helomech
Responses from helomech
| DAC Under $3000 Of all the DACs I’ve owned the Electrocompaniet ECD-2 best fits that description. To my ears it has the “layering” and lush midrange of an NOS DAC but all the resolution of the measurement kings like Benchmark and Chord. Its measurements are nearl... | |
| Perplexed on how single driver speakers can cover such a large Hz range They play into break-up modes, that’s how. | |
| New Stereo Times review on CODA CSiB Integrated Amplifier Since there is some discussion here regarding the Pass XA25 vs the Coda amps, I’ll throw my $.02 in the mix. I owned two examples of the XA25 and now have the No.8 V1. The XA25 is a nice amp, but when it comes to speakers of <90dB sensitivity, ... | |
| Why is solid state more popular when tubes are better? Tubes are typically inferior on balance if you know how to setup a system well and know what to listen for. | |
| When are speakers considered Hi-Fi and not Mid-Fi??? I fully agree with @2psyop it’s all relative and a matter of your personal perspective. And keep in mind that much of what is dismissed as “mid-fi” on this and other forums produces better stereo sound than what 99% of the population has ever hear... | |
| Looking for an Amp Replacement The original Parasound A21 is excellent, and on balance, as good as some amps costing twice its original retail. | |
| New KEF R11 META : The Real Giant Killers ! The original R11s rightfully received a lukewarm reception, easily outclassed by similarly priced competitors. Based on that, I can’t imagine the new series are “giant killers.” Very few mass-market speakers are true performance bargains. | |
| Parasound to Pass Upgrade FWIW, I went from what is arguably the best sounding Pass amp, the XA25 (so I’ve been told), to an SST Son of Ampzilla II. These were used with a variety of speakers, including my Revel F208s. The Ampzilla is as close as I’ve encountered to the so... | |
| Audio Research filing for bankruptcy? Actually the dealership to which you refer did NOT shut down. He announced that he would be winding down operations and retire from the business in early 2024. Same diff. The days are numbered for all these companies unless the old timers are ... | |
| Fritz Speakers I don’t have first-hand experience with the brand but I’ve noticed his models use fairly large ports, which will contribute significantly to low level dynamics. His series crossovers should also aid in that I’d imagine. | |
| Audio Research filing for bankruptcy? Welcome to the future of the hi-end market. Mac has only survived this long because it has exponentially greater brand recognition, has licensed their name to auto manufacturers, and has been publicly endorsed by the likes of Tom Cruise and Fallon... | |
| Compact Floor-standing Speaker Recommendations under $4k The Spendor A7s are just about the most perfect compact floorstanders in existence. They are supremely balanced and all their “sins” are ones of omission. | |
| Are Harbeth Super HL5 XD right for me? Stick with the Model 5s until you can listen to other options in person. Harbeths have become ridiculously priced for what they offer sonically, and they capitalize on guys who buy them based solely on reviewer and forum momentum. That the dollar ... | |
| Thinking of Magnepan ... finally! The Magnepan 0.7 has the best balance and bass dynamics of all the models I’ve heard. Seems the “pro” reviewers agree with regard to the bass. I owned the 1.7is previously and could not get along with them. Other than outright bass extension (not ... | |
| Integrated amp recommendation for Maggie .7's Why an integrated? As a fellow .7 owner, I can assure you that a pre-owned Parasound A21 and a decent SS preamp will perform better than any <$5K integrated. I used a Topping A90D with the A21 and it was far better than Hegel. |