soix

Responses from soix

Thoughts on replacing an ageing pair of B&W N804s
I think you need to look harder to find other brands or expand your search area a bit. I simply can't believe the only place in the Tokyo area you can hear a pair of Dynaudio speakers is in a department store, or that you can't seek out others wit... 
Thoughts on replacing an ageing pair of B&W N804s
I've heard your 804s at length and agree with your assessment. The 805Di may be better, but in that price range you should take the time to look around at more brands. I'd think in Tokyo you'd have lots of choices, and since trial periods aren't p... 
Starting design from scratch - room design
I bought a bunch of books on the topic, and by far the most helpful was Premium Home Theater by Earl Geddes (principles apply to stereo too). He goes through theory and construction techniques to address everything from low bass to high frequencie... 
Recommendations for Amp/speaker combo for $10,000
You would do us (and yourself) a huge favor if you indicated what aspects of sound reproduction are most important to you along with what specifically you are looking to improve upon. It would also help to know what equipment you're currently usin... 
Joseph Audio Pulsar set up recommendations?
Call Joseph Audio and give them your room dimensions. I'm pretty sure they'll give you as good or better tips/advice than anyone here. They've obviously got experience setting them up in all sorts of rooms (a lot of them horrible). And, oh yes, th... 
Bryston BP-6 vs EE minimax pre ?
Haven't heard the EE, but I own the BP6. From what I've read of the EE this looks like an apples-to-oranges comparison. Do you want absolute solid-state transparency or some tonal enhancement and tube magic? Never the twain shall meet. Best of luck. 
Cables that are more enhanced than Acoustic Zen
I've been using Satori shotgun biwires for a while as well, and though I've had several others in here I keep coming back to the AZs for their balance of strengths. They're detailed enough to keep me interested and let me know what's going on in a... 
Help finding my way with amps...
Audio ADD for sure. You're not married are you. It's a Wonderful Life. 
Tube pre/power combo for Rockport Aviors
You should really contact Andy Payor at Rockport to see what he recommends both for power requirements and what he likes with the Aviors. Personally I wouldn't do anything until I heard them with my CJ gear and then go from there, which is probabl... 
Best speaker choice under $1000?
Given your music preferences I'd look for a used pair of Monitor Audio RS6 or RX6. They're very detailed and transparent and will provide more of the bass that your music typically has and that most monitors can't produce adequately. A used pair o... 
Power Conditioner for Video under $500?
Sakahara, why did you get rid of the Haley? You seemed very happy with it. Just curious. 
Best DAC under $ 2,500 on used market
Haven't heard an Esoteric X-03, but I had a Bel Canto DAC3VB in my system for a while and it was to say the least excellent (if I could've afforded it, it would still be here). It's very good on its own, but with the VBS power supply it goes to an... 
Amp upgrade from Bryston 4B
I'm kinda thinking upgrading your amp and using it with your Outlaw prepro is a bit of a mismatch. If 2-channel is important to you I'd consider getting a better stereo preamp and use that to drive the Bryston (or whatever else) and let the Outlaw... 
$165k - $200k speaker performance for $40k ?
It's crazy to think that my recommendations of the Aviors and Q3s as "small" since they weigh about 500 lbs. per pair each, but it is all relative in our hobby isn't it? I still think with good subs they could be compelling even in this space.Howe... 
$165k - $200k speaker performance for $40k ?
In my experience the deepest bass provides significant benefits in imaging/soundstaging in addition to reproducing the lowest frequencies, so I guess I may differ from Onhwy61 on this. The cost-no-object designs provide this foundation so I think ...