loomisjohnson

Responses from loomisjohnson

Wilco/ Nels Cline: news & free album preview
i agree that wilco is more innovative and bigger-sounding with nels cline; however i don't think it's it in the band to produce the giant, important statement they're obviously striving for. in my (wholly unsolicited) opinion, at core jeff tweedy ... 
Moby Grape '69
jaybo--i've noticed we have similar tastes--have you heard anything recently i might have missed?what was really unique about moby grape was that all five members wrote at such a high level--very few bands have as many as three strong songwriters ... 
Wilco/ Nels Cline: news & free album preview
t6hanks for the headsup on nels' new release--among the greatest guitarists in the known universe. i dunno what he's doing with wilco, which has always seemed somwehat overpraised to me, but i guess the guy has to eat... 
Bookshelf Speakers with “Big” sound?
the two that come to mind are the von schweikert vr1 (easily available used for around $500) and the acoustic energy line (ae1, 2 etc.). both of these have tremendous slam for their size and none of the boxiness or narrow soundstage you might expe... 
2 channel Preamp brain?
i fully concur with stanwal and jgicalgo--you're much better off using an audio-only preamp and running your marantz dvd directly to your tv than going through another stage of video processing through a preamp. the only reason i could see to run ... 
Adcom vs Carver
adcom's a safe bet. the carver unit got some very good reviews, although i personally avoid carver equipment manufactured after 1994, when bob carver left the comapny--there seems to have been a decline in build quality. 
Best Used under $300 2 Channel Amp
amc makes a perfectly serviceable, bridgeable 2 channel ss amp which is generally available for $200 or so on ebay. i also see a bunch of used b&k st140 in that range. i'd also look at marantz ma monoblocks, which you should also find used wit... 
Byrds - untitled Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab
gotta disagree with jaybo--the bad byrd albums, like byrdmaniax and farther along--are really, really bad. untiltled is worthwhile for the live disc (i actaully like the 8mh jam), but gene clark was the real motherfucker. 
Surround Receiver For Zu Druid ?
b&k is always a great choice--best avr for two channel that i've heard. fewer bells and whistles than the mass market asian stuff, but much better built. the 307 and 507 units are generally available used for $500-$1000.i'd also consider arcam... 
Whats on your turntable tonight?
great album, jaybo--havent heard it in 20 years--sign on the cross is classic 
Recommend speakers for a restaurant sound system
If it were my business, I'd subscribe to XM radio service, which has fantastic variety and is available very inexpensively. ASCAP/RIAA are actually quite aggressive about collecting royalties for unauthorized commercial use of copyrighted music (I... 
NAD Reliability
Anecdotally, and from my own experiences, NAD's digital players are quite unreliable--I believe I've owned three seperate NAD players and each one had problems (laser, drawer mechanism). Their integrated amps, on the other hand, have been trouble-... 
Receiver Equivalent of Sansui AU Integrateds
i'd get a kyocera--best built units of the 80s era. 
choosing a center channel
have you considered either a midrange psb (e.g imagine line) or kef xq (great deals on their products at accessories4less)--both make excellent centers-- very transparent without being sterile or over-analytical. for ht use, i wouldn't overspend j... 
Vienna Acoustic Hayden grand or Polk audio lsi9
i've auditioned both--i think tweeter used to carry both lines, and honestly wasn't blown away by either, the vienna are way too polite while the polk were basically uninvolving without much low end (i thought the smaller lsi-7 imaged better and w...