knotscott

Responses from knotscott

dacs that I have had in my system - a listing
That's impressive!  What's the best bang for the buck IYHO?  
Will China become the poor man’s dealer for high end audio?
I'd say they already are.  
Biamp with same company Integrated with power amp benifit?
If the gain is the same between the amps, or you have the ability to adjust the gain on both amps independently, I’d give Scenario 1 a go, but would look for an active way to block bass frequencies to the integrated.   Relieving the tweeter amp o... 
My history with treble.
Well said, and I couldn't agree more.  Most natural high frequency music is pleasant and airy, and don't sound like harsh sizzle .    
Your experiences with system synergy
I posted my system in the thread. And my friend @grislybutter was kind enough to post it as well.  The amp I demoed was a used ConradJohnson Art 150 power tube amp. To be clear, it was a great sounding amp! I had it until last night and was real... 
$300-$500 Cartridge for Thorens TD-1601 Turntable
You're likely to find that the synergy is unique to each system, so it's often sort of a shot in the dark to some degree.  I had a Grado Signature 8 years ago that was smooth and not overly bright sounding, but also leaned toward the dull and unin... 
Use Stereo Integrated AMP as a Mono Block
Mono blocks benefit from physical separation and separate power supplies, which you won't have with this arrangement.  
$300-$500 Cartridge for Thorens TD-1601 Turntable
It's always subjective, but the better Nags are very musical (organic?) with excellent transparency and a huge stage IME.  The step to the boron cantilever is significant when you get to the MP200.  You could upgrade to the JN-P500 stylus later wh... 
Phono Preamp Recs under $200 for My System
The Hagerman Bugle 3 is an excellent phono stage at it's price point, and it can be taken to the next level pretty easily with op amp upgrades.  
How much hum is normal from a new tube amp
Any loose bolts on the power transformer? That's the low hanging fruit.  If you press on the transformer, does the hum stop?  
Your experiences with system synergy
It’d be useful for you to post more details about your system and the new amp. There are a lot of variables in play. I would not write off the new amp without a good long warm up, and ample time for the tubes to burn in (if not done during manufa... 
Changing panels in Quad Speakers
Nice job documenting that. 😎 Congrats on your renewed speakers!  
What speaker could safely be ordered without hearing it first?
None that I'd buy as my main speakers without hearing them first.  
MM or MI Cartridge?
Nagaoka MP500 is about as good as it gets IMHO, but it’s subjective and very system dependent. It does a lot of things extremely well, and doesn't have any bad habits.  Technically it’s moving permalloy, but I wouldn’t let semantics be the reason ... 
From whence does Sound Stage come?
The soundstage can always only be as good as what’s on the recording, and a good setup should reveal huge differences between recordings. Lousy recording, lousy soundstage. Phase coherency and time alignment of the drivers are significant contrib...