larryi
Responses from larryi
| Sonus Faber Elipsa I've heard the Elipsa in several different setups and it sounded radically different in each. It is a speaker that seems a bit demanding, in terms of location and setup. It sounded quite good in one setup, so so in another and quite bad in a small... | |
| Soundproofing and room correction for apartment? There is not that much one can do to soundproof an apartment that does not involve some construction work. What you are already planning is almost all you can do in that area. The use of carpeting, particularly with a very good pad that is designe... | |
| Speaker noise after tube amp shut down You should swap the tubes between the left and right channel; if the sound moves, then it is in the tubes and not the capacitors. If it doesn't move, I would suspect an electrolytic capacitor. If it moves, then swap the small signal tubes to deter... | |
| Cartridge upgrade, something warmer As Elizabeth suggested, try a different loading. It is free and can make a dramatic difference. The other thing to try is to change the vertical tracking angle (VTA) of the cartridge (if your arm allows for this). Thin sound is associated with too... | |
| High Efficiency Speakers Your top 3 or more All of my favorites were custom-built speakers using old parts, particularly Western Electric drivers and horns (all insanely expensive too). Of the commercial speakers, I like the pair I own (S.A.P. J2001: twin 12" woofers (paper drivers and plea... | |
| Dynamics at lower volumes? Horn based systems deliver clarity, and dynamics at low volume. Some single driver systems are also quite good at low volume. The same can also be said of lower powered triode tube gear, when such gear is also running nowhere near full output. Put... | |
| Mark Levinson No.32 vs Mbl 6010d vs Bat Rex? I don't know how it compares to the MBL or BAT linestage, but, I own a Ref No. 32 preamp. To me, it is a somewhat dull and lifeless sounding preamp compared to my current tube linestage. I tend to think the same way about ML amps -- they are on th... | |
| Any vintage tuners with a small footprint? One of the better tuners made was a Naim model I heard 20 years ago that had an extremely small front profile. I don't know if it is cheap as a used model, but I would suspect it still commands a decent used price. | |
| Tube Diagnosis If you can find a vial of Caig Deoxit, that is a pretty good product for cleaning contacts, including tube pins and sockets. I like the super concentrated form of deoxit that is not in a spray can, but has a very thin needle like dispenser. A very... | |
| The Last Breakthrough in Speaker Technology Many of my favorite speakers use extremely old technologies, such as field coil drivers (dynamic drivers that use electromagnets in place of permanent magnets). A lot of newer approaches to speaker design/manufacture sound pretty bad to me (e.g., ... | |
| Tube Diagnosis The first thing I would do is clean the pins on the tube and the socket. Poor contact sometimes causes that kind of noise.Is it coming out equally from both channels or only one channel? If it is one channel, you can isolate the offending tube (if... | |
| basis 1400 belt & cartridge I have not heard the Bottlehead tube unit, but, it has a good reputation. It is a little outside of your price range ($369) and it is a kit that requires assembly, but, I saw and heard a Bottlehead amplifier that came from a kit and it should not ... | |
| basis 1400 belt & cartridge When you can afford it, spring for the Basis belt. Their newest belts are extremely precisely ground to an even thickness and sound much better than their old belts. I doubt that a non OEM belt would come close. Two different friends heard both an... | |
| Anyoen hear the Sonus Faber Liutos? I've heard the floorstanding liuto in a friend's system. The room he has available for the system is very difficult to work with but the Liutos sound pretty good. They seem to work particularly well when listening fairly close to the speaker. Some... | |
| Benz Micro lp/Lyra Titan i AR Ref Phono2 Rojo, Like most cartridges with a microridge type of profile, the Titan is somewhat sensitive to VTA. But, that is the case with most top line cartridges these days. For instance, my Titan is not much different in that respect when compared to my ... |