vinylvalet

Responses from vinylvalet

Good Speakers for Rock and Roll Under 15K
@atmasphere is correct. No reputable recording studio would pick monitors that favor one type of music or another. ATC, especially their active speakers, can play very loud with very low levels of distortion while being extremely reliable; why the... 
Good Speakers for Rock and Roll Under 15K
ATC SCM50ASLT active speakers retail for $22k. Discount or used bring these down pretty close to $15k. The passive version, what the OP probably is looking for, retails for $16k, well under $15k with discount or used. With that said, current revis... 
Good Speakers for Rock and Roll Under 15K
Yet another vote for ATC. Prior to the active ATC SCM50ASLT speakers in my main listening room, I had Legacy Focus XD speakers. These ATC speakers are about half the size of the XDs, don’t require power amps (I didn’t like running the XDs full ran... 
Preamp Recommendation for First Watt F4
I was referring to the more recent Pass Korg B1, much better than the original Pass B1. I would build the basic kit without mods before investing in an expensive tube line stage. Careful with used units since the Korg Nutube 6P1 is very microphon... 
Your greatest high end audio purchase!!!
ATC SCM50ASLT active speakers.  
Preamp Recommendation for First Watt F4
Many folks are reporting excellent results with the Pass B1 with Korg triode. I'm currently building one for my F5 amp and to try with other stereos. I'm adding film coupling caps and an external linear power supply but otherwise stock. If I real... 
New, Very Interesting CD Transport
Here's another thread where folks have actually listened to the ET-3 and prefer it to the new Schiit URD among others. Shanling ET-3 CD Transport  
Must watch film: squaring the circle
+1 Excellent,  
Speaker that are 'KEEPERS" for the long haul!!!
After owning many speakers since the late 1970s, I settled with ATC SCM50ASLT active speakers in the rosewood finish.  
ATC SCM40
I owned SCM40 passive speakers for a while and then upgraded to the SCM50ASLT active speakers. Like many others, I prefer active ATC speakers. After trying a number of tube and solid state amps with the 40s, I found the Coda Continuum No 8 stereo... 
Must read/enjoy for 300B.... and all tube lovers
Yes, thank you.  
What record cleaner is the most bang for the buck??
Another vote for the HumminGuru. I purchased two, one for wash and one for rinse. Far better than my VPI 17 Pro with Disc Doctor brushes and fluids. I only used the VPI to spin the disc during cleaning & rinsing and finally, removing the rins... 
Tidal or Qobuz
I initially went with Qobuz since I wanted high resolution PCM when available and not MQA. Now that Tidal has moved away from MQA to high resolution PCM, my advice would be to pick the service that has more of the music you prefer. I think 99.99% ... 
Manley Chinook SE MK2
Often, at shows, many exhibitors, outside of the brand they represent use other products because they have been given these products at no charge. Very typical with cables and power conditioners. So, when you see certain products in many rooms, it... 
Soundsmith cartridges
I’ve never been a fan of MC cartridges after owning many and prefer Soundsmith or Grado on my turntables. As mentioned above, Soundsmith offers the best value of any cartridge manufacturer due to its very generous rebuild policy. Those that use W...