grimace

Responses from grimace

What was your first 'hi-end' system?
Denon PMA 720, bought new in 1990 from Purdue Audio in Montclair, NJ, some kind of really (in it's day) heavy and expensive Kenwood CD player, and Advent Heritage speakers. I still have the amplifier. It's had some switches replaced, but otherwise... 
Attention Cary V12R owners
I've been very happy with mine. If it's truly in good shape that would be a good price. I would offer one suggestion though - while the Jensen caps are ok, the factory upgrade to the Cardas caps was that much better (though pricy). Also, if your d... 
Fred Volz and Emotive Sira Pre Amp
I have Fred's Poeta preamp, also driving a Cary (v12) amp, and I love it. He swears the Sira is way better, so that would have to be a pretty great piece of gear indeed. My one complaint is that the output from the pre-amp is too high for the amp,... 
3 preamps with transformer hum, DC on the line?
Gbart just built one of these DC blockers for me and I'm quite pleased with it. Transformer hum is gone, and there aren't any ill sonic side effects. There is still a little noise at the speakers if I stick my ear right up against them, but no one... 
Verity speakers for $7k or less?
I use a Cary V12R to drive a pair of Fidelio Encores. It's a solid combination and Fedelios can be had in the $5k range. Great, moderately sized speaker. Very refined sounding. 
6550/KT-88 in a Cary V12r
just to follow up: The EH 6550s have been in my amp for a month or so and the sound has changed for the better during that period. I don't know if it was the tubes burning in or what, but the bass has become appreciably tighter and more detailed t... 
verity audio fidelio
I drive a pair of Fidelio Encores with a tubed Cary V12r. Works well in either triode (50w) or UL (100w). Shouldn't be a problem with your amp. 
Great Saxophone Artists and Albums
I'm a big fan of the record Duke Ellington Meets Coleman Hawkins. Hawk's almost full-track solo on Mood Indigo is one of the greatest four minutes of tenor playing ever recorded (in my totally biased opinion), and his horn is prominent throughout ... 
Ssssh, is your tube preamp really that quiet?
I had the opportunity to listen to a Nagra Jazz pre-amp last summer. Dead quiet and fantastic sounding hooked up to the ARC Ref 250s and Vandersteen 7s. 
6550/KT-88 in a Cary V12r
In the end I got a dozen Electro-Harmonix 6550s. I was advised to bias the amp a little higher than with the EL34s or KT77s, around 270 mA. They certainly have a little better bass control, and comparatively they're very quiet. They're a bit drier... 
Wiring main panel box for dedicated 20amp line.
Thanks for the responses. I only needed one outlet and I placed the ground and neutral wire in adjacent spaces on the right bus bar. I chose that one only because it's the one the main ground wire attaches too. Seems to be working fine. The far bi... 
What speakers should I consider around $5000?
For a thousand more ($6K) the Vandersteen Treos are really good. I recently listened to a pair and was impressed. Low sensitivity, so a SS amp with a little balls is probably a good idea. 
Cary V12r with balance unequal when in bias
Yes, call Cary. They actually have techs available to speak with. Remarkable in this day and age. Having said that, the LEDs are not the most reliable way to bias the amp. If you really want to do it right get a meter. My experience is that the LE... 
Speakers that do pianos really well
To Robsker's point, I did use the same recording on all six pairs of speakers, so I was comparing apples to apples. 
Speakers that do pianos really well
Thanks for all the interesting responses. To answer an earlier question, I was at a dealer, but I also took my own amplifier with me, so I had at least some sense of how the speakers would work in my system. The Vandersteens were the Treos, which ...