wrtickle

Responses from wrtickle

Bluesound Vault 2i vs. Meridian Media Core 200 for first music server
thanks for all the input!  I'm looking at a monumental task on the ripping...1300 redbooks...but there is no rush so 3/day and I'll be done in a little over a year...sounds like the bluesound is the way to go and deal with the internal dac until I... 
Addiction to Brand
verity green mountain audio (I don't own GMAs at the moment, so perhaps I a rehabbed gma addict, but i still get the cravings) 
Cisco Three Blind Mice 45RPM Titles - How Many?
I own Midnight Sugar and Misty, so there's two (both excellent, btw). not sure how many others. 
Universal player CD/DVD with XLR analog outputs ?
esoteric dv-50 is abit above yourstated price, but may be worth listening to... 
Audiophile Record Labels
fone does great classical recordings as well 
Ipod Lockup with Wadia 170i Transport
I had this with my car ipod hookup (dice interface), it did it about once a day for a month and then miraculously the problem stopped and has not been an issue again. hopefully your issue will recitfy itself as well... 
Totem hawk and Shanling STP 80 ?
I think you will end up wanting more power than the stp-80 cam provide. if you are after a tube-like tone maybe look into a plinius integrated. the hawks will benefit from ss power, especially given the load they present. 
The best small bookshelf speaker you ever heard?
von schweikert vr-1s for me...too bad they don't make em anymore... 
Playing iPod thru car system?
if your head unit has cd changer controls, you can usually use that input. for 200+ audis DICE electronics makes a nice integration piece, that is what I use and it not only sounds better than bluetooth, I have steering wheel control fo the ipod. 
Analog System to Beat Digital - - for little$$ ??
vpi scout, dynavector 10/20x cart, and a dynavector or lehman phono stage. could come in under budget if you are lucky and I think you would definitely enjoy the tunes. 
Is seller negative feedback a deal-breaker ?
i like to read teh comments. you can sortof glean just how happy people were with their purchases, which helps. 
Led Zeppelin BBC $200+ for vinyl or $5+ for cd
I agree w/ Rich. teh classic zep pressings are great, but the prices they fetch these days are ludicrous. 
Are high-end manufacterers pricing themselves
not to mention the story that popped up where someone dissected one of the vd cables and found it to be no more than cheap belkin wire braided...caveat emptor. 
MDF vs. Steel Speaker Stands
I like steel, especialy since it is mass loadable.I'd look for some osiris audionics stands. they should be $200-250 used, but are as good as any stand I've ever heard and are built to withstand wwIII 
Requesting Cartridge Advice
I think the motor of your project is under the platter, so the grado could give you an interferance problem similar to what it does on rega tables. A few years back, however, I had a reference platinum on my rm-4 and it sounded great with no added...