sdcampbell
Responses from sdcampbell
| Add subwoofer to current speakers or upgrade? As someone who has owned every Vandersteen model except the Model 5's (and currently owner of Vandy 3A Sig's and a stereo pair of Vandy 2Wq subs), my personal recommendation is to first upgrade to the Vandy 3A (and eventually the 3A Sig's when you... | |
| 3 Top Cartridges Picks Well, with due respect to Larryi, I disagree with his comments about Grado cartridges. In my system, at least, there is nothing overly rich, nor muffled, nor creamy, about the sound of the Reference. In my system, the sound from the Reference is v... | |
| 3 Top Cartridges Picks I have listened to a goodly number of good to excellent phono cartridges over the years, but have really owned only one that I consider to be a true high-end analog product: the Grado Reference (4.5 mV output, $1200 MSRP). | |
| Best and Worst Websites in Audio'dom Best: Audiogon, Bryston, and Vandersteen AudioNo nominations for worst. | |
| About Watt Ratings The most accurate and meaningful rating method for amplifier output power is the so-called RMS rating, which would read like this for a 150-watt amp: "150 watts per channel, both channels driven, 20-20kHz, at 'x' percent distortion". (Note: for so... | |
| Help me clarify these doubts on Preamps/Pre Phono I'm with Nrchy on this one: the Aesthetic Io would be first choice, followed closely by the BAT gear. However, before you make a final choice, you should audition both of these carefully in your system. The two choices have somewhat different soun... | |
| Cables There have been many threads about the Kimber 8TC cables over the past 4-5 years, and I have never seen anyone make a bad comment about them. I used the 8TC's for 4+ years, and was extremely pleased with them. The sole reason I am not using them t... | |
| Best speakers under $650 If you mean $650 retail (rather than used), then I'd suggest looking at the speakers made by either Paradigm or PSB. In the budget range below $650, I don't think there is much competition with the products made by these two companies. | |
| Classical or Jazz FM stations-Bainbridge/Seattle? Hi, Steve:From the tenor of your comments, I suspect that you will find the Seattle area FM radio programming disappointing -- particularly compared to the Boston area. While Seattle has a few good stations, I wouldn't describe them as adventurous... | |
| "Emotionally involving" music and your system... Over the past 40 years, I've heard a lot of performances / concerts, and six that stand out in my mind for their emotional impact are:1. 1957: Louis Armstrong and his All-Stars (with singer Velma Middleton), sharing a twin billing with the Count B... | |
| Jazz Big Band Recommendations? Lots of good suggestions above, so let me throw out a few more that are in a bit different bag. I'm a BIG fan of tenor saxist David Murray, and he has done several terrific albums with his big band and also a sextet. His stuff is a bit "outside", ... | |
| Any tips on jazz guitar trios or quartets? If "laid back" is one of the key qualities you want, then I should have mentioned (don't know how he slipped my mind, since he is one of my two favorites jazz guitarists) is Jim Hall. Hall's work is deceptively complex, but his sound and style is ... | |
| Any tips on jazz guitar trios or quartets? Well, almost all good jazz guitarists have their own "sound" to a great degree, so it's a little hard to recommend someone who necessarily sounds like Metheny or Benson. That said, however, you should check out the following electric jazz guitar g... | |
| Audiophile Terms?? I need a dictonary You might also find it helpful to buy Robert Harley's book titled "A Guide to High End Audio" (or very close to that). It costs about $15 from Amazon.com. Lots of good info, plus explanations of audio terms. An excellent book for those relatively ... | |
| Best All time 5.1 Pre/Pro Well, I've heard a number of high-end 5.1 pre/pros, and I think the Bryston SP-1 compares very well to the best. Is it the best? I really can't answer that question, but it certainly has met all of my expectations for a top-notch pre/pro (with ana... |