ivanj

Responses from ivanj

Recommended female vocalists?
Liz Phair, Lisa Loeb - Firecracker (great 3d+ recording but mostly binkie music, alas), Basia, Billie Holiday 
Speaker cable length for mono blocks
"Are Monoblock s worth it?" - I apologize - I looked only in cable forum. Nice stuff in here.Did Tara give you a reason why 4' was the shortest recommended length? 
Speaker cable length for mono blocks
Sorry if I bored anyone (cfb.) Ninja, does a better cable really matter in this situation of short short length as long as basic parameters of sensible gauge, low resistance, capacitance,and inductance are followed? 
Levinson Amps: What do they really sound like?
I listened to a complete Levinson CD/preamp/amp plus big Revels with (I think) megabuck Transparent cable in a purpose built listening room. I listened to my classical disks as well as the jazz the owner spun. My female companion and I both felt i... 
Is Wadia 860 much better than the 850?
Yes the 860X and 861 are more resolving than the 850. Vtin asked about the 860 so I tried to answer the specific question. I shared my experience with the 850/860; at the time I made my purchase decision I could not countenance the delta in price ... 
Go balanced or unblanced that is the question
FWIW - I'm running 25' interconnect presently Adcom 750 to Pass Al 5 - unbalanced. No hum or noise problems even if ear next to speaker. However, I live in a rural area so I don't have a lot of EMI or RFI. If I lived in the city I would go balance... 
Is Wadia 860 much better than the 850?
No, not sonically in most situations. The exception is when you are using it directly into your poweramp without a preamp, and you need to be able use a balance control. The 860 has a balance control. I find that few CDs need balance tweeking, but... 
High Quality Passive Preamp Recommendtion
I would recommend the Adcom 750. You can run it passive or active. You can find it for a nominal :)) price on A'gon. Sometimes I find the active does sound better, parties and such, old vinyl recorded at low levels, and so on. Plus it has a good r... 
Is an old Denon 800 tuner as good as a new Fanfare?
Ulf-I don't have any experience with the whip but it has been reviewed well. Another alternative for your situation is an inexpensive Radio Shack (I know these are available in the UK) powered antennae. This can be tuned to limit the bandwidth to ... 
Is an old Denon 800 tuner as good as a new Fanfare?
Sorry I wrote it late last night. What I meant to say was that one should first purchase the best aerial and connecting cables for your particular situation, and then spend the rest of the money on the tuner. If you don't get a high power clean si... 
Is an old Denon 800 tuner as good as a new Fanfare?
All things being equal, the arbiter of the performance is the aerial. If you are on a fixed budget or have a certain investment, and are in a house, an external aerial like an APS and a rotor with proper cabling will MOST PROBABLY outperform the s... 
Win Labs strain gauge cartridges
I can't tell you about the power supply but I have owned two of them. Sonically they had incredible bass - like a Decca London - but tracked well. They need a very rigid arm. I measured the frequency response of one and it had response flat to the... 
Ortofon X3 X5 MC Cartridges
No matter what I have said it is HARD to go wrong with the latest Shure, although the previous version is said to be more accurate in the bass region. The Shure will track just about anything. What arm are you using? 
help with phono pre amp questions/stylus
Jvr, You have a nice front end. It is especially suited for handling a proper (low output) moving coil of low compliance. I believe that a good tranformer into a tube phono section or a good SS phono preamp into a tube line stage (my personal choi... 
Ortofon X3 X5 MC Cartridges
I had an X3 for several years in a Linn Ittok. I found it a good tracker - never heard mistracking on any record I played - and was overall a good midclass cartridge. Just follow directions, no special setup necessary. I do use the HFN/RR test rec...