sstark

Responses from sstark

6922 tube question
Before you experiment with tubes try a different (SS) preamp and see how your system sounds. The Sovteks do not in any way sound the way you've described. They are not warm! They're bright and harsh. There's more going on here than tubes. 
Take the plunge into tubed CD player?
Try the Tjoeb 4000. Great sweet tubed sound. You can also ugrade as you choose. Cheap also. 
To upgrade cd player?? The slippery slope?
Your ears are telling you but you're not listening. The stupendous Magnum tuner and the uncompressed public radio stations mean you've heard the magic of analog. You need a cheap used turntable and a trip to your local Goodwiil store for the best ... 
No Dustcover for Turntable, What do You do?
Never use a dustcover on a Rega. Took off the cover when I set it up. Just blow away the dust when I feel like it. No dust cloth near that cartridge under any circumstances. 
B&K amps- Compared to ...........
I love the sound of old mono M200 Sonata. So sweet but plenty of raw massive power. It can drive anything and do it so sweetly. On top of that what a bargain. 
best tubes for Audible Illusions M3a
Okay. Fact: AI sounds great but eats tubes. You have a choice best sounding vs. longest lasting. I've bought over 100 NOS tubes in the past 2-3 years. Best sounding in order (combinations of 7308 6922 & 6DJ8) Amperex, Telefunken, Seimens, Tung... 
Ah Njoe Tjoeb break-in.
Put in the tubes of choice and let her run overnight with a CD on repeat and the Preamp/Amp off. That will suffice and get you 90% there. Just make sure the volume on the Tjoeb is set to maximum and locked that way-lower volume drops bits. I've be... 
comparison of Njoe Tjoeb 4000 and Rega players
I'm a happy user of the Tjoeb 4000. I usually listen 90% of the time to LP's on a Rega 3/Dynavector 10X4. That's the Rega comparison I make. BTW I use an AI Mod3-a tube preamp. All kidding aside the sound of the CD's don't match the LP's but the C... 
who makes a good set of headphones
MF Can ver2 amp and Sendheiser 600 headphones sound very very sweet. I changed the tubes to Amperex and it sounds even better. 
tweaking Polk speakers
I too have found these speakers truly great for the price. Yes they're already set-up for bi-wiring but I've found bi-wiring analogous to magnet homeotherapy. Thanks for the hints on the upgrades. 
B&W 804's Vs. Vienna Acoustic Beethoven
I have a Denon4800 which is great for home theater, great decoding of those DVD's, DTS ES especially, and I'm even delighted with it on the synthesized Wide Screen for the older laser discs. But it just doesn't compare, even on Direct, to the musi... 
What's simplest effective record cleaning process
I've always hand washed each record once and only once. Each time I play it, when on the turntable, I also use a carbon filament brush to dust it followed by a few shots of an Anti-Static gun. The wash is done with a disc doctor pad using a (1/3) ... 
Denon 5803
I see no one else has responded perhaps I can help somewhat. I use a Denon 4800 AVR, 6.1 EX decoding, which is really missing a pair of amplified channels and is designed to be used with a seperate amp for the front channels. That is why I bought ... 
Need Advice: Which Headphone Amp?
The MF Can v2 with better tubes, Amperex, sounds very very good-- transparent. The SS Creek comes in a distant second. 
Satellite or CATV?
With a Sony HDTV I receive signals 3 ways: cable, used with RoadRunner, DirectTV and antenna reception over the air. The best signal by far is over the air, A Bugs Life last night was just plain spectacular, next best is DirectTV, HD Net, HBO and ...