henry53
Responses from henry53
| Law Of Diminishing Returns? Certainly buy runout gear, examples Focal Clear phones $2200, bought for $800, Audio Physic Speakers $5700 bought for $2900, Cayin tube amp $3600 bought for $1900 there are plenty out there. I rarely pay more than 60% for anything. | |
| Are audiophile products designed to initially impress then fatigue to make you upgrade? It's probably the inverse, many audio products are designed to impress in the showroom, bright top end, over blown bass etc. these soon become fatiguing in real use. The same applies to performance measurements they are stated as xyzzy but often ... | |
| Is soundstage DEPTH a myth? Two track demonstrate depth exceptionally, Lou Reed - Take a Walk on Wild Side, the backing vocals, and try Bobo Stenson - Bengali Blues, you can hear exactly where each instrument is down to each drum and snare. If you cannot try listening via a ... | |
| Spending a month's salary Speakers always make the most difference in any system. The best bookshelf I have heard is the Fine Audio F1-8. | |
| I noticed brightness/harshness more than usual from my system a couple months back. I am 70 now however this happened to me over 25 years ago, I had a bad cold and ear infection ever since I have suffered mild tinnitus, it is especially evident with 'ssss" , it made me very prone to hearing sibilance. Try listening to instrumenta... | |
| Integrated Amp Shopping Decisions Really fancied the Linton's, until I heard them, dull as dishwater, so if committed to them the Yamaha amps could be a good choice. | |
| Tube amps - what 3 things… I have a selection of amps including Naim (solid state), Vincent pre / power (Hybrid) and recent Cayin (tubes). Currently despite being the cheapest the Cayin clearly wins in my system (but with EL34 tubes not KT88's). Three lessons, 1, forget the... | |
| What is the VERY BEST CD album you've ever heard? Can this be defined, my favourite album for content is Sade Diamond Life, but it's a poor recording. Gaucho by Steely Dan is a great recording but far from their best tracks. 25th anniversary Famous Blue Raincoat by Jennifer Warnes has great songs... | |
| We should reject hard-to-drive speakers more often I have tried, relentlessly, for 30 years to find a high efficiency speaker I enjoy. It has been a total failure, I have tried hundreds if not thousands of pairs. Everything by Klipsch makes my ears bleed, Zu's excite my cats too much, Tannoys an... | |
| getting into streaming A lot of people quote the use of an iPad, to control your streamer. I have an older model iPad that simply ceased to work with with newer apps. I bought a Lenovo tablet for $100 works perfectly with my Naim, Limetree and other streamers. Lots of s... | |
| Warm, Lush Laid-Back Smaller Floor Standers? For over 40 years I tried every pair of Klipsch speakers produced in every possible environment, new ones in stores, old ones in friends homes, shows even my own home, with solid state, tubes and hybrid amplifiers. They all sounded so bright I tho... | |
| what are your top "audio bargins" in your system history? A few great examples but highlights: Turntable 1998: Garrard 401 with SME arm, free, someone put out with their rubbish, no lead but Len Wallis Hi Fi in Sydney found me an old one, also for free. Amplifier: current Cayin CS55a, list $3700, closi... | |
| Matching Power and Speakers -- Much Ado about Not-that-Much? (Tube amps and speakers) I have 3 systems with 3 amps and 3 sets of speakers, I move it all around quite often. The 3 amps, Naim SS 50 watts, Vincent Class A hybrid pre / Power 150 watts, Cayin tube amp EL 34 tubes on triode 38 watts. All speakers are 89 dB and 4 ohms, wh... | |
| Tubes or Solid State? I recently bought a Cayin tube amplifier, at 1/2 price it was too good to miss. Having multiple systems I figured I would use it somewhere. My other systems have Vincent pre /power class A hybrid and Naim Uniti as amps. It took 1 day to place the... | |
| One of the great things about Vinyl A few years ago, I must admit, attended an invitation only night to listen to $30,000 worth of vinyl system, all new, all pristine, new records, it still had surface noise, pops and crackles. My, then, $500 CD player did not. |