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| Sdecker's Responses | Posts |
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Cars. What does the typical audiophile drive?
1) tastefully modified '90 VW Corrado, 181Kmi 2) '05+ Audi S4 wagon, '07+ Saab 9.3 Aero wagon, '07+ VW GTI, Volvo V50 or V70R wagon, BMW 335, something as sporty and spacious (. . . | 939 |
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Speakers to hang on to for LIFE
Although I'm in the market for a significant speaker upgrade, I've been using a pair of the original Boston Acoustics A200, Andy Petite's first design after leaving Advent c1981 . . . | 717 |
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Personal speaker evolution
'73: Lafayette 8" coax drivers in boxes, $40 '75: KLH Model 32, used, $55? '79: 'New' Large Advents, new, $265 '86: Boston Acoustics A200, used, $175 '02: Thiel CS2.3, used, $. . . | 683 |
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Personal amp evolution
Realistic STA-14 - Fisher 400 - Pioneer SX-525 - Advent 300 w/ mods - McCormack DNA-0.5DLX - McCormack DNA-0.5DLX SMc Rev C (=DNA125). 1972-2003. Not a very exciting . . . | 644 |
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How much does your system retail for?
$23,474. Just did the paperwork today, as I'm "Done For Now" -- funny how I happen upon this post just now. That's the MSRP of all the components (and cables) in my current . . . | 499 |
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Cable auditions - Hard Work?
Yes, it's hard, tedious work. The good news is once you're done, find what you like, you don't have to go through it again for years as suggested above. As I built my system I . . . | 82 |
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Why can't I hear 20 years of phono 'progress'??
Wow, I sure sparked some good discourse. Thank you all for your varied inputs. Some clarifications and comments: > My intent of listing the 1980 msrp of my TT/cart was only to . . . | 49 |
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Chime in.What's the Best Cassette Recorder ever ?
I used a Tandberg TCD-310 MkII and a Tandberg TCD440A since the early '80s and still own them. They were full of neat design tricks, sounded as good as anything out there at the . . . | 45 |
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Thiel 2.3 vs 2.4 the real difference
Sorry to be so late adding my comments, I don't peruse the forums like I used to. The thread I started 12/03 about this is still there but not found when searching the archives. . . . | 44 |
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Whatever happened to REAL "owners manuals" ???
As I go over the owner's manuals for my hifi stuff I find most of it to be pretty good. And as someone who wants to know the minutiae of my gear and does a lot of technical . . . | 30 |
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Phono preamp evolution
1) Realistic STA-14 receiver internal phono amp ('71) 2) Pioneer SX-525 receiver internal phono amp ('74) 3) Advent 300 receiver internal phono amp ('79) 4) Adcom GFP-710 preamp . . . | 29 |
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Affordable "Thiel type" speakers are?
I find it surprising that given your desires nobody has mentioned Thiel 2.3. They can be had for cheap these days ~$1K+, and are in most respects identical to the 2.4, which was . . . | 28 |
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What's under YOUR turntable?
four (obviously dry) kitchen sponges. Really. On a 3/4" MDF shelf in a large CWD stand. I may have lucked out with the right mix of materials, but it makes a difference: no. . . | 28 |
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Compare Large Advent?
The spec for the 'New Large' Advent loudspeaker was 89dB/W/m. I drove mine fine for years ('79-'89) with a modded Advent 300 receiver. I replaced the electrolytic crossover caps . . . | 24 |
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How hot should a McCormack DNA-225 get?
I'll make the assumption you bought your 225 used. If so, have you checked the main (externally accessible) fuse? Perhaps the amp developed (or always had) some kind of internal . . . | 23 |
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Thiel 2.3 amplification
Thiel 2.3s are between 2 and 4 ohms between 100 and 1000 Hz. This makes for a real current demand on any SS amp. You should use be looking at amps with a power rating into 2ohms. . . | 18 |
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PS Audio Prelude power cord.
OK, I'm months late to this thread but just ran across it. I too am using a Prelude ACPC on my McCormack DNA05 Dlx, and noted that it gave the amp a slightly darker, tilted-down, . . . | 16 |
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Good Semi-automatic Turntables ?
I'll just use this thread to rant about the lack of semi-auto TTs anywhere in high-end audio. While even luddite audiophiles expect a remote for their CD transport or even a . . . | 15 |
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McCormack DNA amp options....
I had my DNA 0.5 dlx upgraded this year to revC+, a worthwhile improvement. But if you're looking for more power, sweet as it is, the upgrade won't make the 0.5 any stronger. . . . | 15 |
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my first new rig in 20+ years!
TUBES, TURNTABLES, TRANSPORTS, TUNERS AND TWEAKS It's been over two years since I last posted that this system was 'Done For Now'. Well, now I'm a whole lot closer to saying . . . | 13 |
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Transport for a dCS Delius - HELP
I recently *bought* a Proceed CDD so your discussion caught my eye. I agree with much of Sm2727. Mine was recently upgraded with the latest software and a whole new drive ass'y, . . . | 13 |
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Cart update: old TT, new electronics
Some more information. I just spoke with John Campas at Grado who said their carts are designed for tonearms with 10-15 grams of effective mass - my Thorens is 7.5g. He said all . . . | 12 |
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Cardas Golden Presence - anyone familiar?
I auditioned Cardas Cross, Neutral Reference, Golden Cross and Golden Reference *interconnects* a couple years ago. I ultimately bought Golden Cross: both Goldens had a lot more . . . | 11 |
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looking for amp for thiel 2.4 speakers.
I can't disagree with the previous posters, only offer another option that I'm using with my sonic frontiers line 1 and thiel 2.3: McCormack. Inexpensive to start with, cheap on . . . | 11 |
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Anyone compare the B&W CDM9NT & N804
Actually I did not too long ago as both were high on my list (I bought Thiel 2.3s instead and haven't looked back). The biggest difference between the 9NT and N804 to me was the . . . | 10 |
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NOS Ortofon VMS 30 MkII
I bought the VMS20e MkII new in 1980 (discounted to $55!) and am still using it today. I replace the stylus every year or two, which are amazingly still available. It's in a . . . | 9 |
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Hum a problem with Planar 25/ Grado cartridge?
I recently bought a Planar 25 to go with my Grado "Reference Reference" ($1200/high output). Yep, it hums. Motor off, nothing; running, more hum closer to the spindle. . . | 9 |
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Breaking in cables with FM static
If volume is reasonable, ie not far above your normal music listening level, no damage will occur as the energy is spread evenly across the audio spectrum w/o transients. So yes, . . . | 9 |
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transport sound quality of good modern CDPs
rkeman, did you compare any of the listed transports to your dvd player or the transport of an everyday one-box CDP? I would imagine the differences between good transports would . . . | 8 |
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Oppinions on the Thiel 2.3's
I concur with the above two posters. Though I haven't yet heard the 2.4s, I can't imagine the updates are worth twice that of a used pair of recent 2.3s. Yes, a high current . . . | 7 |
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BelCanto DACs vs transport/IC quality
Took your responses to heart and replaced my Digiflex Canare with the ubiquitous Kimber Illuminati D60. Most of the differences are not subtle! Notably, a more 'relaxed', . . . | 7 |
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Thiel 2.4s vs 2.4 SE sound quality?
Sorry, I check the forums every few months nowadays, but this may be of interest to some. I've had 2.4s for years. When the SE came out, I called Thiel and asked them which . . . | 6 |
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A200 - should I keep?
KEEP THEM! I bought a pair cheap in '92 and they still sound as good or better than many of today's sub-$3K speakers. They have been my 'reference' speaker through last year's . . . | 6 |
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ML No.39 or Proceed transport + BelCanto DAC2?
Well I took the cheaper route and found a just-rebuilt Proceed CDD: all-new current-model drive mechanism (now identical with No. 37/39/390s) with the new SW and HW to support it. . . | 6 |
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where to buy new blank quality cassette tapes?
Well thank you all for your responses. I've put all of them to good use. I even had an audiogoner contact me directly with his stash of unused good tape. Ktrogers: I gave eBay . . . | 5 |
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Tubes for Sonic Frontiers Line 1?
There are a lot of threads on this if you search the archives. This is copy/paste from a post to the same question I gave my opinion on a year ago: A local Line1 guru who spent a. . . | 5 |
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Can a rebias alter the sound of the tubes?
Well, I'll answer my own question for the benefit of those who didn't know:-) There are no tube bias adjustments on SFI preamps, and small-signal gear in general. On the fully-. . . | 4 |
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McCormack DNA 125 vs. DNA .5
The bluebook on the std 0.5 is $700 and the 125 $900 - not a big difference. The 125 stock sounds better than the unmodified 0.5. In fact, the basic rev C upgrade for the 0.5 . . . | 4 |
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What tubes are being used with Sonic Frontiers L1
A local Line1 guru who spent a year trying every NOS tube out there saved me the effort, I went with his recommendations, though have tweaked the sound depending on which tubes are. . . | 4 |
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Audio Transport 2004
I couldn't agree more with the original poster. Many of us have excellent standalone DACs that would benefit from not only top-level transport sonics, but take advantage of the . . . | 4 |
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mod my cdp or newer cd transport or ?? long
#3 and final post on my series of transport follow-ups :-) Again, all your responses seem correct. I found a just-serviced Proceed CDD: all new drive mechanism - a current model . . . | 4 |
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Gershman RX-20 /Thiel's 2.3's:Too Soft or Bright??
The Thiels can definitely sound bright with the wrong choices of amplification, interconnects and room, but I've been fortunate with all of the above and they sound just right, . . . | 4 |
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Drop-in upgrade to CS3310 volume control
I hate when the only response to my post is my own :-( So your loss is my "gain" | 3 |
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small-gauge decent AC PC with C7 connector?
Kappa2, you are a little late, but that's just what I did. The nrg1 was just what I was looking for, and I did get it through AA, breaking all my rules of never buying a new ACPC. . . | 3 |
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need help with old receivers tone controls
The knob does select the turnover frequencies for the tone controls. With the knob 'out', the tone controls are bypassed regardless of their settings. With it 'in' the turnovers . . . | 3 |
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MM cart loading vs HF response
OK then, I'll simplify my question: Does adding load capacitance to a MM cartridge increase or decrease its high-frequency output? Any MM owner with a decent phono stage that . . . | 2 |
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Bryston/McCormack Marriage
I have a McCormack DNA0.5 revB with a (tubed) sonic frontiers Line1 and the combo works well: a somewhat solid-state sounding tube preamp with a slightly tube-sounding solid-state . . . | 2 |
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where should best tubes for a S.F. line1 be placed
V1. V2 has the least effect on sound, V3 a bit more | 1 |
