brauser
Responses from brauser
| Best SACD/CD player The Marantz SA11-S3 is a very fine unit and has become my personal reference source. In another system I have a vintage Enlightened Audio Designs (EAD) Ultradisc 2000 which in combination with Jeff Rowland equipment is intoxicatingly beautiful. I ... | |
| Soliciting Upgrade Advice John Dunlavy passed away a few years ago and his company, which he had sold a couple of years before, regrettably went out of business. He left behind, however, a legacy of amazing speaker designs which have held up against the mega-$$$ speakers s... | |
| Soliciting Upgrade Advice The used Dunlavy speakers continue to be the 'greatest bargains in all of high-end audio'. For 5K the SC-V(s) are well within reach which can truly compete with the super-speakers you mentioned. | |
| why do people feel the need to buy expensive cable Early on I did a 'cable shootout' with some loaner cables and was impressed with Audio Magic. Since then I have worked up through their food chain as great deals became available. Each time I went to a higher level the improvement was unarguably t... | |
| Does anyone else think this It's a big world and audio does not necessarily revolve around the U.S.A.. There will always be a niche for the ultimate in anything. Physics dictate that some aspects of audio reproduction must be of a certain size for it to function properly. I'... | |
| The missing piece It is my belief and experience that most systems do not perform anywhere near potential because they have not been tweaked out properly. Resonance control, power conditioning, flux reduction, room acoustics, CD/DVD treatment, etc. These are the th... | |
| Million Dollar Speakers? I have heard a number of different speakers in the 100K - 500K range at Audio Shows. The electronics and source components were at lest that much again. Sounded great! Did they sound better than systems at less than a tenth the cost? Not convinced... | |
| What to upgrade first for better sound quality? Having done some fairly serious auditioning of the MAC MA600, I have concluded that it is a 'mid-fi' product at best. Treat yourself to something from Audio Research, Jeff Rowland, Conrad Johnson, Jadis etc. MACs are built like tanks, but what you... | |
| What drives your music and live show preference? I think live music and commercial recorded music are two very different things. I enjoy going to concerts and I enjoy highly synthesized music as well. They don't have to be all that related for me to appreciate them for what they are. | |
| wattage All I can say is 'quality over quantity'. In my experience most audiophiles buy a lot more power than what is really needed. Spend the money on what makes your system sound 'good' as opposed to what makes it sound 'loud'. | |
| Bose 901's with "highend ancillaries"?? I have heard them multiple times with a range of gear. They are not even close to being a high-end speaker. In fact, I would say they are some of the worst speakers I have ever heard in the context of audiophile products. Artificial highs, bloated... | |
| A visit to the 2015 California Audio Show I've been to the last few Audio Shows in Denver and the same can basically been said. It's doubtful that I will go again. My personal reference system comprised of former 'all world' components now highly tweaked and set aesthetically in place is ... | |
| Input on speaker sizing for a lively room. Your Cantatas are already better than the vast majority of speakers. Match it up with one (maybe two) sealed quality subs and you might never need to look back. Of course, there are the Dunlavy Vs and VIs out there which are still competitive with... | |
| Magnepan 20.7 - Ten Feet or More Into a Room? The answer is yes! Bass, however, might be less than satisfying. I've owned Magnepan products and can attest to the improvement that a quality fast/sealed sub can make. | |
| A sad tale of tube problems... I have had some expensive tube equipment and similarly priced SS gear. I have been a hobbyist for over 40 years and tube gear sounded better for the first 25 years or so. The last 10 to 15 years have seen SS equipment getting dramatically better t... |