jmaldonado

Responses from jmaldonado

Stereophile Article - Holt telling it like it is.
Since the only measure of sound quality is that the listener likes it, that has pretty well put an end to audio advancement, because different people rarely agree about sound quality. Abandoning the acoustical-instrument standard, and the mindless... 
help with s/n ratios of preamps and Moving Coil
Rlawry is correct in explaining that additional gain leads to a decrease in S/N ratio. Typically, the total gain needed by a MM cartridge is around 50 dB, whereas an MC cartridge needs 70 dB or more. Due to complex laws of physics, the amount of e... 
Balanced outputs vs balanced design
ELDARTFORD: As for balanced circuitry in the power amp the advantage over single ended is largely theoretical for well designed equipment. It is often said that balanced is quieter because the signal is twice as strong, but there is also twice the... 
Best stereo recievers of the 1970's?
I second the Pioneer unit. Remarkable piece of machinery! Sansui had also nice models with FETs at the front-end. Those were the funny times of "specs war".Best, 
Pass Labs Aleph Question - balanced vs unbalanced?
I don't necessarily think balanced sounds better but there is less chance of hum.Rwwear, that's precisely one of the main reasons of why balanced sounds better!This at least with well engineered products. In practice, only a few reach the full ben... 
best 24 bit soundcard to use with IBM A31p
The best I have experience with are the Lynx L22 and the RME DIGI96/8PAD. They both sound excellent, although a bit different. I will explain: The RME sounds more transparent and dynamic overall, but the Lynx has more bass output and sounds warmer... 
Low volume music
I find that SS amps' lose bass at low volumes whereas tube amps don't. The Fletcher Muson curve will tell you that human hearing needs extra bass at low volume to get a linear response.Here's a perfect example of how ignorance spreads fast in free... 
Moving coil transfprmer?
Bbaxley: If transparency, low noise, and low distortion are within your checklist, try a low noise phono stage. Solid state units are best in this department, but you will also find a couple tubed ones with good performance. The idea is to avoid u... 
Review: Krell EVO 402/Evo202 Amplifier
Congratulations on your system Dave. It seems like you are a very experienced listener and music lover. When you say "the inevitable dissapointment of hearing through the gear and pulling the curtain on the performance", are you refering to your f... 
Opportunity to buy the best Preamp... but which?
If God sold a preamp, Tara would be the dealer, and it would be the best without question. Of course, no tubes would be found inside the divine box ;)Regards, 
Best Preamp = No Preamp?
Undertow, Grannyring, Dpac.If a colored tube preamp sound better to you, it means your systems are dry and analytic. You're only partially compensating inherent flaws in them. Maybe it's time to invest in better speakers and acoustics, only then w... 
best preamp ever - cost is no object
As long as audiophiles keep following advice of all these gurus whose disdain for technical performance only brings confusion, the only advancement we'll see is that of ignorance. The ability to drive a long line is only one of many requirements a... 
Has anybody had experience with the Orions?
Ojgalli, nice comments. I have 2 questions:1) What is the distance from your rear wall to the Orions?2) Is there anything between the speakers (audio rack, TV, etc)?Regards, 
Can tube amps give true high end bass?
T_BONE: Another question back at you would be... how much tube power (watts vs output impedance) would one need to adequately power an 8ohm 96db woofer? say, the way a 40W solid state amp might... Theoretically, Watts are exactly the same whether ... 
Can tube amps give true high end bass?
T_bone, as amfibious said, I was talking about damping factor. This has been one of the big discussion themes since the 70's, but apparently it keeps being ignored by most audiophiles. Regardless, it will always be important because it predicts ho...