larryi

Responses from larryi

Is there a service to install CDs in a Server?
There are plenty of ripping service companies out there that will take your entire collection and rip them to hard drive storage. You should start by Googling "CD ripping service." The tricky part is getting the data about each CD to match up with... 
Impedance Mismatch ???
I am currently running an amp that has 600 ohm input transformers. This tube amp does not match up well with anything but a linestage that also has 600 ohm output transformers (I have such a linestage). A friend has a different amp that also has i... 
Sonus Faber Stradivari
Mbovaird,If I were looking in that kind of price range, I would also look at some "unconventional" speakers, particularly the high efficiency speakers that can deliver dynamic and lively sound, even when played at quite low levels. Many horn and o... 
Impedance Mismatch ???
Adding an extra stage to increase input impedance to 40k probably degrades sound a little bit, so not doing so would be an improvement. The trade off is less compatibility with tube linestages which can have fairly high output impedances. Rowland ... 
Sonus Faber Stradivari
A friend has a pair. I have listened mostly to jazz on his setup (he is both and avid jazz listener and a jazz guitar player). This speaker sound very, very good--very natural and realistic tonal balance, rich and saturated harmonics, and lack of ... 
Mark Levinson 326s
I own a Reference 32 preamp (same as 326, except with power supply in a separate box). I did not do any sort of rigorous testing so I cannot say if any particular setting is the "best." I don't think that the different choices reflect actual diffe... 
Budget vacuum tube preamp?
I know that going with a tube preamp/linestage and solid state amplifier is an often recommended combination. But, you should at least address certain issues before going that route. First, I have found the interaction of any particular tube lines... 
full range single speaker
I heard the top of the line model(sorry, I don't know the name) driven by a Thoress amp one time and by a Tron amp another time. I like the very lively sound that these speakers deliver. The Surreal Sound speaker, which is similarly priced, is als... 
full range single speaker
A good full-range driver in a proper enclosure can certainly do much better than 80 db, and can sound very alive, fast and dynamic. But, as with everything in audio, there are tradeoffs, particularly in the way of a lack of bass extension and a so... 
how make your speker faster
I don't think there is any "answer" that would be universally applicable, so, any suggestion must come with a caveat that one must accept trial and error as the only means to improving dynamics and the perception of speed.Speakers tend to sound sl... 
Long term Hovland amp owners, are you still happy?
I am not an owner, but, I have listened extensively to a friend's system that had the same combination. I think they produced very good sound for solid state back then, and I doubt much has changed since then (most "progress" is essentially market... 
What's the oldest piece of gear in your system?
I seem to be caught in some sort of weird time machine--it has been getting older at a much higher rate than the progression of time. The newest addition to the system is a newly built custom preamp that has a lot of parts that are were manufactur... 
Spendors comparable to Harbeth C7ES3?
My own personal preference if for the Spendor Classic sound-- not as lean and "modern" sounding (more woody and harmonically rich)-- as compared to the S series. Some might find the Classic series to be too "boxy," but in that case, the Harbeths w... 
A Capital Audiofest 2012 thread
The only commercial panel speaker I saw at the show was the GT Audio planar magnetic/ribbon speaker. It sounded decent, particularly with price factored in, but, it was not that memorable. The other panel speaker I heard was a DIY full range elect... 
A Capital Audiofest 2012 thread
The most interesting aspect of the show was how many exhibitors used some form of full range/extended range driver (Lowther, Feastrix, Tangband) in either single driver or multiple driver systems. The sound of MANY of these systems was quite good....