scousepasty

Responses from scousepasty

Apogee vs Soundlab
I had Apogee Divas many years ago and found them the most difficult speakers to drive and maintain, that I have ever owned and too big for most rooms to get a decent soundstage. I finally traded them for Quad ELS 63's and Gradient SW63 Subs. which... 
Looking for a very focused power cord
Nordost Brahmas. At the risk of sounding like a reviewer, "just maybe the best upgrade I have heard in my system". I have now got a couple of Valhalla cords but no audible improvement over Brahma! 
VPI HRX newbie help
I got one of the first HRX into the UK in late '03 and thought they might have updated the manual by now, because mine was the same as for HR and some new features were not covered. I still found it time consuming and I previously had a HR, so was... 
Best Source For Quality Jazz CDs?
Acoustic Sounds stock a good range, especially XRCD's.IMO, their Jazz on 45 reissues have been superb and they are starting to release the Blue Note back catalogue on 45 vinyl next year but then you are only interested in c.d.'s ? 
Stand out phono stages
Don't know if its distributed Stateside but the ClearAudio Balance and Balance Reference Phono stages are worth a listen, especially if you like solid state phono's and ClearAudio cartridges.IMO The next phono stage upgrade after the Balance Ref w... 
VPI SDS and Shunyata Hydra 4
I too have found that changing power cables into and out of the SDS gives a lift to the sound of my VPI HRX.By some swapping around, I have found the best [IMO] is Nordost Brahma Power Cord into the SDS from the wall socket with no conditioner in ... 
Record Shops in UK
Based in the UK, its sad to say that I find it cheaper and much quicker to email order from the States and Germany - and that was long before the dollar went t*ts up.I do buy some c.d.'s from a small local shop and from Fish Records in Shrewsbury ... 
Bigger amps in an enclosed cabinet?
I swopped out the original [made in Taiwan] fans in my ARC 120 & 150 amps for Pabst Motoren,Germany, type 4840n fans.These are small fans and very quiet. In fact I was pleased to see that ARC have started installing them in my new Reference 21... 
Any Comparisons between VTL 7.5 & ARC Ref 3
Elberoth, I was trying to give a counter view to the HI-FI Critic mag, which you said you strongly recommended. I live in the UK and would not pay the price they are asking for this mag, whose only justification is because 'it has no adverts'.I us... 
Any Comparisons between VTL 7.5 & ARC Ref 3
I read the first edition of this magazine and IMO was no better than any other mag and in some areas a lot worse.At least with Stereophile you get JA's test reports.I auditioned a CJ ACT 1 in my system after reading a review by MC, couldn't agree ... 
Have you ever deceived your wife-audio purchase
I was away on business when my new Sound Lab U1X speakers arrived, I got a couple of email photos from my wife saying that some mysterious crates had turned up and customs were hassling for payment of import duty.It cost me a holiday of a lifetime... 
Balanced or single ended leads from your arm.
I changed from using phono RCA into a ClearAudio Balance Phono with XLR balanced out to Balanced input on ARC pre-amp and rest of my system TO phono RCA in and out of an ARC Phono Ref. My findings are that the noise floor increased slightly but th... 
Why so few turntable reviews?
I've posted a couple of VPI turntable reviews on Audio Asylum. I tried to be subjective and concise.Perhaps - as you said Elizabeth - t/t's are an anachronism and the market for them is tiny. Count me in amongst the old farts who have never given ... 
21st century recordings on LPs
I have plenty of DG digital recordings on vinyl from the last century and IMO they are sounding excellent. I don't feel nostaligic either for the backgound tape hiss of some analogue recordings. 
Best cartridge for JMW 12.5 tonearm?
I have recently replaced my ClearAudio Discovery with a ClearAudio Titanium in my HR-X with 12.5 arm and found it to be an excellent performer playing jazz and classical, even more so on the heavier vinyl pressings.When playing older MOR records o...