opus111

Responses from opus111

Uber expensive repair at United Radio
It's not just United Radio.  Places like George Meyer in LA, Pyramid Audio in Austin charge similar rates to work on complicated solid-state electronics, unfortunately for us (fortunately for them!) 
SET amplifier recommendation
I drive a pair of Sonus Faber Electa Amator II (88 dB efficient) with a Cary CAD-301SE amplifier (8 watts/ch).  While the amp is admittedly a bit underpowered the sound is absolutely mesmerizing with the type of music I listen to (chamber, choral,... 
Goldmund, not much inside, but ultra expensive.
Never owned a Goldmund integrated amp, but the ones I've owned (Mimesis 29 amp, 2+ preamp, 12++DAC) were all extremely well built and sounded amazing.  Very fast and transparent sounding like Spectral but with more body and slam 
Proceed Amp 5 Repair
Unless you can find a really good tech locally, you may have to send it over to one of 4 (?) authorized Mark Levinson/Proceed authorized service centers for repair.  Depending on the extent of the work involved, there is a good chance it may cost ... 
Wilson's Chronosonic XVX loudspeaker over 3/4 of a million US dollars
Those are some of the fugliest speakers I've ever seen, and this is from someone who happens to be a Wilson fan! 
WOULD IT BE DUMB TO BUY A MARK LEVINSON NO 23.5
23.5 is one of the best amps made by ML and still hold its own against most of the amps made today.   
80s Levinson Gear - Best Repair/Refurbish?
How much did the 33H repair cost?  EBC Electronics isn't listed as 1 of 4 authorized service centers so I am curious to find out how they were able to obtain the replacement boards.  It will be a great news for ML owners if this place is capable o... 
Audio Research Ref 6 SE
No thanks.  I will wait for a Reference 45 SE MK III due out in a few years. 
Most annoying song, period.
I don't know who the singers are but these songs have me reach for the earplugs everytime I involuntarily hear them on the radio:Take me to churchHelloHappy 
Replacing my MFA Luminescence B2 preamp
I think part of the fascination with the Lumi comes from the fact that it uses lots of octal tubes (5692 and 5691) and because of that people tend to think it must sound big and bold (whatever that means), which is not the case with this preamp.  ... 
Replacing my MFA Luminescence B2 preamp
I beg to differ.  Owned numerous versions of the Luminescence including the last C version but they are all terribly colored and rolled off.  I tend to think of it as one of the most overated piece of audio equipments.That said, MFA MC Reference i... 
The Levinson Sound?
I also ran a pair of stacked Quads for over a decade with a pair of ML2s so I am qualified to comment.  Yes the ML2s can and do sound wonderful with the Quads but do sound dark and grainy when compared to some of the better modern amps.  That said... 
The Levinson Sound?
Having owned 3 pairs of ML-2s, I can say with confidence that they are NOT the best sounding Mark Levinson amps.  They do have somewhat "dark" sound that plagued some of the early ML amps, and they can be hard (and $$$) to repair if and when they ... 
The Levinson Sound?
Owned ML-2, No 27.5, 23.5, 20.6, 333, 336, 33H.  20.6 were the best sounding.  Preamp wise ML-6B, 7A and 32 Reference are the best 
Quad ESL 63 In Another League Now
Can't imagine how power cords could affect the sound quality of the Quads...