mike_in_nc

Responses from mike_in_nc

Best speakers for max. $3000?
"Best" is very much in the ears of the beholder. If you told us a bit more about what kind of music you like, what volume you listen at, and what you don’t like about your current speakers, people might be able to give better advice. Do you prefer... 
How To Proceed With Room Treatments
As to temporary placement:I’ve used milk crates to raise panels, propped against the wall, to see how they do in specific positions.I’ve held blankets above my head to see if ceiling reflections were a problem.I’ve moved bass traps around to see h... 
Technical sophistication
Keith,You can buy it straight from the source.http://getbettersound.com/store.htmlMike 
Bryston 135 Cubed
I don't have that but do have a 4B3, which has similar circuitry for the power-amp part. It's a wonderful amp, to my ears in the same league as Classe, Pass Labs, and similar brands (though sounding a little different to me). I bought it after aud... 
Suggestions for Balanced cable between Luxman C900U and M900U.
I agree that when using balanced interconnects, I have not noticed important differences among them in most cases. The exception was when using the expensive ones mentioned above; in blind tests with experienced listeners, they were considered dis... 
Technical sophistication
For really useful information without woo-woo, I recommend Jim Smith’s book, "Get Better Sound." A set of videos with the same name is also available. The focus of these is on optimizing your current system without additional expense, rather than ... 
Technical sophistication
I’m a retired quantitative biologist.I agree with @millercarbon that you need to trust your own ears. A few tips from my perspective:Audiophiles have many "secret" techniques for improving sound. A few of them actually work. Most work their effect... 
Suggestions for Balanced cable between Luxman C900U and M900U.
A lovely system, the Luxman components.For balanced interconnects, I’ve had great results with Mogami 2459 and Neutrik XLRs fabricated into cable assemblies to order from ProAudioLA. I compared the result to a pair of $2200 "boutique" cables from ... 
Special pressing LPs when the master was digitally recorded?
It is a nice thing to have if you are fond of LPs. 
Planned to upgrade to DeVore Gibbon X, but concerned about comment of base leanness
I have not heard them. You can stop reading there, if you want.Any speaker whose woofer is far off the floor will be subject to floor-bounce cancellation, which typically occurs in the 100-300 Hz range. This can cause leanness and necessitates car... 
Which reviewers and review sites are the ost reliable?
The most reliable reviewer is one whose interests and tastes match yours. It can take a long time to figure out who those are.My music interests are mainly in classical music and other acoustic music, and my equipment interests are great sound and... 
Headphone Recommenations
Via BT, the sound quality is very much determined by the codec used, as Bluetooth is a lossy transmission method. The best SQ seems to come with the LDAC codec, as in the Sony headphones mentioned by @big_greg. I have a pair of the immediately pre... 
PS Audio Perfect Wave DAC upgrade to DSD?
It affects us all:  Impressions of speakers change over time, as we listen to them more. What seemed impressive at first can become irritating after six months' listening. I have no magic bullet for dealing with that (but I'm pretty sure the answe... 
PS Audio Perfect Wave DAC upgrade to DSD?
@thosb -- Thanks for the reply!I’ve been in a situation where auditioning speakers required a 4-hour car trip. It’s tough. After buying, I found that what had impressed me were the acoustics of the listening room, not only the speakers. So my jour... 
PS Audio Perfect Wave DAC upgrade to DSD?
Room treatments: really good idea. And please look at those measurement in Stereophile and think about whether the speakers should stay in your system, given the issue you have mentioned.