knotscott
Responses from knotscott
| Are EL34 based amps more musical than KT series based ? Or it's purely a matter of design? There's a bunch of variables involved. It's a matter of preference, the brand and age of the tubes, the unique circuit it's playing in, synergy with the system, and a whole bunch of other stuff.....definitely not an absolute. It's also one of th... | |
| I feel for you 100% agree. We all start somewhere. I have no professional technical training, but I’ve modified, designed, built, or enhanced just about all of my gear. The first mod I recall doing was adding more filter capacitance to my Hafler amp. Then I star... | |
| Do you agree with John Atkinson (and me)? There’s no wrong way to do it. We’re each unique. Whatever brings the most pleasure is the right way. How other people approach their systems doesn't concern me enough to have any disdain for them. | |
| Switching out tweeters Metal dome tweeters can be pretty unforgiving, but swapping out a tweeter is a significant undertaking to get it right. The whole crossover is built around implementing those specific drivers together....more so with Snell than most, because the... | |
| I often notice that people who have open reel decks and/or tube equipment are nicest I don't know about "nicer", but we're definitely warmer... | |
| I should start with speakers. This I know. I’d like to establish a new system. @toontrader Richard Vandersteen is still around, and still relevant. One of the coolest "got it together" guys I've met in all my years of audio. | |
| I should start with speakers. This I know. I’d like to establish a new system. It’s an extremely personal choice that’s not so different than choosing a favorite beer or who you think is beautiful. We can tell you what we like, but you’re the one in the executive decision seat. It’s very subjective. Speakers are also quite ... | |
| Any piece of equipment you currently dream of ? SL1 Legend Black Path Extreme | |
| The best opening act you've ever seen & heard? My Morning Jacket, Syracuse, NY September 2025 was pretty cool. | |
| Anyone own the Topping e70 Velvet? I just ordered one After my Topping E30 failed, the E70 Velvet was on my short list as a replacement, but was a bit more than I wanted to spend, but I was tempted! I tried a few (E30II, E50, SMSL SU-1), and ended up getting an SMSL C100 with the AK4493 chip set, t... | |
| I Was A Skeptic Now I'm Not So Sure Wire/cable matters IME. The differences heard can be subtle (or not) and are a variable, with the system/room playing a significant role, as does the source, and listening habits. Sometimes it takes me a while to decipher, sometimes not. | |
| Tubes and Subwoofers I used the outputs of my tube amps to drive the high level input of my active subs for quite a while without issue at all. The sub's amp is completely separate. | |
| Cary SLP 98 vs Benchmark LA4 You can easily roll tubes to tailor the sound of a the Cary a bit. You might be able to roll some opamps to tailor the Benchmark to your liking if you're up to it, but it's no where near as simple. Just some food for thought. | |
| 12au7 tube? The RCA clear tops are good. If you can run a 12BH7a, that's my strong preference. | |
| R2R next? Don't like ESS During my recent audions of cheap DACs, I also found that the ESS chips weren’t my preference either. I settled on an SMSL C100 with the AK4493 chip set for ~ ~$120. It was really good in it’s stock form for the cost, but adding a MUSES02 opamp, a... |