the_smokester
Responses from the_smokester
| Best option for Preamp What about the sound of your present system are you trying to improve? | |
| Appropriate Turntable/ToneArm/PhonoStage I had a Rega P-3 with mods (about $800) playing into a Tom Evans Microgroove+ phonoamp ($1500). I used a Koetsu Black cartridge ($1500) which perhaps was overkill but sure sounded good and I knew I was going to upgrade. This was about a $3800 syst... | |
| Are there different size toslink connectors? I think there is only one size of Toslink Cable but there are small Toslink input sockets (like on my iRiver MP3 player). The Rat Shack sells an adapter so that the Toslink Cable will fit into the smaller socket. | |
| 6550 or KT88 ? Atomickid,I've heard so many good things about the reissue Tungsols that your post may have just pushed me over the top. | |
| Ground Loop Problem - Stumped Is it a ground loop or is it 60Hz pickup on an input? | |
| 6550 or KT88 ? You might give the "reissued" Tungsol 6550's a try for about $40 a pop. I have heard nothing but good things about both their sound and their reliability. | |
| Which Patricia Barber album floats yer boat? It seems, for reasons I cannot divine, that one either loves her or hates her.My (two) favorites are "Companion" since it is recorded live and has lots of old-school ambience, and "Cafe Blue" in 45rpm vinyl where the renditions of "Too Rich for My... | |
| Best preamp is no preamp: always true? Check out the discussion and review of a passive inductive preamp in the January 2006 issue of Stereophile. | |
| Best preamp is no preamp: always true? newerphile,"I guess I am free to listen to any preamp then..."Careful. A resistive passive can interact with interconnect cable capacitance to form a low-pass filter so one should evaluate the other components in the system.Read this:http://www.da... | |
| Best preamp is no preamp: always true? newerphile,Yes. There are some obvious measureable things to avoid otherwise you may possibly be covering up one ill with another. However, I think the general concensus is that, once you have the right gain level and impedences matched, always tr... | |
| Best preamp is no preamp: always true? newerphile,It's just not a universally correct conclusion that passives are better.I think one of the flaws in the "passives are universally better" school is that cables are regarded as having unity gain independent of frequency. In fact, cables ... | |
| New Cartridge choice I would just comment that Platinum Koetsu's are significantly different animals than the non-platinum (and less expensive) ones. The main difference is that (properly set up on the correct arm) the platinums perform much better at the frequency ex... | |
| Best preamp is no preamp: always true? The appropriate preamp is system-dependent. Preamps can be viewed as a combination of a passive attenuator and a gain stage. The issues that need to be addressed are: Are output and input impedances compatible; Is there enough gain or excessive ga... | |
| Tube Characteristics The newly "remastered" Tungsol 6550's are good sonically and reliable. | |
| 20 Best Naxos Releases I will third Rich's recommendation of the RCA Living Stereos and raise the possibility of the recent remastered Mercury Living Presence CD/SACD's. My opinion is also that these will be better performances--more musically satisfying--than the Naxo's. |