mulveling
Responses from mulveling
| Cartridge - sweet spot on the cost/sound curve? @elliottbnewcombjr In the sub $500 new cartridge market I am interested in knowing what options there are for boron or other hybrid cantilevers. For awhile there was carbon fiber but that was more of a cheap as chips option for Audio Technica. ... | |
| $3500 floor standing speakers used. What would be your choice ? Everyone will have their favorite speaker brand. Mine is Tannoy. There are frequently lots of tempting (to me) used Tannoys for sale. I’ve used Tannoys with lots of VAC components for many years now. In the bigger system I have Canterbury GR with... | |
| Can you do anything to make power tubes last longer ? Really, don’t overthink it. The lifespan will be determined primarily by the amp’s operational parameters (bias, voltage), and quality of the tube. Enjoy your tube amp. Vintage tubes tend to be very good, and long lived. But these days, most of wh... | |
| Just Getting Started With Headphones @mulveling - while I’ve not personally heard them yet, the Empyrian 2’s and the Elites are not supposed to be as dark/thick as the original Empyrians are. That’s true. My listening experience was with the original Empyrean version. It was "too ... | |
| Just Getting Started With Headphones So the Lyr 3 isn’t much more than a switch box with a volume control, because I’m using the tape outs on my power amp. I’m using an ASR Emitter II Exclusive power amp and its a bit of a mismatch to run a signal from the ASR into the Schiit but th... | |
| Phono stages: Hagerman and Sun Valley 1616 possible giant killers @mulveling oops. Thanks for the correction. That’s embarrassing. I always assumed Hagerman was a genius for pulling that off without FETs and using 6 tubes instead of the usual 3 in MM amps. Ah well... @noromance Clever as Hagerman is, all-tub... | |
| The Audio Science Review (ASR) approach to reviewing wines. Analogies of audio to other hobbies are generally suspect (especially the car ones), but yes I can sort of get on board with this one. The folks at ASR have a very different hobby than what is generally practiced here - though we’re superficially ... | |
| Phono stages: Hagerman and Sun Valley 1616 possible giant killers No longer posting but @bkeske was impressed with the 6 tube MC version of the Trumpet—especially after rolling in Telefunkens etc. Note that as it’s a tube MC section, likely a little noisier than FET or SUT. Trumpet MC actually uses a FET base... | |
| More on XLR vs RCA considerations? I have never had any real complaints with RCA'a other than some that seem too tight, some too loose and having tried some cheap ones over the years, well, they were inferior in many ways, including audibly. Oh man, I HATE Cardas SRCAs and the a... | |
| Phono stages: Hagerman and Sun Valley 1616 possible giant killers I hate the "giant killers" trope because they almost never are. But I love & recommend Hagerman’s phono gear at every price point. His curent line is built to a (very low) price point, with the requisite sacrifices made (like SMPS). BUT they a... | |
| Is there usually a dramatic difference between $5k and $10k cartridges ? Anyone ever buy demo/used cartridges? Thoughts? Experiences? I've bought plenty both new and used. Best is buying used from hobbyist audiophiles with stellar feedback who cleans their gear compusively (i.e. check the cart picks for a "dust bear... | |
| More on XLR vs RCA considerations? @billpete So I had an ARC preamp like that (Reference 6) and in fact used it with its RCA inputs (from a phono stage with only RCA outs) and XLR outputs to my amps - and though that sounded best (compared to RCA outputs). Try it both ways, but m... | |
| More on XLR vs RCA considerations? Is this what is meant by "all balanced", just the preamp and amps? Plus sources (output side) - that’s pretty much the bulk of it. This can be extended to phono stages, tape pre-preamps, headphone amplifiers, tonearm cables, and step-up transfo... | |
| Is there usually a dramatic difference between $5k and $10k cartridges ? If they sound "worlds apart" then is it possible that none of them sounds right ? Or it is more like fine musical instruments that are different but both sound right ? Yes, that is correct - cartridges are not a great pursuit for those seeking ... | |
| Is there usually a dramatic difference between $5k and $10k cartridges ? mulveling, that’s what I assumed. No guarantee, let alone "dramatic difference". @inna Well, it can actually be quite a significant difference, but most of it is usually "personality" rather than a difference of "quality" level. Moving coils e... |