knotscott
Responses from knotscott
| What is the current retail cost of your reference system? Replacement cost would likely be in the range of $20K-$25K, depending on how you price replacement for items no longer made. Speakers comprise about half of that. My electronics have lots of DIY upgrades, but would still be near $5K to replace. M... | |
| Stereo image off-center In my experience, when the sound stage shifts dramatically something is hooked out of relative phase. | |
| Building a new system after many years away, need some suggestions ... ! Everything improves in incremental steps over time, but physics and marketing doesn’t really change much, so things aren’t vastly different IMO, other than that outboard phono stages and DACS are more plentiful than ever, and there are more digita... | |
| Inter Connects - What I know and don't know If paying more means better sound, a good many manufacturers would be happy to upgrade your $60 cables by charging $300 for the same thing. Dielectric materials and metallurgy have more impact than gauge. | |
| Looking for suggestions While most of those speakers may be an upgrade, your current speakers are likely up to the task of passing along what the AVR feeds them. I'm personally fond of the Vandy's, but if you take that leap, you'll still want better amplification for t... | |
| Denon AVR-X4700H & Vandersteen 2Ce Signature III. Have you considered finding better sounding small speakers that pass the WAF to replace the Bose? If they must stay, and assuming they have internal crossovers and wiring, you might consider upgrading any junk crossover parts and wire with better ... | |
| Tube or solid state All of the best systems I’ve heard featured full tube preamps into tube amplifiers, and that combo is my preference. If I could only pick one, I’d be inclined to go with an integrated tube amp. | |
| Loud Snap at High Volume If it's not clipping, my first guess is something with the ribbons, but I'll reiterate that its a guess. Any idea how low the ribbons are crossed over? | |
| The Forgotten A lot of the smaller companies end up going out of business as owners age or pass. Other stuff just falls out of favor due to lack of publicity. A random list of largely forgotten gems once upon a time that we don't hear much about anymore: B&a... | |
| I want more bass… A powered sub would give you a lot more flexibility than an amp change. | |
| Turntables As mentioned, automation adds cost, so the price either goes up, or something else that impacts sound quality gets a short cut. Most audio buffs opt for better sound quality so you don’t see many modern high quality automated TTs around. You might... | |
| Tube Preamp --> Solid State Amp "ghdprentice" said it well while I was typing. My sentiments exactly, so I'll just echo his post. | |
| Do Turntables sound better with time? The turntable is more likely to be a constant. The phono cartridge is likely to improve with playing time as the suspension of the cantilever loosens up. I suppose it's possible that the preamp or amp were "burning in" and improving with time, if... | |
| Worth upgrading my cables? You have good wire already. Depending on what you replace with, you may notice a difference, but you may not prefer it, or there may be no difference at all. | |
| Speaker Height Problem Optimal placement is subjective, and will vary widely for different rooms, and different speakers. Moving the speakers in more towards the corners will typically result in more bass reinforcement, but often at the expense of a more collapsed soun... |