mwood

Responses from mwood

Which Line Level, Balanced Preamplifier?
Backert! Great amps, 2 12AU7s. Absolutely beautifully made and they sound incredible!  
DecWare 300B amp
I have a ZMA and I love it. I'm trying 7027 A's in it right no,  NOS General Electrics from the 60's.  Immediately after I got it from Decware I discovered it came alive when used  with a preamp. I bought a Backert Rhumba Extreme and its been pur... 
High powered single end 300b recommendations
Wyetech Labs is worth looking into. They have (2) 300 B mono block amps that are superb and produce about 23 watts per channel  running 2 300B tubes per channel.  
Speakers that are good with tubes
DeVore O96’s are superb with low power tube amps. I would recommend them to anyone enthusiastically’  
Convincing your local dealer to let you try speakers at home
Good luck, I hope they let you do a home audition. I’ve had O96’s since early 2020. With a low power SET AMP and a Backert Rhumba in a fairly large and not yet treated but good sounding room they are mind blowing. Worth every penny.  
Pass Labs Speaker Choices
I have a Backert Rumba Extreme 1.3 into a Pass XA-30.8 and DeVore O96’s. I have had this setup for about 6 months and I still can’t wait to get home from work and listen. A match made in Heaven.  
Streamer/CD ripper
I can recommend very highly the Innuos Zenith MK III. Takes about 3-4 minutes  to rip a CD. The streamer sounds as good as my Bartok. The Innuos Sense app is intuitive and VERY stable.  
Digital gain vs analog gain
FWIW. My dCS Bartók DAC is set at .2v output gain, the volume control is set at 0db ( all the way up) Roon is also at 0db. Volume is controlled by volume pot on Backert preamp. This gain staging was recommended by Backert’s Andy Tebbe. I would swe... 
Solid state to tube
The Backert line of preamps are all absolute gems. They use two 12AU7 tubes which are auto biased . Tube rolling is easy and the results of rolling  with this preamp are palpable. Decware, despite the wait makes wonderful low power tube amps. Wyet... 
What’s your latest high-end audio purchase?
I replaced my Wyetech Labs Jade preamp which had served me well and sounded great for the last 15 years with a Bankert Labs Rhumba 1.3 Extreme. That changed the sound of my system to a more detailed and faster one. The extra gain from the 1.3 brou... 
Amplifier recommendation
I’ve been extremely happy with my Decware ZMA. It’s being driven by a Backert Rhumba 1.3 Extreme and that pairing with DeVore 096’s  in a large room is, for me, nirvana.   
12x7 tubes
Brent Jesse is an absolute prince among men. Every purchase I have made from him has been nothing short of an excellent experience. I can’t recommended him strongly enough!  
Sad to say I need a new amp…
Decware amps are a great value in Hi-Fi. Lifetime warranty, responsive staff and as previously mentioned, they never come up for resale. With my O 96's , in my opinion , the sound is gorgeous. Also, Decware amps are super quiet.  
What were the radio stations of your youth that helped you on your music/audio journey?
WHFS in Bethesda MDHoward University stationWOL Washington DC 
Who are the Stand Up Guy's and Gals in this Audio Industry?
Steve Deckert,  I’ve found him to be very reasonable and accommodating. His ZMA amp has thrilled me nightly since I got it.John DeVore, I base this solely on his YouTube channel and my total love for the O 96’s.Peter Bizlewicz, tremendously helpfu...