Grado Statement Platinum($300 new) combined with Grado Ph-1($300 used).
Amazing ''Overachieving'' products...your pick?
I have owned both expensive gear (and I do mean expensive) and ''budget'' gear. Many components are mind-boggling on a price-paid versus performance ratio. Three of my favorites are:
1. The Bedini clarifier. This gizmo just plain works. You may like - or not - the difference it makes on your cd's. In my case, it clears up a lot of fog. The cheapest upgrade to ALL my cd's.
2. The Cayin TA-30 integrated amplifier . So much performance and flexibility for so little money. Put it up against anything up to 3 times the price, musically and from a build-quality perspective. Just plain amazing.
3. The Apple i-Pod Mini. Yes, even from in an audiophile application, playing cd's (not downloaded MP3's). You can snob it but you cannot ignore it.
What are YOUR picks ?
1. The Bedini clarifier. This gizmo just plain works. You may like - or not - the difference it makes on your cd's. In my case, it clears up a lot of fog. The cheapest upgrade to ALL my cd's.
2. The Cayin TA-30 integrated amplifier . So much performance and flexibility for so little money. Put it up against anything up to 3 times the price, musically and from a build-quality perspective. Just plain amazing.
3. The Apple i-Pod Mini. Yes, even from in an audiophile application, playing cd's (not downloaded MP3's). You can snob it but you cannot ignore it.
What are YOUR picks ?
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- 163 posts total
In the large ticket category: AMR CD-77 In the mid price category: Subbase écho platforms: extremely effective resonance damping platforms, up there with the very, very best; customized constructions, each one a piece of art; not sure whether Thomas exports, though. Website in German only, I'm afraid http://subbase-audio.de/index.htm In the amazingly affordable category: edenSound solid brass and TerraStone vibration isolators http://www.vermontaudio.com/index.html |
I don't know about amazing, but it's very good - the Sony SCD-XA5400ES. In standard form it is almost the equal of my much modified (by Ric Schultz) Sony XA777ES - which was $1900 plus $1500 mods. The Sony is $1500 from Crutchfield, although there are cheaper outlets (that I can't recommend). It is a fine player for both CD and SACD, and has a nice balanced output stage that's done pretty well. Not as solidly constructed as the XA777ES, but it does multichannel over HDMI. Good platform for modifiers. Regards, |
- 163 posts total