helomech
Responses from helomech
| !!!OK OK - I'm Big Enough To Admit I Was DEAD WRONG!!! Class D Doesn't Always Suck!!! Yeah it seems Class D has finally come of age in recent years. I hadn’t encountered a Class D amp that I could live with long term (and I tried many) until recently with the Axxess Forté1 integrated. It finally dethroned my Yamaha integrateds. I a... | |
| Next step in a turntable upgrade path Look for a pre-owned Technics SL1210 or SL1200GR. They are good enough to accommodate $2K+ cartridges. | |
| Conflicted with Preamps FWIW, I have owned both the Quad Artera Pre and the Mac C49. The C49 is better—more dynamic and refined. The C49’s onboard DAC is pretty good as you noted. However, as for pure transparency, I actually prefer the Topping A70Pro to the C49 for prea... | |
| ??? What Is Your Favorite Speaker Finish ??? My favorite wood finish is probably eucalyptus though I don’t currently own any speakers of that finish. | |
| ATC SCM150 Amp and Preamp recommendations Please don’t forget you need to spend at least the cost of your speakers on ICs and speaker cables to get the full potential out of you system. Lol! 😂 😂 😂 😂 🤣🤦🏼♂️ | |
| ATC SCM150 Amp and Preamp recommendations You’re headed in the right direction if you found the Luxman was too bright. The Luxmans and other Japanese integrateds tend to share that character of an elevated upper midrange. Not that it’s necessarily a bad thing, it just requires the right s... | |
| Best Holographic Speakers ~$7k per pair Depends...if you get something like a Andrew Jones Mofi 888 for 5k, you may get some drivers that are superior to off-shelf anything...and you won’t be able to make them for $50 or $100 if you have to do the r&d from scratch. I am highly... | |
| Is this a meaningful upgrade? As with probably 95% of other systems out there, you’d likely be far better off saving the difference toward a speaker upgrade. DACs are an attractive upgrade route because they are relatively lightweight and easy to ship. I get it. However, u... | |
| Best DAC you ever heard list. 1.Budget under 1k 2. Mid Under 5k 3. Cost no Object. The best I’ve used under $1K is, perhaps ironically, the $999 Topping Centaurus, though second to that is the $400 Topping E70 Velvet. I have no recs for $5K DACs because beyond the $1K mark, the diminishing returns in cost/performance make DACs ... | |
| Best Holographic Speakers ~$7k per pair Of the speakers you suggested, the Ascends will be best because they employ higher quality drivers in a small and braced cabinet. Their drivers are far better quality than you’ll find in most <$6K/pair speakers, aside from DIY. Otherwise, consi... | |
| New DAC, what should I look for? What about a Gryphon DAC since you have a Diablo? I would also look into Aavik DACs. The DAC in my Axxess (Aavik’s budget brand) Forte integrated is absurdly good for being a built-in unit in a $5500 integrated. If a Holo May was merely “differ... | |
| Integrated Amp Pairing for Harbeth 30.2 Most $13K speakers will easily outperform those Harbeths IME, even with an entry-level integrated, so I believe you’d be much better off upgrading the speakers with that budget. There are ≈$13K speakers (and much less with DIY options) that do eve... | |
| Wanting to upgrade my speakers When I had a 2200, it had great synergy with a pair of Revel F208s. That was a system I believe many could live with in perpetuity. For most music no sub is needed with F208s. | |
| Soft-dome tweeter damage - NBD or permanently compromised? If they are doped soft-domes (the doping essentially makes them a composite), they will typically have dimples or creases after they are pulled back into dome shape. I once encountered this issue with a pair of Dynaudio speakers that I bought as d... | |
| Does a 2-way active crossover make sense when using a REL sub connected to the amp? I used to have the Marchand XM66 and used it with Rythmik L12 subwoofers. Ultimately I preferred the sound of my system without the crossover unit because, unfortunately, the Marchand was not completely transparent. I think whether an active sub ... |