blakeaudio

Responses from blakeaudio

Thiel 2.3 vs 2.4
has anyone heard the ss1 yet? i have the cs1.6's and as drubin said i'd just like the 1.6 with more bass. i have a 22' x 15' listening room with downstairs neighbours (and suspended wooden floor) so whilst i don't want to p*ss them off to much, i ... 
A guide for Audiophiles and Marriage
the don't ask don't tell certainly is the best way of going about it. my wife doesn't even notice most of the time. it took her 3 months to notice a new power amp! on the other hand my system has probably cost me 50% more than it should have, due ... 
Power cord to add ease and tame treble.
try omiga audio http://www.omigaaudio.co.uk/. i was using nordost power cords (a mix of shiva and vishnu) and had a rather "obvious" trebble. i home demoed the omiga's and they cured the trebble, making it very natural and smooth, whilst seemingly... 
Tube Amps
for 2000, you could have a VAC auricle, which has independently biased tubes and a built in meter. it's 55w and should drive your speaker fine in you sized room. jazz is fabulous with tubes and definitely through this amp. the midrange is particul... 
Why I Like Thiel
another vote for thiel!!! they shipped to the uk when i had a speaker problem, and helped me through every step of the process! 
Vac Standard 220 standard, signature, or Phi
"finickey with non-VAC tubes"frankly i think you'll be very happy with those kevin recommended the brimar cv4003's to me for one of his amps, and i think the mullards are very similar. i've tried a number of different tubes in my vac amp and it ha... 
mac and vac amps with thiel 3.6
i actually use a VAC auricle with Thiel 1.6s and love them. combination particularlly suits my smaller UK room (15'x25'). thiels seem to have a characteristic impedence dip, which one would think would be a problem for a tube amp, but the VAC seem... 
mac and vac amps with thiel 3.6
as has been pointed out before on the forum, Kevin Hayes voices and tests all his VAC products on the 3.6's he has at the VAC factory. i would say the VAC would be a safe bet with the Thiels. 
bridging tube amps for mono
so are you saying that i shouldn't get another auricle and bridge it.... ;-)shaky understanding of circuits... why will a bridged amp see a lower impedance load? it's not the load that's changing is it? 
Alternatives to Stoplight Pen RIP
bllack marker may not work as well, but it definitely does work! even verified by my surprised and usuallly un-interested wife. and on a cost benefit basis, probably better... 
Alternatives to the Thiel Outriggers?
there are probably benefits from raising the tweeter as the 1.6 is relatively short. also if you have a wooden suspended floor as in an upstairs room, or any that isn't solid like a concrete floor, you might well benefit from placing the speakers ... 
Recommendations for banana plugs
i've used the Eichmans on a pair of speaker cables i demoed. baring in mind this was a well used pair of demo cables, the eichmans were great. i really like the low mass philosophy employed in all there connectors and already use their silver bull... 
Marantz 8-8b question
i have to admit that i thought that even early 8b's had the octal socket. i also thought that the 8 said model 8 on it and the 8b, model 8b.... i could be wrong..... 
Wadia 302 CD Player- Into power amp directly ?
Bombaywalla explained it better than i ever could have. i have had it explained to me a couple of times and as Bombaywalla said, it's the upsampled bits that are used for volume control, so it doesn't for the top part of the volume range, affect s... 
Wadia 302 CD Player- Into power amp directly ?
it will be as loud, as the 302 like most (if not all) recent wadias, have little dip switches either on the back with the 301/302, or internally in the 861, to adjust the out level between 0.5v and 4v. you adjust these so that your normal listenin...