dfhaleycko

Responses from dfhaleycko

Buying a used cartridge...tell us your tale.
Probably 8 out of my last 12 cartridges have been new. But the 4 I bought "pre-owned" have all been winners. I do think it is risky, but the risk discount can make it worthwhile. The more you know about the seller, the better. I generally trust mo... 
Which feet for VPI Scout
What is the table sitting on? I got a nice improvement with my Scout when I set it on a 3" thick slab of maple (using the stock aluminum cone feet). I've got a further improvement using the Terastone footers from Edensound. I went there to buy Bea... 
Best music server for the money
Since Logitech has stopped developing the Slimserver/Logitech Media Server/Squeezeserver/Squeezebox line of media players, those that remain in the channel are screaming bargains. You'll need an NAS with enough processing power (see Vortexbox/Smal... 
Rhea vs Pass XP-15
I have a Rhea and love it. With a 0.3mv cartridge you are getting to the point where some Rhea's can become noisy, depending on tube selection and maybe age/version. Perhaps the newer ones are quieter, but my 5 year-old Rhea exhibits a bit of tube... 
VPI 3D tonearm
Just got a flier from Music Direct showing the new 3D arm at $2500. I've been experimenting with a home 3D printer, and one of the things it does is internal object complexity. I can vary the matrix inside an object to achieve structural rigidity ... 
Tube Mono-Block Recommendation
Sounds like you made a good choice. I like that in the summertime I can pull out half the tubes in my Atma-Sphere amps and still get great music at lower listening levels! We're in the second week of a heat wave here and it really makes a difference! 
Preamps w/ polypropylene caps in power supply?
There's a whole subculture around caps. Poly caps in the power supply are theoretically "faster" and definitely longer-lived than fluid-filled electrostatic caps. The biggest advantages of electrostats is that they are quite cheap and compact for ... 
Anybody have an actively multi-amplified system?
Yes, this is how I've been running my Magneplanar 1.6qr speakers for the past 5 years or so. I built a line-level buffer/crossover using the Linkwitz Labs MT-1 board which lets me duplicate the original crossover frequencies for the bass panel vs.... 
Build a TT based set up for $5K
You've asked a pretty hard question since we don't know enough about the space where you're planning to use the system. I actually just did this for my sister. She wanted a modest-but-good system that would be a minimum of bother (read: no tubes).... 
Bah Hum Bug
I don't know your equipment, but hum can be a real downer.You might try a different set of phono cables. Some cables have the shield connected to the ground plug at both ends, which can create a ground loop. Other cables have no shielding at all (... 
Most important vinyl component to upgrade first ?
It's a system, guys, and everything interacts to some degree with everything else. So recommending the best upgrade is difficult without knowing the context. On top of that, many people have never examined specific changes scientifically. I had a ... 
Amplifier repair/modifications - New England area
Another option might be Bill Baker at Response Audio in Endicott NY. He has done nice work on upgrading/revising Antique Sound Labs amps, and had his own line of Bella Extreme amplifiers. Knows his way around an electronics bench!Oh, and I can vou... 
What to upgrade first
For your budget you can lift your whole system, or you can think of the upgrading as a continuing process and focus on one thing at time as you can afford it. When I look back at all the "upgrading" I've done over the past 20 years or so, I find t... 
What is approx. percentage of your total
Actually this is an interesting question. The whole notion of "in rotation" is a bit foreign to me. When I buy new records, I guess you's say they stay in rotation until I have a firm grip on the music, then they go on the walls. Later I'll get an... 
Why does your turntable sound the way it does.
That's interesting. I've always wondered how much potential exists for independent effects to creep in between the base of the tone arm and the base of the spindle bearing. I've never been wholly convinced that independent tonearm pods are a bette...