fineberg

Responses from fineberg

Bi-wire for Magneplanar 1.6qr
I experienced a huge improvement with a bi-wire setup. I use Analysis Plus oval 9 for the bass and oval 12 for the treble. Imaging was better as was the palpability of the instruments and the realism of the transients. 
Musical Fidelity A300cr.
This is a great sounding integrated - full stop - and at its price it is truly phenomenal. I ended up not buying it, however, because I went up to their A3cr separates. There are lots of rave reviews out there if that interests you and they are us... 
new player or dac
I use the MF A3cr pre/amp also and am using a Muse 296 DAC which sounds amazing in my system (Maggie's, Analysis Plus speaker cable and TMC interconnects). The Muse 296 beats everything else I've heard except perhaps the dCS $15k setup and can be ... 
Which is better, Muse 2 or EAD 7000III?
It depends on which Muse 2 the basic one is probably equal or a little weaker than the EAD. If you get one with the Besel Filter option, however, it sounds significantly better than the EAD. THere is also an HDCD option if you have HDCDs. I own a ... 
Adcom - A Good Value?? Auctions risky??
Actually, I agree with other posters who have suggested looking for alternatives. If power for low bucks is the main concern you can get a B&K Reference series 4420 for under $600used (220 watts per channel, very solid, perhaps a little dark).... 
Best "Used" Audiophile speakers for 1000-1500
Thiel CS 1.5s, Magnepan 1.6/QRs, and Sonus Faber Concertos are all very different, but very fine solutions in that price range. 
Do CD-R's play on your player? If no, why not?
Its not vodoo, it is design. The range of laser color used in DVD players will not read CD-Rs. If you burn music onto a CD-RW disk however, it should read (theheat sensitive ink dots are a different color. A few DVD players have two separate laser... 
best digital cable
Illuminations Orchid or Analysis Plus Digital Oval are both phenomenal. Make sure you get them long enough so that all turns can be very gentle, but no longer than needed. 
Need advice on amps to go with Grand Piano Home.
The Musical Fidelity A3cr pre and power combo would work wonderfully. 
Feeding Maggie
I use maggies with the Musical Fidelity A3cr pre and power amps and am VERY happy with the results. 
Newbie needing experts' advice
Thiel 1.5s would work very well. 
dac 20bits with SCD1 16bits output as transport?
The question has nothing to do with the DAC. The format of Cds are defined in a publication which is used to make sure that players and media work together. So ALL CDs are sampled at 44.1 kHz and 16 bits. Many CD players have DACs which use a high... 
Best Pre-amp under 2k-USED
I was looking at listening to many of the pres on your list and sttled upon the Musical Fidelity A3cr. It cost $1595 new or around $1100 mint used. It is absolutely wonderful as long as you don't need balanced ins or outs. It has all the advantage... 
New or used amp?
If you want waranty and phenomenal sound, you can get a new Musical Fidelity A3cr for around $1500. They are truly wonderful sounding and Stereophile "Class A" (if you care). To me they sound much better than the 4B-st unless you need the extra po... 
CD Player for around 3500?
I think the very best sound in that price range would be a used Muse Model 296 with the I2S link to a Muse model 8 transport. This should be right about ytour target price and nothing short of dCS can compare. Muse's best digital circuit seem capa...