jeffreyw
Responses from jeffreyw
| Are cable “upgrades” just as likely to make your system sound worse? @wester17 I have had a similar experience. I needed a little more sparkle at my top end, and the obvious choice was a Nordost Valhalla II. It did exactly that, but they took a little warmth from the midrange, albeit the midrange is now clearer. ... | |
| How to make the Focal Kanta No. 2 speakers sing? @soix +1 | |
| How to make the Focal Kanta No. 2 speakers sing? Simple fact: Kanta's are bright sounding and thin as you hear. Don't waste your money on room improvements. If you want more drive and warmth in the system, it will be your amp. I would dump your speakers prior to spending that kind of cash, it wi... | |
| Is a McIntosh MA12000 a good fit for a Sonus Farber Amati Tradition? Absolutely! Mac and Sonus Faber play very well together. The MA 12000 is a real gem in the McIntosh lineup. Check out some videos on YouTube of the Sound Sommelier, there you will find some great Mac/Sonus pairings. | |
| dCS Bartok Apex vs any similar priced DAC Aries Cerat Helene, 40 Kg of sonic nirvana. I was only able to compare to non-Apex DCS. FWIW, DCS was very clinical and digital sounding. The AC Helene sounds like a $50K analog rig—two DACs at the opposite ends of the spectrum. | |
| XLR cables for a reasonable price? Mogami XLR ($125). I directly compared them to my Audioquest Tbirds at $3600. Yes, the Audioquest's are better all around, but you really need to listen intently to ascertain a difference. Jaw-dropping performance on the cheap! | |
| System advice @mrskeptic +1 You forgot to mention shoe size😁 @jhurst I was thinking of recommending any of the McIntosh integrateds, but the clarity may not be up to par with your expectations. The musicality is fantastic, though, and those integrateds ca... | |
| speakers for small room @dbphd #1 I have the REF 1 Metas, and the bass output is incredible for such a small speaker. The caveat is that they need a minimum of 200 W of solid power to bring the bass out. I tried to power them with a Luxman 590AXII, and the little KEFs... | |
| USB Cable - A to B inakustik USB 2.0 Reference Cable. | |
| Amp recommendations for KEF R7 speakers I am powering my KEF Reference 1 Metas with a pair of McIntosh MC 611s and a C2700. They sound outstanding. The KEF tweeters can sound a little brittle with the wrong amplification, as others have stated. I don't think you can go wrong with McInto... | |
| Intg Amps: Hegel 590 vs NAD M33 Masters vs Gryphon Diablo 120 Diablo, hands down. If you can wait a little, there should be some good deals on the Diablo 300 since its replacement is coming. I was in awe as to what the 300 can do, especially in the bass region. I think it is a much better performer than the ... | |
| Best set-up under $20K @gfguimaraes I had a pair of B&W 802D3s which I loved and did not find bright at all. For your large room, the 802s will give you great bass; however, I would suggest pairing it with the McIntosh MA9000. Those big woofers require a lot of po... | |
| KEF LS50 Wireless II vs. Harbeth P3esr This appears to be an apples-to-orange comparison. I know the intent was to simplify the system, but it would have been cool to substitute a pair of LS50 Metas with the Croft system to gauge how good the Harbeths are in comparison. | |
| Amp Recommendations @bhoffy18 I would suggest either McIntosh MC312 or MC462. The 462 is a reference quality amp. Even used, they are above your budget, but these are end-game amps. I have wasted thousands of dollars on audio which I could have saved if I had "boug... | |
| Anthem STR: Why all the hate? @secretguy When I auditioned the Anthem, the Luxman 590AXII was far superior to the the STR. There were others in the room who thought the same. I also take the class A recommendations with a grain of salt, highly based on advertising dollars. T... |