larryi
Responses from larryi
| Analogue front end. You want more weight, scale and dynamics.Where do you start upgrading? So much depends on getting the parts to work together to achieve the whole that you want. Lewm is correct that it is a personal trial process. I don't think you can do a whole lot to add weight, scale and dynamics by choices made with source com... | |
| If Bi-Wiring is an option, should I choose Bi-wiring over single banana with free jumpers My local dealer recommends buying the best single run and then having a jumper made of very high quality wire (ideally, the same wire as the cables being used). He has made such recommendations to customers that can afford anything, including the... | |
| 300 Watt Tube Monoblocks I am a fan of tube electronics, but, I don't like most high powered tube amps. Most sound brittle and unpleasant as compared to lower powered tube amps AND as compared to good solid state amps. If you must have that much power (I don't know of a... | |
| Japanese tube amps. Wavac, Air Tight, Audio Tekne, Komuro etc. I liked the lower powered offerings of the likes of Shindo, Kondo, and Yamamoto. Some of the older Kondo gear, like their M10 preamp, are stunningly good sounding. I sort of found that out the hard way. Many years ago, I was in the market for S... | |
| Is there an 'Audiophile' Reel-to-Reel Machine for Under $1,000? The only decent machines that one can occasionally find for quite low a price is the Otari 5050 because it is a professional machine that was built in vast numbers and is extremely rugged. But, because it is a professionally used machine, most of... | |
| Piano is just 300 years old? There's more. The pianos of Stuart & Sons represent a fairly recent technological advancement in piano design and modern exotic materials are now appearing in pianos. I am sure the merits of these "improvements" can be debated, but tiny changes have been h... | |
| Piano is just 300 years old? There's more. There is a fairly recent recording called “Fantasie” by Alexander Melnikov where he plays a number of different keyboard instruments—harpsichord, tangent piano, fortepiano, and modern pianos. It is a very worthwhile recording to seek out. | |
| I’m considering upgrading my speakers internal wiring i spend a lot of weekends at a local shop that makes its own high end speakers. After the basic speaker is made, there is a lot of time spent tweaking the speaker, including making adjustments based on the specific wants of a prospective buyer. ... | |
| Is there an 'Audiophile' Reel-to-Reel Machine for Under $1,000? Not only would you have to be extremely lucky to get a $3000 machine in good shape, you will have to get lucky finding good pre-recorded tapes. Good tapes, that clearly beat out decent vinyl records can cost many hundreds of dollars each. Blank ... | |
| From Audio Note AN/J-D to where? Ideally, open baffle speakers would be placed with a lot of room behind the speaker and some room to the side-four feet from the back wall and something like two feet or more from the side wall to the edge of the baffle. But, I've heard them in s... | |
| Fine tuning the system. Where do you start and how do you proceed ? Start by assessing what you like about the sound you are getting and what improvements you want. Keep in mind that anything that you do, if it is at all effective, alters the sound and that can be for better or worse. Be prepared to accept that ... | |
| From Audio Note AN/J-D to where? I like the AN-E’s, particularly because they work well with lower-powered tube amps (my favorite kind of amp). At your price point, and your preference for placement near a corner I don’t know of too many alternatives. Volti makes some good soun... | |
| Can you do anything to make power tubes last longer ? It's been a while since I ran amps that required biasing, but my approach was to start at the low end of the builder's recommended range. Then, in part because I'm lazy and because I want to be gentle on the tube. I would just leave things be an... | |
| Can you do anything to make power tubes last longer ? What is "normal" is not necessarily ideal for tube electronics, particularly vintage gear that was built for lower voltages that were prevalent when they were made. As I mentioned above, my local dealer who only sells tube amplification often has... | |
| Can you do anything to make power tubes last longer ? Yes, the concern over skin oil has to do with light bulbs, not tubes. The oil deposited on a high intensity, high temperature light bulb will carbonize from the heat. That leaves a black spot on the bulb. The light from the bulb is absorbed by ... |