the_smokester

Responses from the_smokester

How to burn in a new pickup
"We just use the word Pickup for cartridge in Denmark"Thanks, Daemon. "Pickup" is used the same way here, too, although it has several other meanings. Thank you for being so good humored...I just couldn't resist.The pain of cartridge breakin is no... 
How to burn in a new pickup
To burn in a pickup. just drive it easy for the first 600 miles. Then change the oil and filter and it should last you 'couple hundred thousand more. :) 
Brinkman Balance Comparisons
Gladstone,Thank you for your valuable opinion. Unfortunately, you present little information on which to evaluate it. 
Brinkman Balance Comparisons
Cjfrbw says: "With this in mind, all of those turntables would be more or less equivalent in sound quality with minor qualitative or subjective differences."Dgad says: "...my suggestion is that cartridges are too often judged out of context as the... 
Cartridge break in device
Breakin can be disconcerting as the cartridge goes through personality changes in the first 10 to 50 hours (or maybe more). But, for $700 you can buy enough vinyl to distract yourself playing new records while you ride it out. 
Need Recommendations for System
Perhaps add a second hand Classe amplifier to the possibilities. 
Dunlavy Y or Revel Studio for jazz/rock-fusion?
I have the Dunlavy IVA's and they are superb. The Dunlavy's are an ageless design with a reputation for performance far exceeding their cost. They are also relativley easy to drive (91 dB). If you have the room then go for it. 
Alison Krause + Union Station "Live" LP
Yes. This is a superbly mastered and manufactured album of great performances by Stan Ricker and MoFi. The musicians sound like they are right in the room with you (along with the crowd of thousands). 
Vinyl to DVD-A 24/96 vs. Redbook
In my experience, vinyl ripped to 24bit/192kHz completely captures the original vinyl (the quality of turntable, ripper and digital playback electronics being equal). 
Best upgrade path?
"...get into vinyl...where you'll have a world of issues other than upgrading your great components."Chuckle, chuckle. Good one. Profound words, indeed. 
Solid state; when would you use tubes?
The right dealer can take you through this journey. They can set up a speaker system and then change out the electronic components one-by-one. In my case they went from an all solid state system to all tubes stepping through various combinations i... 
Have you seen the VR9SE Review?
Great review of an interesting audiophile journey. Many thanks for sharing it with us. 
do i buy a linestage for my Air Tight ate-2 or
diamonddude18,Unfortunately, I have not had the pleasure of hearing either the shindo or jadis. From experience I hate painting myself into a corner by buying integrated and then having to change out the whole shebang when I am dissatisfied.Also, ... 
Kits - How to Get Started
Try Bottlehead:http://www.bottlehead.com/They sell kits which sound good, too! 
do i buy a linestage for my Air Tight ate-2 or
It depends on what level of system you are trying for. The Air Tight is capable of a very high level of performance. If you match it up with a high-end moving coil cartridge (usually with low output) you will want to stay with the low noise of a s...