rello

Responses from rello

Who carries Audio Physic in the Chicago area?
I believe Decibel Audiohttp://www.decibel.com/ 
Best way to couple monitor speakers to stands?
I put black diamond racing pucks between my stands and speakers with great results without putting my speakers in peril. Realized a more even tonal balance with an improvement in delpth and clarity. 
Best repair people for my Threshold 400a?
You might want to check with Nova Audio who I believe still licenses and manufactures Threshold product. I once needed a part a few years ago and they were very nice to deal with. http://www.novausa.com/ 
Jazz vocals recommendations please
Kurt Elling has a great voice. I believe he is on the Concorde label and appears on some Naim recordings. 
ProAc Response 1SC Amp
I would look at a Plinius. I have a sa-50 that I use interchangeably with my BATvk-75se. The plinius is not tubes but is very good and can be run class A or A/B..single ended or balanced. Maybe a little more than your budget but well worth an extr... 
Whats your current Reference CD at the moment?
Most anything from MA Recordings. 
Turntable with sme mount
If your saying non-suspended because of set-up complexity or lack of bass/dynamics then I would not be concerned with looking at an AVID Volvere also. As good as the Diva is the Volvere is better. Suspension and set-up are easy. You get the benefi... 
Would an SACD Player improve my sound?
If you listen to classical and jazz (more classical) it will be well worth getting an SACD player. I favor the Marantz players. I would buy new which gets you into the reference line and an sa-15s2. BTW the redbook playback is very good. 
Great speakers for a small room
Wilson Benesh ARC or Focal Micro BE 
Any tweaks recommded for under cd player?
Black Diamond Racing, cones, pucks , shelves. The progression for ease of presentation but still detailed and dynamic. 
In search of the right SS integrated amp
Drubin...I agree...why only 1 balanced input? Two would seem better with analog and digital balanced sources. Definite show stopper for me. 
headphone amp
Agree with Shadone. ID the phones you like first. Head amp matching (impedance and other factors) is critical. 
What's your favorite Turntable tweak?
Islandmandan is spot on with the wall shelf being #1. Suspended or non, wood or concrete floors. 
Linn lp 12 upgrade or new TT ? please help.
the linn is a nice TT. the issue I had when faced with the sames question was...do I want to depend on someone else to do my upgrades and setups? I went to an AVID/SME turntable. Very happy. BTW the new DIVA II is out and is 2K without arm. I beli... 
interested in exploring classical
The radio station recommnedation is a great one. If not mentioned WFMT in Chicago has to be one of the finest and they offer streaming capability. Also 24X7 with announcer only commercials.