loomisjohnson

Responses from loomisjohnson

Are Bowers and Wilkins speakers overpriced?
my take is that b&w is kinda schizophrenic in that some of their lower-priced models  sound better to me than their much pricier TOTL--i feel the same way about focal. i do believe that b&w uses a dealer-only model, so you tend to get less... 
Usb audio newbie question
connecting your phone via the lightning port to the usb input on your parasound will work--you can also use a 3.5mm to rca cable out of the headphone jack on your iphone 6.  you might be best served, tho, by connecting wirelessly via a chromecast ... 
Upgrade time - PSB, Paradigm, Monitor Audio, or . . .
i have the synchrony, which do need a high current source to drive them, but i think your exposure would do just fine. i'd probably rate the monitor 300 a tad higher (they're also more expensive)--it's bassier and has more oomph--but you'd do well... 
Considering getting a CD player (again). Used? New? Criteria?
someone whose audio expertise i respect convinced me that glass optical is better than the standard plastic optical so at his suggestion i got this for $30 on amazon: "3 Ft Toslink Glass Digital Audio." Whether or not it's actually superior or mer... 
What are you streaming tonight?
Uber, I was up and running in a minute...vg, simple ui + no ads..sounds damn good. Currently listening to Duane's slide on trouble no more, which is a helluva slide s 
What are you streaming tonight?
on a lark i started using radio paradise and i gotta say, it's been spot-on, with scarcely a duff track. yesterday it ran the gamut from stones to radiohead to obscurities like lord huron and great lakes swimmers and still sounded pretty coherent.... 
Considering getting a CD player (again). Used? New? Criteria?
the optical out on your d1 will work fine with the transport--you can always upgrade in the future 
Are Focal Aria 926 considered to be a Hi-Fi speaker?
"hifi" is, of course, in the ears of the beholder--to me it means a speaker which is coherent reproduces timbre naturally and is free from colorations. form that perspective, imo the aria qualifies as hi-fi notwithstanding that it's on a middle ti... 
Budget speakers for near-wall positioning
+1 on the rega--they're impervious to placement 
Has anyone ever used any sprays or paints to protect the cabinet of a speaker?
i've left a pair of (indoor) technics sb55 speakers, which i sprayed with polyurethane, under on an eave on my open rear porch--i've left 'em out that way for 10+ years through snow, rain and shine and they're still going strong ( i have another p... 
Itching for better sound
40' may be a long run for optical + you don't know if the dac in your cdp sounds better than the one in the powered speakers, so i'd try rca as well and compare 
Itching for better sound
i agree that your avr is the limiting factor--i'd look at the dynaudio xeo 2 powered speakers, which are $800 new--very impressive 
Upgrade to Oppo?
the 95 is a really excellent player--it presents a lot more detail than my pretty good rotel and arcam cdps; you can also use it to play flac files through a usb drive. it's an older piece, so i wouldn't pay a super-premium for it, but it's pretty... 
CD Player vs. music streaming
if i had to start over, and hadn't accumulated thousands of cds, i'd simplify my life and stream exclusively. as roberjman suggests, a bluesound for >500 + ten bucks a month for a streaming service is a small price to pay for essentially unlimi... 
Should I buy used Thiel CS5
hugely overpriced