mgottlieb
Responses from mgottlieb
| BAT VK-200 vs Classe amps in general? You can't talk about Classe amps "in general". The post-Omega Classe amps (e.g., the CAM-350 monoblocks) are a major step forward over the earlier Classes. The BAT is terrific, but if you want a fair comparison it has to be with the right power si... | |
| Inexpensive Tri-Wire Cables Some years ago Straight Wire tri-wired a cable for me for a nominal extra charge. It was their top of line Crescendo cable, but I got the impression they would also do it on their other cables as an accommodation. They seemed very decent people to... | |
| Power Cond-best? Hyrda? CFX? PP? Burm 948? others? I have the Burmester 948, and I like it much more than the units I had before (PS Audio 300, Richard Gray), although I haven't tried the others you mentioned. Mine and all the 948's I saw at the time (about a year ago) had a hard wired power cord,... | |
| JVC XRCD CDs, are they worth the extra cash? Yes. Even compared to the limited edition gold RCA Living Stereo CDs, the JVCs are warmer, richer, and closer to the originals. In fact, their tonal balance is usually closer to the originals than were the Classic Records LP reissues. (Sometimes t... | |
| Very Basic Tube/SS Pre-AMP/AMP Question A lot of people seem to think tube preamp/solid state power amp(s) are the best compromise, giving you a substantial part of the benefits of both. So I'm trying it--Lamm L1 preamp and LP2 phono amp, with Classe CAM350 power amps. The Classes, of c... | |
| Pre-amp Suggestions for Tubes & Electrostats The recently discontinued tube/ss hybrid LAMM L1 is superb, and used ones come now and then on Audiogon, and the Pass X1 ss unit is almost equally good, and those are always around here. I've had both, and think they're both truly excellent. | |
| Cable for Tonearm/Turntable........ Highly recommend Purist Proteus. Not cheap, but very close to the top of the line Dominus, and much lighter and less bulky. | |
| Are Cheap XLR Balanced Better Or GOOD RCA Unless you have a really long run, there just isn't going to be much difference. I use a 2 meter balanced Purist Dominus, a very pricey cable, between preamp and amps, but when I substituted a 2 meter RCA of the same cable, I couldn't be sure that... | |
| Classe CAM350 monoblocks vs. Krell FPB 600 I haven't heard the Krell in several years, but found it a bit dark. I own a pair of CAM350s which drive very inefficient speakers, and I have heard them driving the B & Ws. They are truly superb | |
| VPI or Basis? You can't go wrong with either one, especially the Basis; but for approximately the same money--$8000--you should also consider the SME 20. It's a truly great table. | |
| Small balanced monoblocks I second the opinion on the Classe CAM-350s, my present amps. But if your speakers don't need that much power, before the Classes I had Pass Aleph 2s, and they were wonderful. There is usually a pair or two used on Audiogon. | |
| How are the Classical music XRCDs? They're superb, easily better than the RCA Living Stereo versions--fuller and richer. | |
| Help on power conditioner upgrade If you really want something special, which will upgrade your system, there's the Burmester 958, which will take your entire system, including two big monoblocks. I love what it does, and if it has any downside whatsoever, I can't hear it. But boy... | |
| speaker choices for Classe CAM350 mono blocks It's sort of backwards to select the speakers after the amps. I bought the CAM-350s specifically to drive a pair of Egglestonworks Andras ($14,900 new), which need the kind of power the 350s can provide to perform their best. The Andras were Stere... | |
| What transport with dCS Purcell/Delius Setup? The transport section of the Sony SCD-1 is superb. Through the digital out (RCA only) to my Purcell and Elgar it beat my previous (Levinson) transport easily. Plus you get SACD playback (direct to the preamp) free this way. |