jafox

Responses from jafox

APL Hi-Fi NWO-4.0SE CD Player Review
Hi Earflappin: I'm in San Clemente. I'm loving it....the weather and just a few minutes from the beach. I grew up in So Cal but it feels kinda strange to be living here all these years later. I won't get settled into a house here until next summer... 
APL Hi-Fi NWO-4.0SE CD Player Review
Great review John. So nice to see your contributions here again.It's great to see that the NWO design has successfully incorporated the ECC182 tubes. The ECC99 was dreadful in the Denon APL player. There is no way I would ever go back to that afte... 
ARC Tube preamp suggestions
none of the Audio Research linestages short of the Ref. 3 fit that description.WRONG! The LS5 is way beyond the other line stages here when it comes to lush and warmth. The LS2 and LS16 are sterile as h*ll. The LS7/LS8 are good performers but were... 
Apple and Privacy issues
My favorite browser for the MAC is Camino. Check it out. 
Pre Amp Wars/Advice
Good stuff that Counterpoint gear. The 5.1 has a cult following and for good reason. Other products such as the SA2 had similar issues with the PS. I got my SA2 PS rebuilt with updated parts and the wimpy external transformer replaced with the Pli... 
The Hub: high end audio News, Events and Gossip
Wow, what a story about David. I had a few business transactions with David and he is one of the nicest guys out there. The first part of that paragraph was so scary. Thankfully he is doing much better.John 
Review: Aria WV5 XL (Line Stage only) Tube preamp
Hi Ron,Thank you for your kind words here. I saw a few great deals on the Lamm LP2 here but I noticed its gain was not a good fit with my MC cartridges in the 0.3 to 0.5mv output. The ARC PH7 was indeed another product I was considering but I was ... 
Counterpoint NPS 400 w/ Electrostats
One of my favorite audio values out there is the NPS400. It so severely embarrassed the ARC CL150s I had been using before. The NPS400 controlled Maggie 3.3 and 3.5 that I owned and loved for many years. The Wolcott mono amps brought on a little m... 
Tube preamp for techno and other bass-heavy music?
From my experience with BAT, Aesthetix and CAT line stages, the CAT really excels at the frequency extremes. Incredible bass extension and authority. 
Convert cartridge output voltage to db gain
Congratulations John. Good to hear the noise is gone. I had serious hum issues with my system when I used the Jade Hybrid IC (unshielded) from Counterpoint head amp to Aria preamp. I quickly learned that only a shielded cable would work here. But ... 
Review: ALLNIC HT 2500 Head Amplifier Nuvistor Tube preamp
It's great to see another tube head amp product finally on the market. After I got the Aria WV5 preamp, this with its built-in Sowter SUT's significantly outperformed the Aesthetix Io and Callisto signature products. But I knew there was more pote... 
Convert cartridge output voltage to db gain
Actually, the equation is: db = 20Log10(Av), where Av is the voltage gain (Vout/Vin). Vin is the input signal (your cartridge output of 0.24mv) to the phono stage. Ultimately you want a line level of 0.5 to 1.0v from the phono stage's output to ma... 
Could tube rectifier make have impact on sound
Hello,I have a lot of experience rolling tubes in Aesthetix, CAT, Manley and Aria gear with 12ax7, 6922, 12au7, but not the EL84 until I got a Counterpoint SA-2 MC head amp. It had a Sovtek tube in this socket. I tried the Tele EL84 and was vey di... 
Audio Research Amp Shootout
Great report. It is always fun to do such comparisons and identify the various strengths/weaknesses and maybe find one heck of a good value in the group.As for comparing amps of various prices, the higher price models do not guarantee a higher lis... 
High End and cables and tin ears....
Next time you are with your friend, have him point out the sonic differences between a pair of cables. It's a learning process to recognize / observe the differences that can exist.There's often much discussion that cables do not and can not make ...