carlbecker

Responses from carlbecker

Personal speaker evolution
Radio Shack setup used $300Small Advent speakers new $200Spica Angelus new $1000Quad ESL 57 used $1500 Quads Unlimited refresh for my 57'svery soon. 
Amplifiers:A Keeper for Life. Do you know of one ?
Berning EA-230 has been a keeper for my Quad esl 57's. I plan to have Quads Unlimited refresh the 57's next year so I plan to keep the system as is for a long time. The ZH-230 may be better but not for the asking price. 
Amp for Quad ESL 57
I currently have a Berning EA-230 which pairs great with the Quad ESL 57. The VTL TT-25 is another very good match. Lots of EL-84 PP amps should work well with Quads. 
Looks like I need another stage...suggestions?
That is great news. Get a soldering iron and read the instructions carefully and build a Seduction. Bottlehead makes great kits and a well supported forum if you require help. I have very high respect for the Foreplay I built.Carl 
tubes and analog
I think itÂ’s good to talk about equipment success or failure. I think a manufacturer should not release fault prone equipment, I have seen some. I don't like the idea of keeping secrets of issues and I believe ss vs. tube reliability are fair game... 
tubes and analog
The Atma did blow up the woofer. Problem is/was the Atma was not to spec. as per factory. One needs to make sure about used equipment if one wants to keep the surprise's count down. Even then there can be a surprise waiting. Put yourself in the ot... 
tubes and analog
Seems like this thread really got off track. I hope the original poster got something out of it. I have but not from the original question. Its been fun.Carl 
Phono Stage - Passive Pre- Amp: Results??
I use a Ortofon Jubilee at .35 through a Loesch phono pre (70db gain?) with stepped attenuators, cartridge/fet-tube-tube-tube-volume/amp/speakers. It drives my Berning EA-230 and Quad ESL's (84-86db effecient?) just fine (medium to small room) and... 
tubes and analog
IMHO it matters less if its tube or SS and more about how the component sounds and fits with the rest of the system. I use tubes for all but my components to not have the "lush" sound, more detailed like SS. My amp is matched very well to my speak... 
Tube Phono kits
The Bottlehead Seduction with S&B transformers might be worth a like at if value is a priority. I was really impressed with their linestage although I replaced it with a stepped attenuator/passive. With the linestage and phono together will gi... 
Getting into Vinyl...
The black cube is a very nice SS unit. If you can solder and build your own the Bottlehead makes very good kits at a not to dear price. 
The relationship between VTA and VTF
The Graham 1.5 has a balance CG below the pivot bearing. If you look at the arm like a sideways "L" (------i)then perfect balance happens when the arm is level, the bottom of the i is heavier then the dot in the stable config. Any up or down chang... 
Cartridge for Graham 1.5
I have now made a stand for my gauge and am at record height when I measure VTF. I reset the VTF to 2.3 grams and dropped the rear of the arm a bit more. I am pleased with the sound overall and will probably leave well enough alone and listen. I d... 
cartridge, speakers, recording, amp? conjested
I doubt its the amp if the CD's don't have the same issue. I believe you will have problems if the cartridge is not set up well and fine tuned. I am still (one week) tuning my new Ortofon Jubilee for tracking force and VTA. Of course it could be i... 
Cartridge for Graham 1.5
As I went to sleep last night the light came on in the brain and I understand the VTF change. It could be positive or negative depending on VTA. It looks like my arm is close to parrallel.So we have the same scale! I have yet to measure the blocke...