128x128

alexs

Responses from alexs

Has anyone actually bought a Zesto Phono preamp?
I own one and it is a great phono stage and IMO competes very effectively with anything in the $6K to $10K range. I also own the EAR 868 full function preamp with built in phono stage. I can say for sure that the Zesto outperforms the EAR internal... 
Tonearm cable recommendations...
I've had both in my Transrotor Atlante/SME IV/Benz Micro Ebony setup and more recently in my Sota Cosmos with the same arm and cartridge and I have found the Furutech to be only slightly better in soundstage width and maybe depth. Tone, dynamics a... 
Best power cord?
Check with Dan Wright. I think he samples lots of cords and can give you some advice. 
Bybee speaker cables?
WyWires (me) has introduced a line of cables called the Gold Series which incorporate Bybee Quantum Purifiers into the speaker cables and Bybee Slipstream Purifiers into the interconnects, phono cables and S/PDIF and AES/EBU digital interfaces. Ch... 
Explain speaker cable resistance, capacitacance?
It's highly unlikely that any cable would have an impedance of 50 ohms. They are surely talking about Characteristic Impedance which is totally different. Capacitance is more critical in an audio cable. Capacitance has to do with the effectiveness... 
Speaker Cables for NAD M3 and Carbon 7 Speakers
But wait...WyWires is about to announce the Blue Series at about 40% the cost of the regular Silver Series and there is a 20% introductory discount through 11/30/2011. We'll be playing the Blue in our room during CES/THE Show in Vegas, with the Si... 
Speaker Cables for NAD M3 and Carbon 7 Speakers
I would wait about 200 hours of playing time to see if the QED cables develop in the treble. If not, contact Fritz as he will surely have recommendations. Fritz and I (WyWires) have agreed to partner at all shows in the future and we have had grea... 
Cardas Golden Reference upgrade to what?
WyWires! 
Better XLR's
I agree...I think that the Neutrik's with the gold plated pins are very good while the Xhadows provide the cool looks and do sound slightly better. How much better is really an open question. 
Better XLR's
Regarding the pins being smaller, I only compared them to the Neutrik male. In my experience, I can't say they are a particularly tight fit. Should not be any kind of safety issue. Regarding Boccino, Carmine has been after me to try his connectors... 
Better XLR's
I like the Xhadow's also but be warned that the pin diameter is slighly smaller than most others. Also, when inserted into some jacks they don't make a "click". Expensive too. 
I have a PC, and I love iTunes. What next?
I use the same setup in my system running iTunes via USB into my PS Audio DAC. All the music files are in Apple Lossless format NOT MP3. Remarkably close in performance to my Esoteric CD/SACD player at a fraction of the cost. Go for it. Forget the... 
What Cables should I try?
What cables are you using now? How much do you want to spend? It looks like you only need cables from the Steelhead to the Neo-Classics. Is that the case? What about speaker cables and phono cable?A 
Long Cables w/Short Speaker Cable or Vice Versa?
More often than not, speaker cables are more expensive than interconnects. On the other hand, if you are considering long interconnects, your preamp needs to have sufficient gain to handle the long IC's. I've tried both approaches and I favor shor... 
Measure capacitance, inductance and resistance
I use the Agilent U1732A for field use. It is a multi-frequency LCR meter. Very accurate and easy to use with 100Hz, 120Hz, 1KHz 10KHz capability. About $400 new with software that loads on your PC. Watch out for the cheap Asian ones on eBay as th...