soulbrass

Responses from soulbrass

Music Hall 7 owners
MM or MC? 
Integrated Amp Bargains with good balanced sound?
Three questions to start... 1) do you need remote, 2) do you need to fill a large room or drive inefficient speakers and 3) do you need onboard phono - if so, MM or MC or both?Your answer to these will immediately cull your list to a select few ch... 
best inexpensive tube integrated
Used Cayin, Jolida, or Primaluna will serve you nicely. I particularly like the Jolida 302 - you can sometimes even find the newer version w/ remote control in your price range. 
Best turntable/cartridge combo for $700-$750
Here a variation of Nrenter's "Can't go wrong" recipe: Technics SL1210 mk2 from Musicians Friend (free shipping!) will run you $400 and you can then add either a Denon DL160 or an Audio Technica 440ML. You'll have change left over to purchase some... 
speaker recommendations?
Hey Chuckelator - welcome!What are your other chosen components - source and pre/power/integrated? Knowing those will help others offer more pointed advice.Small spaces such as yours are very good candidates for a near-field listening setup with h... 
Please recommend a good recording oMozart Requiem
If you are a student of the work, then you'll find the recent Nikolaus Harnoncourt/Concertus Musicus Wein version intriguing. The recording itself is amazing! 
Recommend some SACD's?
Donald Fagen - Morph the Cat. 
Long runs - USB or RCA???
Great reading...thanks for all the input! 
Long runs - USB or RCA???
...sound like USB it is! Many thanks! 
Whats wrong-right?
Have your computer hold just your ripping/burning/catalog software and store your music on an external drive. More flexibility in the long run anyway. 
What would you upgrade next ??
Mabonn...your system, by your own admission, is already special!I have to agree, in theory and experience, with the others here that have recommended tweaking your room and speaker placement. Often there is so much unrealized potential in our equi... 
Headphone Listeners?
The good news is that very good digital sources are much more common and affordable than in years past! I'd look for a well regarded player that is 2-4 years old (e.g., Arcam, Rega, Creek, Musical Fidelity, Rotel, Denon, Marantz, etc. ). Are you i... 
Suggested Jumpers for Integrated amps?
You don't actually need a dedicated "jumper"...you can experiment with any quality interconnect pair that you would use to connect a separate preamp to a power amp. 
Headphone Listeners?
What would be your source(s) for headphone listening? When you say it will be separate, do you mean that the headphone rig will have its own dedicated source(s) or will use the same sources as listed above?Your thinking is sound - a decent headpho... 
Best budget equipment?
NAD c320 is an over-achieving integrated with a nice combination of features and build quality. Used here on Agon for around $275. Hard to argue...