dustych

Responses from dustych

Best female vocals on CD
I just wanted to add that the singer's voice in Halou makes my toes curl (and in a good way).I would also add: The Gathering, Lacuna Coil, Tapping the Vein, and Rain Fell Within (these are all metal-with-femme-vox). Alternative-with-femme-vox: Cur... 
CD Changer advice
HDCD needs to happen at the DAC. The only unit I know of that outputs a decoded HDCD signal is the one from Pacific Microsonics itself. You may also want to consider getting the new SACD changer (no SACD vs. whatever wars, please) from Sony and us... 
Best Zip Code for Perfect Life
Can I offer a free beer to anyone being able to offer a place with the above criteria MINUS the car nut stuff (I am not one) PLUS a dry climate (allergies). That last pretty much rules out anything East of the Mississippi... Double-extra-plus bonu... 
Will CD or Preamp to drive Headphones?
Don't know, but I suspect you are correct about wanting to match impedances. But when I was reading the review for the Musical Fidelity A3CR preamp, the reviewer was lamenting the fact that it wasn't set up with a headphone amp, as it (paraphrasin... 
Cheap SACD Player or wait for DVD Audio?
Wait! Wait until there is more software, wait until there are DVD-Audio units up to par with all the highly rated SACD players, wait until there are "universal" machines, wait until there are SACD surround players (if that interests you), wait unt... 
Best Car Stereo
I have also heard good things about MB Quart speaker components. Also, don't know if you can get them "post-factory", but Mark Levinson (the company) has started putting together systems for Lexus. Maybe you can buy a Lexus, take the stereo, and t... 
"Burn in" Are you serious?
BTW, in my above post, I did not listen to my cables while I burned them in, so there is no way that I got used to them. I listened to them, flinched, disconnected them, used other cables while I connected mine to device I have that generates pink... 
Wilson Benesch Speakers (Worth it?)
Well, it's not just R&D costs that you're paying for, it's also materials and workmanship and quality control, but yes, the ultimate driver (if you excuse the pun) for price is what people are willing to pay for it. 
Do Dealers think it is sinful..........
PS to Awdeeofyle -- for every newline that you want (two for a new paragraph), try adding the following four characters: <BR> (I think this will turn out). 
Do Dealers think it is sinful..........
Two thoughts: one -- even if the markup is high, some of that still has to go into cost of doing business. With high end equipment, there can be a lot of breaks between sales.OTOH, high end gear has different criteria for "doing what it advertises... 
Best Digital Cable around $100 used
Being a skeptic when it comes to digital cables, I buy the cheapest I can get. But I will stay out of that debate, since you asked. Were I not a skeptic, I suspect I would get the Apogee (Wyde Eye, or something like that?)... 
Tubes? Transistors? Which are better?
Another issue which is underplayed is maintenance. Tube amps require a lot more know-how. For example, I only recently found out (the hard way), that you need to always have speakers hooked up to your tube amp. It is a hobby, albeit one with an ex... 
"Burn in" Are you serious?
I got a pair of cherry silver cables (0.5m), and there was downright _sibilance_ when I first listened to them. After burning them in, the sibilance went away, and the cables overall became smoother, although still missing a little bottom end. Tha... 
Why is amp toroid humming?
Sorry, had to. 
directional cable?
Actually, the main reason for directionality is pseudo-shielding. Anyone familiar with balanced, shielded cables and how they work understands why you can't truly shield a cable that only has electricity running in one direction. Well, what some c...