helomech
Responses from helomech
| Parasound to Pass Upgrade FWIW, I went from what is arguably the best sounding Pass amp, the XA25 (so I’ve been told), to an SST Son of Ampzilla II. These were used with a variety of speakers, including my Revel F208s. The Ampzilla is as close as I’ve encountered to the so... | |
| Audio Research filing for bankruptcy? Actually the dealership to which you refer did NOT shut down. He announced that he would be winding down operations and retire from the business in early 2024. Same diff. The days are numbered for all these companies unless the old timers are ... | |
| Fritz Speakers I don’t have first-hand experience with the brand but I’ve noticed his models use fairly large ports, which will contribute significantly to low level dynamics. His series crossovers should also aid in that I’d imagine. | |
| Audio Research filing for bankruptcy? Welcome to the future of the hi-end market. Mac has only survived this long because it has exponentially greater brand recognition, has licensed their name to auto manufacturers, and has been publicly endorsed by the likes of Tom Cruise and Fallon... | |
| Compact Floor-standing Speaker Recommendations under $4k The Spendor A7s are just about the most perfect compact floorstanders in existence. They are supremely balanced and all their “sins” are ones of omission. | |
| Are Harbeth Super HL5 XD right for me? Stick with the Model 5s until you can listen to other options in person. Harbeths have become ridiculously priced for what they offer sonically, and they capitalize on guys who buy them based solely on reviewer and forum momentum. That the dollar ... | |
| Thinking of Magnepan ... finally! The Magnepan 0.7 has the best balance and bass dynamics of all the models I’ve heard. Seems the “pro” reviewers agree with regard to the bass. I owned the 1.7is previously and could not get along with them. Other than outright bass extension (not ... | |
| Integrated amp recommendation for Maggie .7's Why an integrated? As a fellow .7 owner, I can assure you that a pre-owned Parasound A21 and a decent SS preamp will perform better than any <$5K integrated. I used a Topping A90D with the A21 and it was far better than Hegel. | |
| Name 3 songs where audio quality and song quality completely align Anything performed/written by Pennywise, though it won’t take you over the moon. | |
| UPS. Friend Or Foe? I had to mention the likelihood of litigation in order for UPS to finally pay out my recent claim. IME with carrier insurance, their default policy is to deny each and every claim and make the process a nightmare in hopes of discouraging the claim... | |
| Musical Surroundings Phonomena II+ -OR- Moon 110lp v2 -OR- Parasound ZPhono XRM Phono I sold my JC3 Jr. after comparing it to the XRM. The XRM is actually quieter and I couldn’t detect a difference otherwise. | |
| Help. System sounds thin and bright or harsh Sell the Harbeths. There is nothing wrong with your upstream gear, the problem is the Harbeths sound like studio monitors. Studio monitors are not “warm.” | |
| Warm and accurate bookshelves that can handle volume Harbeths really? Yes they are fine sounding BUT turn up the vol and they fall apart, at least in my experience. Local dealer sell them so have heard them many times. Same experience here. They sound nice at moderate volume. Even with high curr... | |
| Warm and accurate bookshelves that can handle volume Outside of the M40s, Harbeths do not handle high SPLs so well. The 8” midwoofers have weak motors not designed for long term high power handling. Search around the web and you’ll find quite a few reports of blown drivers, even cracked cones. The ... | |
| Best turntable under $4000 I switched from a >$4K Acoustic Signature setup (w/ $1600 tonearm) to a Technics 1210GR and have no regrets. The former was a more elegant looking turntable for certain but the GR looks better in person than I expected. Definitely less DJ-esque... |