively auditioned Cardas powercords (for a year) and now own AudioQuest Hurricanes on my amps… Audio Research Reference 160m monoblocks and Ref 160s. In my system, see my virtual systems, I was looking for absolute transparency with t... |