Sacramento, California


We have a variety of systems built around both planar and coil speakers. We are helpful, friendly, and informal. Please feel free to email me if interested.
muralman1
Any fellow audio enthusiast in San Joaquin Valley. I'm in Fresno into audio, vinyl, digital, antique radio/audio, tubes, turntables......etc.
Hey, I'm in Tracy, which is about 1.5 hours directly south of Sac.  I'd be willing to meet local audiophiles.
Bruce
Your not alone, i am in Wiltion not far from Elk Grove and would like to hear from Audiophiles.
Thanks Pete

Is there an active group in Sacramento for audiophiles?  I will be moving back to Sacramento in December and would like to meet other interested audio people.   Thanks,. Bruce

Hi,

Saw this  Audio Club in the Sac area. When getting ready to

list  ARC AMP  I'm not using. I used to lived in the central valley years past. Visalia.

Back at the time when Richard was quitting his truck driving job. To start-up Vendersteen Audio. He rented small bldg in Hanford.

The rest is history. We had a Club there. Gone thur a lot of different stuff

over the years. From Altec Horns/Double Quads/Sound Labs/ Hiels,etc..

the list goes on. But until now. I didn't know there's active audio club here.

Would be interested in hearing more about it.

tubes444


The Sierra Nevada Audiophile Society is alive and well in Sacramento and the outlying areas! and has been for many years now. We always welcome new members, so if you live in Sacramento or anywhere near Sac please come check out the club. Check out our new website too. There's no big commitment to join the club, just come when you can. We have a lot of great guest speakers, field trips and interesting club members.

On Saturday, 10/17/15 at 11 AM, Robert Lee, The Man behind Acoustic Zen, will be in Sacramento at one of our member's homes showing/playing his Crescendo MK2 speakers and his cables.

All are welcome to come. We are starting the presentation at 11 AM. Call Keith Mundy at (916) 416-5638 for further information - address, etc...
Thank you, Don. I rec'd your email yesterday and want you to know I'll contact you soon; hopefully today or Friday if I can get the time.

In the meantime, I rec'd an e-mail from Steve McCormack who normally doesn't do repair work. However, because I have a modded "Rev. A" version he wants to help me repair it. I really appreciate people like Steve who go the extra mile to ensure their customers are happy.
Tom,

I live in Sacramento. There is a club--Sierra Nevada Audiophile Society. The website may not be up to date but here is the link. http://sierranevadaaudiophilesociety.com/

I also know a local technician who might be able to repair your McCormack. My friends and I all use him.

I cannot find a way to send you a private email with my contact information. If I could, I would hook you up with the Audiophile Society president and the technician. I do not want to post their (or my) information publically.
I also have an interest in joining a club in Sacramento. I've never belonged to such a club, so I don't know what kind of rites, hazings, or oaths are involved.

Seriously, perhaps we could start one TonyKay. I'd especially be interested in having a few people come over to my house with their pre-amps and we could listen to the differences of each.

Tom in Sacramento
Was a club ever formed in the Sacramento area? I live in the SF Bay area and would have an interest in joining if one has formed. Please send me an email if a club exists. Thanks.
Does anyone in Sacramento have a preferrence between Rainbow Electronics or StereoAdvisor for repair of a McCormack DNA-1?

I lost the left channnel when moving the plugs around in my system and accidentally did something while the amp was plugged into the outlet. The fuses didn't blow, I checked all 4.

Many thanks to anyone who has opinions/experiences or another recommended repair place.

Tom in Sacramento
Thanks for the invite, but i have relocated to the Oklahoma City area. Have a great time. Buy audio gifts, thier a sound investment.
Hello, The Sierra Nevada Audiophile Society is having their Christmas party on December 8th in Sacramento. All interested audio nuts are welcome to attend. Contact Keith Mundy at [email protected] if you would like more information and directions to the party.
Not sure if Tim still does repairs but you can contact him here. http://www.classicaudio.com/
I saw the "baby" versions at a show a few years back. The big ones are 800w@$100k.
Hey Tabl10s, I haven't been to Rainbow Electronics just yet, but this Guy who owns' this shop makes some Killer looking Tube amps, have you seen the Shoreline amps he builds, they look quite expensive.
Hi All, Noob here in Sacramento, do any of you recommend a good audio or vintage radio shop in the area to replace a burnt out transformer on a tube headphone amp and even make mods to make it better. It's a Chinese 631P tube headphone amp, I've had it for about 6 years until recently the main 120v transformer decided to belly up.
I painted

a Central Mexico high peak that has a Christian church on top of a Native American temple.

A view of a hidden temple in the Yucatan Peninsula.

A Macaw parrot I imaged at the Sacramento Zoo.

A hacienda veranda looking out at out buildings and planted fields.

Banana trees growing out of big clay pots, and a stone arch.
Muralman1; will do. My wife and I use to frequent that restaurant. It's been about a year and a half. They had great chili verde. Wondering why we quite going. I'll let you know.
Hey, Deltatrippers, please check out the La Fuentes restaurant at 99 and Elk Grove for me. I can't drive, and am wondering what might have happened to my murals. There were three big ones and a smaller one too.
Thanks for the input guys. I bought the Triton from an A-goner so considering the price, it'll be a keeper in some shape or form for now. And considering what many are saying, it'll be nice if it's a 'keep for life' kind of audio equipment.
I'll let you know how my speaker search is going.
And no bi-amping for me. Don't need the hassle.
Muralman1; We're trying to buy my mom a house down the street. She's determined (84yrs old) to stay independent!
Again, thanks for the offer to listen to your system. I'll get back to you soon as I can.
Ral, are you local? I need Deltatrippers to come here for a listen before he goes out buying amps for trial purposes. If you have the money, audio stores will allow you to, "Buy," amps with full agreement you are likely to return it.
Hi Deltatrippers. I was just thinking that you never know about some amp/speaker combos till you try, despite all the specs. I've heard some nice surprises over the years (i.e. combos that "shouldn't work"). The determination of whether an amp is "powerful enough" can be quite subjective, so it's worth a try with Revel/Triton. (But I agree that Triton/Ovation sounds like a good match.) The speaker's impedance curve is most critical IMO, since you might get a different "sound" across the spectrum for a given tap on the amp. Salon2 drops to 3.7ohms at lower frequencies despite a 6ohms nominal rating. Possible consequences are discussed in the Stereophile review of that speaker (see Measurements). Let us know what you try out (just make sure the amp & speaker are well broken-in). By the way, bi-amping with different amps is very tricky and time-consuming. I messed around with this several times (see my older posts here), with mixed results. Wouldn't really recommend that strategy.
Deltatrippers, we moved in my Mother just last year. It is an adjustment. Things are going well here.

I did a set of murals at an Elk Grove Restaurant by the name of La Fuente. If I understand correctly, the front renovation of the strip mall may have caused their destruction.

Midtown Sacramento is but 20 minutes away from Elk Grove. I have something very special for you to listen to.
Ral, I made that comment based on design and size. I hadn't seen the Salon's specifications. Perhaps Deltatrippers will find them perfectly suitable.
Ral
When I told Jesse at 'Music Lovers' in San Francisco, that I have the Triton, he said it wasn't powerful enough to drive the Salon 2's. He suggested bi-amping as an option and recommended a Musical Fidelity M6 PRX CRPS (260 Watts?) as a possible option to drive the woofers. But then stated it's a tricky proposition when bi-amping. After reading some threads on bi-amping, I'm reluctant as a newbie to try that option.
But you bring up a good point...hooking up my Triton to his Revels. If I remember right, he offered this option. Soon as I have time, I've got to put that on my 'to do' list. By the way, what do you mean by '3.7 min'?
Muralman1
I absolutely love the Salon 2's. Heard them at 'Music Lovers' in San Fran. Jesse Luna was a pleasure to do business with. Thing is, the Salon 2's are rated at 86.4 db into 6 ohms and the Verity Ovations are rated at 89db into 8 ohms. Having read a number of threads on both speakers here, it seems that the Salons need a lot more than the Triton can deliver. Also, threads here (although mixed opinions) seem to indicate that the Ovations will do fine with the Triton. Keep in mind I come from a background of Carver preamp, Denon amp, Altec Lansing 501's and the regular old Monster cable speaker wire kind of background. So I'm truly a newbie but learning.
I would be honored to check out your system. As soon as I can catch up from the holidays, and also make some progress in getting my mom moved here from LA, I'll drop you a line.
Deltatrippers: Was curious why you concluded that the Triton isn't powerful enough to drive the Revel Ultima Salon2 speakers. Have you actually heard the combo? The Salon2 specs are not that terrible (86dB, 6 ohms nomimal with 3.7 min), and the Triton is quite powerful for an all-tube amp, unless you need deafening playback levels.
Since you are building a system that includes perhaps large floor standing full range speakers, tube amps are not going to push them to loud levels. The review from Stereophile for the Salon 2 is very positive.

You might want to visit my house in Sacramento. I have amps and gear no-one would consider since of all my components only the transport and DAC can be found in brick stores.
Back in my 'trippin' days I'd frequent the delta hangouts. Gotta change that dumb name.
As for my plunge into the audiophile world, here's what I did. Instead of building a system around speakers which I think is what most do, I impulsively bought the Ayon Triton. So much for researching and then buying wisely. Anyway, my wife and I later fell in love with Revel Ultima Salon 2 speakers. Oops...the Triton isn't powerful enough to drive those. Now we're looking at Verity Parsifal Ovations. I have to take care of some other business before I decide on speakers so I have time to research and NOT buy impulsively. But we'll see.
Muralman1, I'll drop you a line when I have time. Thanks for the offer.
Hey Deltatrippers. Are you a river guide? There was a lot of interest when things started. To answer your question, there are just three of us who are still in communication.

The Ayon is a gorgeous amp, and reviewers like it a lot. What speakers are you going to use?

Drop me a private message if you care to discuss things over the phone.
Where is everyone?
Hey Muralman1, anything happening in Sac? I'm here in Elk Grove venturing out into the audiophile world. Got a lot of work to do but starting out with an Ayon Triton (still in a box).
I'm well aware of that as I have done a great deal of business with Audio FX and consider them to be good friends.
There was a store a couple blocks from the Paradyme on Fulton. I can't remember the name. I bought some Boston Acoustics there, and a turntable.
Are you talking about the location up the street from Paradyme nestled in a corner? Do you remember the audio store about two blocks from Paradyme that sold Mirage speaker's? They went out of business about '94-'95.
I sent some replies through my phone that didn't get posted. FX is on "D" St between Alhambra and 30th. Audio Gallery is no longer in business(a long story).
Audio FX may be nearly invisible but they have plenty of free parking. -:) I like the easy access.
Actually, they're about 100 feet from the old location. Chris the owner, has a pair of Dayton-Wrights in front of his B&W 800's(the original model from the early '90's).
Yes. The R'ville location is no more. The front door makes them look like they're closed.
All I can say, is Audio FX must have got a sweet deal on that old haunts where Keith Yates use to have a very high end store. The store is nearly invisible.
Yes it is the same Audio FX. They moved.

I have never been in the Roseville Paradyme. The Sacramento Paradyme is very heavy HT. I have not been in that store for several years.
Is that the same Audio/FX that used to be on Howe Ave just South of Arden?

Is the better Paradyme location Roseville as opposed to Sac?