rbautista

Responses from rbautista

Recommend a Used Solid State Preamp for About $5k
Placette Active. A good friend of mine has it in front of his Pass 350.5 and it's a wonderful match. 
Pass XVR-1 Crossover
An audiophile friend of mine uses the Bryston x-over to biamp his MG20's. He even talked to Pass about upgrading his Bryston to the Pass and they suggested it might be a lateral move depending upon the setup and synergy. The only way to find out w... 
Belles 150A Short Review
Phd, nice accurate review. I have the Hot Rod version which I have been told by David Belles is the same as the newer 150A. If you have one of the newer 150A's, then you essential have the Hot Rod.Photon46, sounds like you had a faulty amp because... 
Best midrange on a high current SS amplifier
I would try a Belles 150 Reference. I use a 150 HotRod to the drive my Maggie 1.6's without a problem. 
CD player - need your opinion
Rmihai, sounds like you are looking for the deal/bargain of the century. All those players you've listed are no where in the league of your player and budget. If you are looking for a player with those virtues, then I personally think you need to ... 
New DAC or player?
If you want to keep the the Marantz and use an external DAC, I would recommend the Bel Canto DAC2. I found that a decent player or DVD player has minimal affect due to the internal dejitter. It was definitely a qualitative shift for me coming from... 
DAC question -- Importance of good vibes
Jayboard, the Bel Canto has 1 optical and 1 coaxial. 
DAC question -- Importance of good vibes
I was looking into the Benchmark also, but after reading it sounded like it was not for me also. I went with the Bel Canto DAC2. Compared to what I've read about the Benchmark, the Bel Canto is as detailed, but more analog like or more on the velv... 
Jolida JD100 better that the Rega Planet 2000?
Nick, Maggies are definitely power hungry. I would recommend upgrading your amp to give them more juice which should give you more dynamics. I've upgraded to a Belles Hot Rod and haven't regretted it yet. For the money used, I can't complain. It g... 
Review: Pass Labs X350.5 Amplifier
I personally have heard the evolution of Teajay's system since he is a very good audiophile friend and my "brother-in-law". His review is very accurate and I agree to everything he says about 350.5. Teajay doesn't make a move in his system unless ... 
ARC LS25 or Pass Labs X1??
I would recommend the Placette Active. If that's not within your budget, the Placette Passive is wonderful also. They both have remotes and very accurate volume controlling which fits your criteria. The owner, Guy, can even adjust the gain for you... 
Current and Former Transparent Audio owners
A fellow audiophile who is a very good friend upgraded all his transparent to accoustic zen. It was night and day between the two. I believe you will find the "slam" you are looking for. I have the super model for speaker cables, given to me by my... 
System Components are Warm but Synergy is Bright?
I'm experiencing the same problem. I used to have an Audiolab pre and amp using a Classe .3 cdp. This had a very warm a smooth sound.I first switched out the amp with a Belles 150A Hot Rod. Everything still sounded warm and smooth, but more detail... 
Passive/Active preamps: pros and cons....
If you are going the passive route, I highly recommend the Placette RVC for you. If you need more inputs, then get the 3 input version (PLC). I went from an Audiolab 8000C which is an active pre to the Placette PLC and the Placette was by far bett... 
Heart 6000 Owners
I've had the same issue also with some of my older Harry Connick cd's and some of my CD-R's. It just won't read them. When it does read them, it constantly skips and becomes irritating. I've put the same cd's in my clock radio, Aiwa boombox, Sony ...