bish

Responses from bish

buzz from one phono preamp more than another?
Ajlimke --Given you are encountering the hum in both cases; have you experimented with the physical placement of the phono stages (relative to any other equipment, the interconnects & any power cables that you are using).Cheers -- Bish 
XLR interconnects?
At risk of sounding iconoclastic -- Canare L-4E6S Star Quad in a decent termination. Terminate them in Neutrik XLR's (HD's are nice mix of function & appearance) or Xhadow if you feel so compelled.Cheers,Bish 
Looking for a good Transport. Help.
BTW -- this is the same unit Ray Kimber is/was using for his IsoMike project. Had it not been for his positive commentary regarding this unit I'd likely have ignored it myself. 
Looking for a good Transport. Help.
It looks like folks have already tossed out some great options for possible transports in your intended budget.Just one additional offering comes to mind for me.The Tascam DV-RA1000 is a surprise contender for a unit that was intended to be a DSD ... 
iPod VS Beosound 6
Not as of yet -- does look rather interesting albeit as you suggest the sound will make or break the deal.If you already have the iPod already the Wadia 170 iTransport is the hot ticket.For a multi-purpose digital device the Blue Circle USB Thinge... 
Balanced vs. unbalanced
Greetings,Should you be interested & time permits I'd suggest reading through an older Audiogon thread regarding the use of balanced technology.http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?htech&1081820984In terms of content the posts by the Mo... 
High End Isolation - HRS, SRA, Active platforms
Greetings,Many of the products mentioned are indeed quite good from a first hand usage perspective (SRA, GPA & Symposium being three audiophile oriented brands for which I do have some affinity/bias). Machina Dynamica's Nimbus is certainly a c... 
DIY Acoustic Diffusers
Presuming you have access to the required woodworking tools, or know a kind friend who does, I'd suggest looking at the ones designed by the late Terry Cain. The improvement is quite remarkable & have a nice WAF if finished properly.Listed bel... 
GRASS IS GREENER ON THE OTHER SIDE
Lohanimal --I have a slightly different philosophy. Before making any significant changes in your system I courage you to listen to actual live music & mentally note what characteristics or traits you're looking to achieve. After a while compa... 
Which amp to drive Avalon Diamonds?
Presuming you are fond of the ARC Ref 3 the path of least resistance would be to audition the ARC Reference 210's. They're a significant improvement over the original REF300's. The others you mention are some very best sounding amplifiers availabl... 
B&W Signature Diamond : Anyboy heard them?
At first glance these new B&W's cabinet design remind me of some of Jacob George's Rethm speakers (the style of Rethm Seconds & footprint of the Rethm Thirds). B&W tossed a diamond tweeter on top for good measure. 
Amp recommendation for AKG K1000's headphones?
Thanks again for everyone's assistance. I've listened to the 300 SEI & the results were most impressive. I'm still perusing the market a bit -- however without question the Cary is one of, if not the finest, integrated tube amplifier I've ever... 
Amp recommendation for AKG K1000's headphones?
Robm321 -Will do. I've located someone in town that has the Cary 300 SEI. I figure this will provide some point of reference for a 300B based rig. I'm also trying to track down an ASL to compare with the Cary. The ASL Layla 845DT is an interesting... 
Amp recommendation for AKG K1000's headphones?
Swapwalker -Fortunately size/weight is somewhat less critical -- so I do have a bit of flexibility. Thanks again for the tip. 
Amp recommendation for AKG K1000's headphones?
Robm321 -- Thanks as well. I'm perusing the posts on Headfi as we speak :)Cheers - Bish