larryi
Responses from larryi
| Mainstream Phono Stages Incorporating Premium Branded PCB Parts - Do They Exist? Yes, it was aa Audio Note capacitor used in lieu of a Western Electric paper in oil. It’s hard to believe, but there are much more expensive capacitors sold by Audio Note. Deja Vu uses what works for their sound, so the parts mix includes crazy ... | |
| Mainstream Phono Stages Incorporating Premium Branded PCB Parts - Do They Exist? A local dealer has electronics built for him according to his rough specifications on design and his choice of parts. From years of experience, he knows what parts he likes in the electronics, but, the process still involves parts swapping to get... | |
| Warm, yet detailed tube preamp The Cary SLP98 is a very warm and smooth sounding unit, even moreso than the SLP05. Audio Research and LTA are not particularly warm. I suspect that you Zu speaker is the reason for wanting a warmer sound. While I appreciate the liveliness of t... | |
| What was the most expensive record that you ever bought ? A friend of mine gave someone who is a rabid Beatles fan a Butcher "Yesterday and Today" (used condition). He gave me the Mobile Fidelity Beatles Box and the Mobile Fidelity Rolling Stones Box. He also gave me a Marvin Gaye One Step. i think th... | |
| Differences between Harbeth, Spendor, Graham, etc. ? All of the speakers we are talking about are "warm" (they are tipped up a bit from about 60 to 200 hz), but, warm speakers can also have a peak much further up or some other characteristic not necessarily associated with frequency response to can ... | |
| Differences between Harbeth, Spendor, Graham, etc. ? Perhaps, "sibilance" was not the right term to use. At certain upper midrange frequencies there is a slight edge or hardness that will be most pronounced in recordings that have a tendency to be sibilant. That slight edge also can make recording... | |
| Differences between Harbeth, Spendor, Graham, etc. ? Stuartk, The Audio Note line is quite efficient, but not like horns or other very efficient speakers. But, they are also easy to drive which makes them suitable for use with most low-powered tube amps. My local dealer frequently uses a 6 warr/c... | |
| Differences between Harbeth, Spendor, Graham, etc. ? I hear that slight edge with some very good and smooth tube amplification. It is NOT in the least a disqualifying property; I like very much most of the Harbeth line. I don’t know of any speaker that is perfect in every way, so I mentioned what ... | |
| Differences between Harbeth, Spendor, Graham, etc. ? This dealer only sells tube electronics, so, the Harbeths were not run with the recommended high-powered solid state amps. Still, Harbeth acquitted itself quite well. I particularly liked the 30.2 model for its lively, yet not lean or harsh soun... | |
| Differences between Harbeth, Spendor, Graham, etc. ? All of these brands make nice sounding speakers and one would have to hear specific models to make the right choice. There are also other similar lines of speakers that deserve consideration. For example, for the extremely small monitors, the Fal... | |
| Auditioning Used Equipment - Am I crazy ? We don't know enough about the particular circumstances to say whether or not the dealer was behaving reasonably. Most dealers have used gear as trade-ins on a purchase of new gear. Taking in trade-ins is a BIG favor to customer and the dealing ... | |
| Quandary Tube gear, in particular power amplifiers, vary much more in their sound than do solid state amps. It is not easy to characterize tube amp sound and know tube amp ‘sound” from just a few examples—Audio Research sounds radically different from Aud... | |
| Quandary Yes, tube linestages can work well and sound good with solid state amps. But, the biggest difference in sound comes from using a good tube amp. I hang out at a very serious audio shop that does not sell ANY solid state amplification. They also ... | |
| Transfiguration Phoenix S cartridge - impedance loading recommendation? I own a Transfiguration Orpheus L, which is also a low impedance cartridge. It is not sensitive to loading and I run it with 360 ohm loading. | |
| Quandary I think that the $300 review, which involves two trips by the dealer, plus the opportunity to have the $300 put toward the purchase price is a reasonable offer. Whatever you decide, it is a decision informed by much more than most people base the... |