tom2015

Responses from tom2015

More potential bad news for some big names...
Like every year I went to Capital audio Fest on Sunday. It was great, I felt like I was the only one there. Had several rooms to myself like the big Focals. Exhibitors started packing up around 3. Show goes to 4. Somehow the industry thinks that ... 
New! Cerious Technologies Lumniscate cables
Has anybody compared the power cables to other popular options from AQ, Transparent or Nordost?  
32 pairs of speaker and RCA cables measured and listened to
None, as this study shows, there is no clear correlation between measurements to a specific sound signature. Much faster to plug them in and to listen.  
32 pairs of speaker and RCA cables measured and listened to
No surprise here, cables sound different.  The deniers either can’t hear well or have non resolving stereos.    
Looking for a CD / SACD player. Also, tell me about Esoteric
K01x owner here. Sounds great, happy. No desire to change it. Disadvantage of Esoteric. 1) Constant planned obsolescence, every 2 years a new model which devalues the “older” players 2) only 1 service center in US (Los Angeles) 3) Repairs are ... 
Is the idea of audiophile listening a dying concept as boomers die off?
Bottom line for me. Industry is doing fine. Look at any of the recommendation threads here. 1 question, 100 brands mentioned and recommended. No real consolidation, no companies dominating the market, lots of new entries every year and very few co... 
Is the idea of audiophile listening a dying concept as boomers die off?
@hilde45 People under 50 that can afford the pricier items have demanding jobs and families. I would count myself in that group and have 0 time to go to Audiophile group outing. I am happy if I can listen 2-3 hours a week. The luxury of time + mo... 
ABX testing with AQ Dragon power cords
So he can’t hear the difference. Fine, he saved himself some money. Untrained people that don’t know what to listen for are useless to evaluate high end stereos. My daughter says her iPhone sounds as good as my system… I have Dragon HC, Cerious ... 
Where was the best reproduced sound you ever heard?
Schweikert Ultra 11 with the VAC / Esoteric /Kronos setup they bring to CAP in the large Atrium room. Concert hall feeling. Alone the Masterbuild cables were close to $250k, around $1M system.   
Example of a piece o’ crap, useless review
So in the end it is a business for the professional reviewers. If they were to give critical reviews about specific products other manufacturers will avoid them as it could stop the business for a small manufacturer. So in mutual dependency we onl... 
Example of a piece o’ crap, useless review
The problem in this hobby is that there is no baseline. If every reviewer would start with the same speakers, amp, etc then a comparison would be meaningful. Since every reviewer has a different setup and all of us have different setups the varia... 
AudioQuest Pegasus vs Thunderbird Interconnects
Has anybody compared them to Fire? The newer PSS cables Firebird/Dragon are now very expensive. In the past the jump from PSC to PSS was big with PSS providing a lot more detail.   
YG versus MBL versus Borrensen versus Vandersteen
Well, what were your impressions since you heard all 3?  
Borresen X3."Hi Fi" or High End as in natural realistic sound ?
I heard both the X3 and the X6 at Capital Audiofest with the intention of buying either one. They sounded wow for the first 2 min, but I could not relax and listen long term. Different with Joseph Audio or Gershman or Schweikert.  For me nice, but... 
Are your record surfaces as silent as CDs?
Interestingly my old records seem to have generally much less surface noise compared to newer pressings. All after cleaning with Kirmuss. Has little to do with the hardware involved.