realgoodsound
Responses from realgoodsound
| SEEKING ADVICE: Which component would you upgrade first? The HPM-100's were designed by an engineer Pioneer hired from JBL and were their answer to the 1970.s JBL L-100. Nice speaker in its day but IMNSHO, the absurd prices those speakers are bringing today is tied to the vintage-gear rage. Speaker desi... | |
| Advice and recommendations needed for a turntable rig... For $1,650, you can get a Music Hall "Stealth" with an Ortofon 2M "Blue" cartridge. The Stealth is no lightweight at 24 lbs. It's direct drive, has a great cartridge and you can change tracking angle while a record is playing. It's what I currentl... | |
| Seeking Budget CD Player Suggestions Had an NAD C525 BEE for twenty years and it was a champ. You can find one now probably for less than $200. I also like the more recent Rotels - they sound great and seem to have quality parts. A weird one: Nakamichi OMS-1A. Found one for $80. It ... | |
| Seeking Honest Opinions: Your Experience with McIntosh Audio Gear I had a C27 preamp for several years, bought refurbished. Here are my comments: Sound Quality: Very pure; certainly not warm. Everything was good although the phono stage, to me, had a bit of harshness built in. Build Quality and Design: Build... | |
| Recommendations on integrated amps With 60 years of owning and selling hi-fi gear, allow me to suggest to NOT buy a tube amp for your workshop, although they might make it warmer in the Winter. They and dust might not make for the best combination as some output tubes get hot enoug... | |
| Did your system getting better the more money you spent or more experience you gained? Definitely more experience. The more experience I gained, the better able I was to sift through the hype and get to real quality. When I started out 50+ years ago, I made some really stupid errors. I can't say that now, my moves are perfect, but I... | |
| Your Not-So-Obvious Best Fidelity LPs Miles Davis Quintet - Kind of Blue (MSFL 45 rpm) Dire Straits - Brothers in Arms (MFSL 45 rpm) Toto - Toto IV (Columbia LP) Ten Years After - A Space in Time (new 180g with both original and new mixes) Blood, Sweat & Tears - BS&T III (... | |
| The Sound Quality Of Commercially Pre-Recorded Reel-To-Reel Albums Generally, the higher the tape speed, the better the sound. Also, two-track machines have more head space to work with so usually, better sound. Pre-recorded tapes from 50 years ago were good if they were 7.5 ips and barely better than a Dolby-en... | |
| Seeking Legit Cartridge Expert? Why would you want an MC to play Zepplin? Let me suggest the Musc Hall "Stealth" with a nice, rorty Ortofon 2M Blue pre-mounted for $1,650. While I don't listen much to Zepplin or other hard rock, when I do, the Stealth/Blue combo makes the music ... | |
| Good Speakers for Rock and Roll Under 15K Find a pair of used JBL 4412 (not the 4412a) monitors. Many rock songs, especially those done on the West Coast, were monitored on the 4412s. So, they give you the experience the recording engineer had. The L100's are similar. | |
| McIntosh dealer discount ? Many dealers will only discount systems, where they can bury the discount on a price-controlled piece on another component that isn't price controlled. For instance, when I sold gear, you could not sell JBL's for less than MSRP or you'd likely los... | |
| Ripping CDs Buy a reasonable used laptop with CD/DVD record/play unit built-in. You don't need major computing power to rip and burn music. You can find them for about $200. I use JRiver Music Center 30 (they're up to 32 now) which I find much easier to use ... | |
| Anyone listen to Music on a FM tuner anymore? I have used a Denon TU-680 NAB for nearly 30 years year. Great sound; so sensitive and selective it' picks up stations after they've signed of (just kidding). I'm thankful to have a 24/7 local Classical station that uses no compression or processi... | |
| 50 ways to leave your lover A friend of mine worked for Phil Ramone at A&R off and on and was working the day Simon recorded "50 Ways . . . " According to him, Simon had the song but hadn't figured how it would sound best. They tried several different takes but Simon was... | |
| Why "bookshelf" sspeakers? I agree with Wharf, as I also "slung" hi-fi gear in the late 60's/early 70's: if was great an "SAF" problem - "Spousal Acceptance Factor." Lots of homes back then had built-in bookshelves in the living room and the wife liked the idea that the spe... |