andr3wd

Responses from andr3wd

First Tube amp suggestions
Another vote for Black Ice. I have their 3502S Integrated (when the were called Jolida) with NOS tubs - it’s amazing across whole spectrum of music styles. loved it so much I added their tube DAC which improved all digital sources. And then repla... 
Speaker Cables for FRITZ Carbon 7 SE mk2
Fritz recommended BJC to me. I went with the Belden 5T00UP and never looked back.   
Laid back DAC under $800?
I didn’t AB the Black Ice with anything else but did try different tubes. Settled on warmer GEs versus the Tung Sol reissues it came with. That said, the amp tubes have more effect  
Laid back DAC under $800?
I’ve got the Black Ice tube DAC. Love it. I would say it’s neutral but for sure isn’t harsh. I changed to early GE5751s to focus the mids and sounds lovely  
Phono Cartridge for $1,000.
Another vote for the Hana SL. Can’t put to words the improvement over my Sumiko. Has about 25 hours and sounds lovely - and its party trick is how it reduces pops and clicks. Still playing with impedance - it calls for >400 ohms and flipping be... 
Sumiko BPS Evo III vs Hana EL/EH
Face a similar decision. I have a 2-year-old Pro-Ject 9.2 with the 9cc tonearm. It came with the BPS Evo III (low). Candidly, it is my first serious hi-fi so I'm not sure what I'm missing and if I can do better - and it does seem like the BPS is f... 
Mid grade Integrated amp choices
Handy thread, I am in similar boat. Looking for a mid-priced Tube amp to sit between a Pro-Ject RPM 9.2 with a LO MC Sumiko cart going into a Phono-stage and some Frisk 251 MTMs. I have fairly wide price band, ideally looking for something around ...