rbirke

Responses from rbirke

six year old 6sn7's, pushing my luck?
Thanks very much to all who replied. I'm grateful and listening happily.Rich 
Best Live Album Ever...
My top 5 (or 6)Johnny Cash - Folsom PrisonLou Reed -- Rock and Roll AnimalLittle Feat -- Waiting for ColumbusThe Band (and friends) -- Last WaltzNirvana -- Unplugged in NYRoxy Music -- VivaFeel like I'm missing something obvious.... 
Pros and Cons of "Staying with" Analog and Vinyl
I went looking for my cd of dark side of the moon. Turns out I don't own one. Pulled out and cleaned the vinyl. It's playing now in front of me as I write. Lp12, Helikon, tubes....I couldn't be happier. If I could magically turn everything into se... 
Oh how I wish Class D amps ...
All I know is that I had Bryston 7B-st amps, traded them for Rowland 201's and they didn't cut it. Now I'm back to big beef -- Cary MB500's. Speakers were Maggie 3.6's and Aerial 9's.The Rowlands lacked oomph (in my system -- YMMV)Rich 
Quick poll How long have you been in this hobby?
37 years -- started in 1973, at age 12, when I inherited my older brother's Sansui 5000A, Sansui speakers (with those crazy wood grills) and a Dual turntable. He (who is 14 years older) went to Phase Linear gear with Ohm speakers. 
Arm Suggestions For Lyra Helikon
I'm running an Ekos II with my LP12 and Helikon and I like it a lot. With the new Ekos SE out, you might be able to get an Ekos II at a good price.If you are in or near Portland Oregon, I'd be happy to let you listen and hear for yourself.Rich 
Your First Vinyl Album.
11 years old, Lowell Massachusetts, Garnick's Record Store, 1972, Steely Dan's Can't Buy a Thrill. Still own it. Still love it. Just listened to both sides the other day.Followed almost immediately by New Riders of the Purple Sage, Panama Red &... 
New Pass Amps?
Or that what's good enough for Nelson Pass isn't feasible or responsible to produce as a consumer/production item.Call Pass and offer the boss $250K for his personal set up and I'll bet the amps become "available."Given Nelson Pass' reputation for... 
Aesthetix Collisto Signature or SLP 05 Preamp?
I owned a Calypso and now have an SLP05. I don't know how the Callisto compares with the Calypso, but the Calypso cannot hold a candle to the Cary -- not in terms of sound quality, build quality, pleasure of use. This may not be much help, but my ... 
Hifi racks with isolation
Another vote for the Grand Prix Monaco.I'll send in a vote for Jtinn, who runs a $200k+ system and deals a lot of high end gear. A lot. He also is a firm believer in Grand Prix. He sold me mine!While he's switched loyalties between amp companies a... 
what speaker cables for aerial acoustics model 9
I've been running Acoustic Zen Satori Shotgun and have loved it.Then I had a custom room built and I needed a longer run of smaller cables to thread in a tight space out of a cabinet, so I got Audience au24 biwires.The Audience, while more expensi... 
Choice on a $3,000 to $5,000 SS amp
There are some Cary mb500's for sale in your price range (used). I love mine and they will drive anything. I had Rowland monos before and wasn't happy with class d.The Ayre is nice but monoblocks are so good at so many things...Can't go wrong with... 
Why I sell
Wow -- you people are mistrustful -- heh heh.I, for one, have sold for perfectly respectable reasons every time. Seriously.I sold a preamp when I decided I wanted remote control.I then sold the next preamp when I wanted built in phono. I then sold... 
Difference between today and yesterday.
I had those same Sansui speakers and they are what got me into hifi when I was a teen in the 70's and inherited them from my older bro -- who got the big pyramidal Ohm speakers.Were they better? Was I less fussy? Perhaps the fact that I was usuall... 
Cary SLP-05 power supply
I have an SLP-05 and I got a pricey tube (don't remember what off the top of my head) from Upscale. On all the time. Nearly 2 years and counting.FWIW, I've shut the pre off a few times and it warms up in a heartbeat. You have to balance the damage...