petaluman
Responses from petaluman
| Berkeley CA audiophile is desperate need of help You might find it valuable to join your local audio lover's group, the San Francisco Audiophile Society. I preferred the original name (Bay Area...) and the group's membership is even broader than that. They have a forum where you could make thi... | |
| Will a new Dac improve the sound? People sometimes overlook the A in DAC. The analog side is just as important to the overall sound. While I'm not personally a fan of tubes, they are an example of how much the sound can be affected by the analog stage. However, the digital sid... | |
| $100K system build - % breakdown of spend If it was my 100k, I would start with a dedicated room. It's by far the hardest thing to upgrade and will never be obsoleted. It doesn't have to be away from the rest of the house. However, ideally it's separate from your "TV" room. If you hav... | |
| Linear Power Supply? For the OP, as noted above, all electrical questions in high end are ... complicated. First perturbation, though, I'm inclined to believe that the elasticity of the drive belt would tend to filter out any micro-differences between a well-designed... | |
| What Is So Special About Harbeth? Every loudspeaker, no matter the price, is voiced by the builder to best accomplish their design goals. That's why there's no unanimity of opinion of the best speaker at any given price range, including unlimited. Harbeth, like many brands, has ... | |
| Would appreciate a group consensus on Agon purchased amps I believe a power cord should absolutely be included if the unit is listed as working unless the seller specifically states that it's not. The power cord is necessary to make it work. This is not about dollars or culture, it's about honest adver... | |
| Your method for discovering great music. I agree with the OP that streaming solutions work best for more casual fans. The software is trying to figure out what you like and give you similar content. Great if you're fine walking in place, but if you're searching, it's best to seize the ... | |
| Totally overwhelmed (speakers under $5k) Don't worry about getting "the best sound for under $5000". There are so many choices because being a speaker builder is a passion project. The best value sound-wise might well be from some young, bright-eyed designer start-up ... that closes sh... | |
| XLR question for bass XLR connectors don't have any intrinsic advantage over other connectors. However, if the amplification devices are truly balanced, they will have an additional 6db of gain (doubling the voltage results in 4x gain). Bass performance is likely mos... | |
| Speakers for daughter There's a used pair of Revel Concerta F12 towers here on Agon for $300 that could work well, but they are rear ported | |
| Budget integrated amp needed A friend of mine paid $150+shipping for a NAD C 326BEE integrated last year, to be used for a similar application. It's 50w/channel, but if you need more, I'm sure there's a NAD to suit. I have a lot of respect for PS Audio as well, but you prob... | |
| Antique Sound Labs Thanks for the update, fsonicsmith! By unfound I meant that I'm assuming this quote from above "ASL IMO has decided to change course and pursue more profitable businesses " meant Joseph. A lot of high end businesses are that way - there are 1 or... | |
| Antique Sound Labs Thanks for all your responses. It looks like ASL no longer exists, and Joseph Lau remains unfound. I did find this brief history at this equipment review from 2007: Twenty years ago, Antique Sound Laboratory and its affordable tube amps probabl... | |
| Antique Sound Labs Thanks for the responses, but I'm mostly curious about whether the brand still survives, and how they are viewed by this community. The other thread was about some dealer apparently bashing all Chinese tube amps. ASL came to mind as a fairly ear... | |
| Transmission line speakers! I'm another fan of the acoustic suspension approach. It's been ~50 years since I read the Thiele-Small papers, so please correct me if I'm wrong. IIRC, ideal porting only extends linear bass response for something like 1/3 octave - 2 or 3 notes.... |