larryi
Responses from larryi
| VTA on the fly VTA on the fly is a handy feature, particularly if you will be adjusting VTA a lot. But, it may also mean that the tonearm is not being held as rigidly as possible or that the VTA adjustment mechanism will become a source of unwanted resonant beh... | |
| Which brand of 45 tubes do you use? I liked the Joule Electra OTL I heard. It was a nice warm sounding amp that retained the explosive dynamics and immediacy of OTL's without sounding harsh or rough. But, the particular amp I heard developed bad tube sockets that cause it to occas... | |
| Which brand of 45 tubes do you use? I don't know if any particular sound I heard is characteristic of meshplates, but, the sound of EML's solid plate 2a3 is much more like other 2a3's--very tight, dynamic, slightly lean and punchy sounding. I own very dynamic sounding speakers so I... | |
| Which brand of 45 tubes do you use? I liked the meshplate even though it was a bit over the top. I liked the wide open soundstage, but, if someone said the tube sounded "phasey," I wouldn't disagree. I used it in a parallel single-ended amp (Audio Note Kageki) and it had a reasona... | |
| Which brand of 45 tubes do you use? I never got to try genuine NOS tubes; at best, I could get my hands on old tubes that tested strong. Most of the brands I heard, like the National Unions, sounded very good. They also don't cost a fortune. I haven't tried EML 45's, but, I have ... | |
| What country builds the best audio equipment? Is this akin to a total medal count at the Olympics? While there may be an overall medal winner, if one's interest is particularized (like being interested in gymnastics, but not swimming), the answer might be quite different. In music systems, ... | |
| Different Tubes and general purpose? Tube gear manufacturers tend to supply their products with decent sounding, but lower cost tubes that they can procure a large enough supply to fulfill new orders and to have backup tubes for customers wanting them to supply replacement tubes. Av... | |
| Brighteyes or Conor Oberst recordings that are the least garage band-y I like, for both musical content and sound quality: "I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning." | |
| Moving tube equipment If you are moving it yourself, and presumably being careful, there is no problem with leaving the tubes in the amp. Removal is a precaution when the amps will be in the hands of uncaring strangers; that kind of handling can be brutal--dropped box... | |
| Cube Audio Nenuphar Single Driver Speaker (10 inch) TQWT Enclosure I have owned and used both meshplate and solid plate 2a3s from EML. I like both types. I ran a pair per channel in parallel single-ended configuration (Audio Note Kageki amps). Both pairs lasted a decent amount of time, although the meshplate w... | |
| If you want to use omni's you need a lot of room. The "theory" is that omnis are actually easier to locate because they spread sound about the room more evenly and the location of the listener between the speakers is not as critical. In my own listening, I find that one does not have to be so ti... | |
| Why Does CD Sound So Good? If you have a large collection of CDs, the main reason to rip them and put them on a server is accessibility. How do you listen to 1100 classical CDs?, someone asked: the answer is rip them. It is so much easier to scroll a large collection whe... | |
| Power Amplifiers I have a "new" amp that is built mostly from very old parts and a design that was around since the 1940's. It is essentially two Western Electric 133a amplifiers on a single chassis. It has original Western Electric input and output transformers... | |
| Best Tonearm for Thorens TD-124. A well reconditioned 124 is a great table deserving of whatever top end arm one takes a fancy to. I don't think it favors, or is synergistic with any particular arm. My local dealer, who recommends this table for some really high end systems, lik... | |
| Cube Audio Nenuphar Single Driver Speaker (10 inch) TQWT Enclosure I am not surprised that people report good results with SET 2a3 and 300b amps. I generally do find that most people overestimate the amount of power they really need. For the vast majority of time, one listens at levels where a watt or two is en... |