raquel
Responses from raquel
| Sonus Faber Extremas Extremas really suck power and you're better off going solid-state.That said, the big VAC monoblocks (Renaissance 140's or 220 watt/channel KT-88 amps) will drive them -- they have excellent output transformers and power supplies -- but if you rea... | |
| Vincent SV-236 vs Rowland Concentra 2? The Concentra 2 is of the best vintage of Rowland products and there is still very little solid-state gear that can compete with it. I have not heard the Vincent and it may be a fine product, but the Rowland has sound quality and build quality tha... | |
| Tube amp with SS like bass Unfortunately, the answer is no in your price range. To control woofers (i.e., to have decent bass), a tube amp has to have top-notch output transformers (as well as serious power supplies). The former are very, very expensive.The Sonic Frontiers ... | |
| Sacrilege Going from Tubes back to Solid State At your price point, the Rowland Model 6 monos, especially if you can find a pair run from batteries, will beat your VTL's in most systems (no offense intended, but the 450/750/1250 vintage of VTL amps are a bit crude in my opinion). The Model 6/8... | |
| If boulder is tops what is second tier? I am going to do something shocking, specifically, respond to Pedrillo's question.You may wish to consider a used Rowland Cadence phono stage, especially if it is run from the Rowland battery power supply as opposed to the A/C power supply (it wor... | |
| Anyone know of a good pressing of Stickey Fingers? I can tell you to stay away from the dreadful EMI 180 g. reissues of Exile, Sticky Fingers (there's another, too -- there were three) that came out about six years ago. It was done by a great masterer like Ricker or Ludwig (I think Ricker), but he... | |
| Anyone know anything about a new Rowland 312? I just checked the specs page from the Rowland website and see that the weight is down significantly for the new iterations of the 300 series amps. The 301 monos used to be +/- 110 lbs. each and the 302 stereo version was +/- 100 lbs. Now, the 301... | |
| Suggestions for CD player $2-3k used? Mitch2: No, I have not compared the CD-3 to the CD-3 Mk. II. The latter costs roughly 10% more than the former, and as audio occupies the same universe as everything else and you thus tend to get what you pay for, it surely must be better. And as ... | |
| Suggestions for CD player $2-3k used? I just read this thread and see that you intend to go to a balanced preamp. Consider the Audio Research CD-3 or (CD-3 Mk. II). It is a truly differential-balanced design, and very "well-balanced" performer. The only warning is that it loads from t... | |
| Definition of "too Hi-Fi" For me, it suggests a component or speaker that is striking because of its resolution and detail, but that precisely because of those characteristics, imparts an unnatural, and thus undesirable, sound. Early vintage Wilson speakers, and Halcro and... | |
| Solid state; when would you use tubes? As an A-Gon member, I appreciate the time put into the above posts, but good grief, please spell check, proof-read and organize what you write. Stream-of-consciousness blather is really obnoxious and no one has the patience to read it. My experien... | |
| KimberKable BiFocal-XL or Kimber Select 3033 It sometimes takes Dick a few days to respond, but he will, in detail.I owned 3033 and 3038, and both are lovely cables. The 3033 provides really high value for the money. | |
| KimberKable BiFocal-XL or Kimber Select 3033 Call Dick Diamond at Kimber. He is a straight shooter and will tell you exactly what the differences are. | |
| Wilson WP 7 with Air Tight ATM 211 The Lamm's use extremely expensive output transformers and have excellent power supplies, the result being that their wattage rating is largely meaningless and they can control speakers that ostensibly much more powerful tube amps cannot. I still ... | |
| Wilson WP 7 with Air Tight ATM 211 While advertised as a highly efficient speaker that can be driven by lower wattage tube amps, the WP7 drops well below 3 ohms in the bass and features a high phase angle at around 60 Hz., the result being that only a small handful of tube amps wil... |