wrm57
Responses from wrm57
| VAC Owners:Outboard Phono Stage? Alon,Thanks for the compliment. I was mainly just talking about the differences between running the Steelhead as a preamp vs. through my preamp. The latter sounds better, and my post tried to speculate as to why. I didn't mean to generalize beyond... | |
| VAC Owners:Outboard Phono Stage? Well, to use the Steelhead as a linestage through its variable outputs sends the signal through additional internal circuitry, volume control, a series of other switches, and different outputs. So it's not as direct as you might think. And it does... | |
| VAC Owners:Outboard Phono Stage? Alsonski, I found the Steelhead RC to sound better through my VAC preamp than directly into the amps. It's good but the VAC adds something special. | |
| Which LPs are on your permanent rotation? Yogiboy, we have similar taste. Your first three have been consistently spinning on my tables for more than 30 years.Add:Fantastic Expedition of Dillard & ClarkDylan, Blond on BlondJoni, For the RosesWayne Shorter, SchizophreniaGary Burton, Du... | |
| Manley remote control users experience I've used the remote on my Steelhead and found it gradual enough for fine adjustments. I'm not sure if the Shrimp has the same system but I think it does--a motorized pot with a large phenolic knob. OTOH, I have a Stringray II that uses a electron... | |
| VAC Owners:Outboard Phono Stage? Mulveling and Alonski,Have you guys checked out the Miyajima Kansui? Like the Bronze and Kontra C, it uses an aluminum cantilever with an advanced stylus shape, in this case Shibata. The Kansui has great slam and a liquid, dimensional midrange you... | |
| VAC Owners:Outboard Phono Stage? Alon, that's a great recommendation for the Bronze and confirms what I'd imagined. The Replicant 100 stylus, of which I'm a big fan, on an aluminum cantilever suggests exactly what you describe--great detail combined with lots of body and tonal ri... | |
| VAC Owners:Outboard Phono Stage? I recommend calling VAC to find out about the differences between the RenIII and SigIIa phono stages. I might be wrong, but I think the line stages themselves are pretty different, with the SigIIa being lower gain. Another question for VAC. And as... | |
| VAC Owners:Outboard Phono Stage? Loading varies with the phono stage, the overall system, and one's taste, of course. And like anything in vinyl, it can always be optimized by fine changes, IMO. Whether one really needs to is another question. Playing with this VAC, I find change... | |
| VAC Owners:Outboard Phono Stage? As Clio09 said, the K&K Maxxed Out is terrific, especially at its price point. I owned one before I got the Manley. It's a little leaner but does everything well and is very flexible. Kevin Carter is a prince. The Zesto is also supposed to be ... | |
| VAC Owners:Outboard Phono Stage? Alonksi,I've come to prefer the VAC phono but it's really a matter of splitting hairs and I wouldn't say the VAC is "better" than the Manley. In some ways, like dynamics, the Manley brings more. The VAC is a little more organic. Different presenta... | |
| VAC Owners:Outboard Phono Stage? From what Brent at VAC told me, their stand-alone phonostage will be a two-box, four-input affair retailing for around the price of a current Sig mk IIa preamp without the phono option, so it'll be pricey. It will integrate into the Sig mk IIa as ... | |
| PMC FB1i's Congrats on your PMCs, a great and undersung brand. I'm extremely happy with Acoustic Zen speaker cables on my IB2i, which are tri-wired with Holograms on the woofers and Satori shotgun bi-wires on the mids and tweets. Having experimented with sil... | |
| Recommend a Tube Pre & SS Amp Combo The new Bryston SST2 amps are really nice--powerful, transparent, sonically balanced, grain-free--and have excellent synergy with VAC (especially the top models that are lower gain) and Aesthetix (especially Calypso Sig) preamps. You'll have to mi... | |
| Class A amplifiers - which are considered the best Reference Line Silver Signature from the late '90s. 100 watts into 8 ohms, doubles all the way down to 2 ohm loads. Designed for passive preamps and runs hot, so you have to be okay with those features. Top quality internal components. Built to la... |