iopscrl
Responses from iopscrl
| What's the best EL84 amp? Good question. Many believe the EL84/6BQ5/7189 to be the best sounding non SET tube. Power is limited to 15-25wpc in most applications however and that can be a problem for some. I do have experience with this tube and amplifiers using this tub... | |
| Modern "Vintage" Sounding Preamps VanAlstine Super PAS3. This is a Dynaco PAS-3 rebuilt by VanAlstine- all new and upgraded parts, bypassed tone stage, more robust power supply. This preamp is an excellent combination of vintage warmth, and relatively modern accuracy. Can be fo... | |
| One big reason why brick and mortar high end audio dealers struggle. Best Buy Magnolia is what passes for a High End dealer in my area. We had 2 or 3 bm dealers at one point, but they all faded away. I am primarily a value/used buyer, but I made sure the allocate some purchases to my local dealers. They were nic... | |
| A Record Collection/Moral Conundrum - What Would You Do? 11 years ? That is past the statute of limitations in the US. Did you document the loan ? Did "John" sign a promissory note, or in any way provide a document to show that he borrowed money from you ? Did you create a storage agreement when he ... | |
| A 60 year old turntable design is still going strong! If the design was as inherently flawed as implied above, it becomes hard to reconcile this opinion with the actual history of the TT series. It was in continuous production for 15yrs+ and sold in record numbers. This tt was praised for its great... | |
| A 60 year old turntable design is still going strong! Interesting that the AR TT has come up. MF included a very favorable mention of the AR TT in his most recent column in SP. Prices will probably rise going forward.The AT TT has to be one of the most influential TT designs sold over the past 60 y... | |
| Audio deals you bought that seem impossible for the price? Audible Illusions M3 preamp and Cary 40m monoblocks for $8004x Klipsch Heresy for $400Nakamichi Dragon $100 (not working)KEF LS50 $500Linn LP12 Valhalla Ittok LVII K9 $800Rega P3 Grace747 Nagaoka 110. Schitt phono stage, 2 Grado cartridges and 75 ... | |
| Vintage MONO Cartridge Question ? Old thread indeed. " be_audiophil1 " Your ranking is interesting. How did you arrive at your conclusions, and in what ways did the Fairchild 225a exceed the Ortofon DG25 ? Is your Fairchild cartridge rebuilt (original stylus, cantilever, s... | |
| Vintage vs New While Class-D amplification is the new thing- there really hasn't been very much improvement in basic component design over the years. Improvements -have- come from better quality parts. Capacitors are much better now than 40-50-60yrs ago, same ... | |
| Great Recordings, Sonically Speaking - and Why. Good question.Joe Jackson- Blaze of Glory, and most of his live releaseshe captures a great sense of space in most of his releases- too often for it to be a flukeArt Blakey and JM- Ugetsulive date at Birdland you can hear the musicians interact an... | |
| Best Integrated Amp (for me) Out of the box- Musical Fidelity a3.2 integrated amp. 110wpc with an excellent phono stage. Dual mono construction, and excellent sound. Built to last another 20yrs.Marantz has several very well regarded integrated amps that would be within you... | |
| Recommended cheaper vintage SS Integrated Amps? Accuphase, Luxman, Marantz, NAD would be good brands, and plenty of choices among their various models.If you are looking for models from the 70's, early 80's, then YES I would investigate replacement of capacitors. The chances of a 40yr old comp... | |
| Buying used: how old is too old? There is a reason why vintage JBL, Altec, Klipsch, AR, QUAD, ls3/5a and other speakers still enjoy robust demand (and prices !) today: They sound GREAT and in some ways are better than what is available today. The above mentioned brands enjoy e... | |
| First tube preamp recommendations (under $5k) New: Audible Illusions M3B. Best value for the money and meets your budget.Used: Upper end CJ or Audio Research Ref Series, or SP-10II / SP-11Vintage: Mac or MarantzBenefit to used or vintage is the ability to resell for your cost (or maybe... | |
| New Hobby Ultrasonic Record Cleaning I am using the same tank, but with a Vinyl Spinner attachment for rotation. I use "Ruston's" formula, which is a combo of tergiclean hepastat IS alchohol and distilled water.I use a spin clean as a pre cleaning step to remove loose surface debris... |