mcondon

Responses from mcondon

Thoughts on Clear Day vs Grover Huffman SC's?
I have auditioned a lot of speaker cables, including Gabriel Gold, Crimson Music Links, WyWires, Gregg Straley Reality Cables. Almost all were substantially more expensive than Clear Day Cables. None of them compete with the sound quality of the D... 
Clear Day Interconnects
I borrowed the Clear Day ICs. They are very close to the Crimson Music Links, which are world class cables, in terms of sound signature. Very dynamic, great bass, very open sounding. Overall, the Clear Day double shotgun speaker cables are a diamo... 
Shout Out to Stealth Cables
The free repair was an act of kindness...Sergei typifies the essence of this hobby.Just make sure you have a rider in your home insurance policy to cover fire/flood related damage to your Stealth cables. When my house was flooded during Katrina, A... 
shindo aurieges ....
I demo'd DeVores in 2008 at Sound by Singer with a solid sate amp and a digital source and just didn't understand all the hype. Mind you, I had just demo'd some Sehring speakers and thought the Sehrings were far better for less money. In any case,... 
Suggestion for Preamp please ????
I would do more research about the difference between using XLR and RCA inputs on your amp before selling the VTL. Virtually every component I have owned was supposed to sound better using one set of inputs rather than the other -- that applies to... 
My first tube preamp Manley jumbo shrimp
The Shrimp is a very nice preamp, although I found that it paired much better with a "muscular" solid state power amp than with a tube amp. When I switched from a solid state power amp (a B&K 4420) to a tube amp (a McIntosh MC275 and then a VA... 
What preamps outshine the Aesthetix Calypso?
The Lightspeed did not work for me...I was picking up a lot of intermittent noise, seemed to be RF noise, related to using single-ended components and interconnects in a Manhattan high rise apartment. I also found that the Perfect Wave DAC sounded... 
What preamps outshine the Aesthetix Calypso?
Edorr, I have tried the PW DAC straight into my VAC Phi 200. I even bought a Lightspeed Attenuator to try, given the supposed shortcomings of a digital volume control. After a few weeks, I just did not like the sound, as the soundstage seemed to c... 
What preamps outshine the Aesthetix Calypso?
Ckoffend,Yes, I have done a fair amount of tube rolling with the Calypso, buying a variety of NOS tubes for that purpose from Vintage Tube Services.Audiofreakgeek, yes I have experimented with and am using good power cords, isolation, power condit... 
Morrow MA3 interconnects
I was never that impressed with the Morrow MA3s. The Crimson Music Links are much better. Close to the same price as the MA3s, but far, far better extension and bass. Very musical and satisfying. WyWires are also very good, with really hefty solid... 
A bit overwhelmed, need preamp advice
A few thoughts...first, I agree that you should look for a better DAC. The PW DAC (used) or W4S DAC2 would offer a lot of bang for the buck in your system. Second, I don't like going amp direct from a digital source. Digital volume controls are of... 
Why do no audio enthusiasts use McIntosh?
What is an "audio enthusiast"? If you mean people who love listening to recorded music, then I suspect that many people with iPods and earbuds better meet the criteria, while many people who churn through audio equipment are not. I suspect the lat... 
Conrad Johnson ET3, Mystere CA21 or Prima Luna Pre
I would look for a used Aesthetix Calypso, which usually goes for a little over $2K. I have enjoyed mine immensely...it has a big, addictive, enveloping sound associated with tubes but also has great frequency extension. Very reliable and quiet to... 
ALO RCA Silver/Copper or Jenal Fugue RCA
I doubt you will get many responses to your questions. ALO is really best known for making headphone replacement cables (and some feel their prices are exorbitant.) Unless ALO provides a free trial, I would avoid them as you would have a hard time... 
PS Audio Perfect Wave DAC without the transport
Does anyone know whether the firmware updates affect how the Perfect Wave DAC sounds when playing CDs on the PWT. I read over on Head-fi that the newer firmware sounds better than the older firmware, but they seem to be using the Bridge exclusivel...