mapman

Responses from mapman

Why do planars have poor bass extension?
I'm in agreement with PTM and Bombay, except that I would not describe good cone bass necessarily as "boom-boom-boom". I realized after owning planars for a while that "cone" bass can sound similar to planars when done right, for example with good... 
What's in your CDP tonight? the minority report
Haven't touched my player in quite a while. I'm a music server guy mostly these days, with vinyl listening tossed in as well from time to time.Tonight I will be queuing up some Flaming Lips. Not sure which one quite yet. 
Why do planars have poor bass extension?
I've read accounts that make sense to me that often the support structure is the weak link in the bass of planars. The frames tend to not be very massive and there is little inertial foundation for the drivers to work against. Adding mass and/or r... 
Buy new CDP or just add a newer DAC?
Starting with the right DAC will give biggest bang per buck both short and long term. 
The best CD Player for the money
"however the very best server-based systems I have heard coincidentally were connected to some of the best dac's i've heard"That was probably not a coincidence and a direct result of the DAC."What annoys me is audiophiles who claim high rez music ... 
Avantgarde or Tonian?
No doubt sensory overload can be fatiguing. But there are many ways to calm things down when needed. You can't add what is not there to start, assuming one cares. A bad recording is a bad recording. Nothing can make it something it isn't. 
Magnepan 1.7 too bright, HELP
A good class D power amp of same or higher power would probably fix the problem.A cheaper thing to try beforehand might be to swap in a pair of inexpensive MIT Terminator ICs for the Monsters and see if that helps. If not, probably still a good in... 
Rogue versus Peachtree
I'd eliminate the Peachtree Inova in that I doubt the amp has enough ooomph to make the Maggies sing at their best. 
Avantgarde or Tonian?
"So, you disagree that keeping constant room acoustics, source, electronics, listening position, et cetera, and changing only the speaker there has been a progressive movement toward offering a more intense sensory experience, and what I mean by t... 
Avantgarde or Tonian?
"I describe modern hi-fi as giving an incredibly accurate and vivid visual image of the musical event."Agree. At least it is CAPABLE of doing that, in general better than ever, but other factors come into play as well to actually make good things ... 
Avantgarde or Tonian?
"I've heard Avantgardes many a time and they can sound amazing but I can also understand when someone says they sound hi-fi sounding what is meant."I can understand it I suppose when someone says this. I suppose its more that I do not agree with t... 
Should Sound Quality of Computer Audio be improved
Petty,I actually understand your apprehension when it comes to big corporations and their motives, which are no mystery by the way, and there may be some validity to your fears about what lies in store ahead in terms of recording quality, but ther... 
How do you judge your system's neutrality?
Audio is an illusion.Any truth, to whatever extent ascertained, is just one flavor of that illusion.Few people all like the same flavor. 
How do you judge your system's neutrality?
Pipedream is right.I will say that some recordings resemble what I hear live enough to think them to be pretty neutral, but in general different recordings are recorded differently and will sound different. They is what they is. Attempts to make t... 
Your favorite SET amp? Wavac EC-300B...
"A good designed/built SET sounds more realistic and natural with music reproduction then 'any' other type of amplifier I`ve heard in the all my time in high end audio(that`s what won me over to this genre)."So what are the good ones that accompli...