jallan

Responses from jallan

Example of a piece o’ crap, useless review
As someone who’s first TAS issue was #4, I am also frustrated by the extremely variable quality of their reviews. Some of the most profound things that a few of their newer reviewers will say is “it made my toe tap.” Ok, at least you didn’t go run... 
Kind of Blue
The Rudy Van Gelder remasters on Blue Note were an indication to me that digital had hope. These are all great! I’ve now crossed almost entirely to the Dark Side…  
The Music Room
+1 for another happy TMR customer here also  
Upgrades and repairs on hi fi components
The late Brent Mullin of HiFi Heaven was really great, too. A terrible loss of superb talent and knowledge in the last few years! I knew several of these guys and miss them. Happy to see bigkidz in the game!  
15k USD Speakers for Classical and Pop Extended Listening, Near setup, Low volume
I have ATC SCM40’s in an arrangement not totally different from what you have, including a large reflective coffee table in front of my sofa. The key aspect of the ATC’s is that they are very essy to place in rooms to get optimal imaging. They do ... 
What do you like to see included in a manufacturer's website?
Pricing! Anyone else tired of chasing down reviews to get an idea as to whether a product is remotely affordable?  
12AX7A preamp tubes - ribbed vs smooth plate
I too am shocked at the differences between rectifiers, including differences between direct-heated and indirect heated rectifiers. Fun to roll in my Woo headphone amplifier.   BTW, this is the first I am hearing of Bill Thalmann’s death. I met ... 
Improving a stone rack
@ghdprentice  I must correct myself- I think you’re correct that this stone comes from the Bushveldt Complex in South Africa- I just looked up the location in Google Maps!  
Improving a stone rack
@ghdprentice  I don’t think it’s quarried from those bodies, but sounds like you are a geologist! This might be a good guess: https://wap.stonecontact.com/africa-black-granite/s2563 South African Precambrian gabbro, it certainly looks like the... 
Improving a stone rack
I remember the first time I heard his smaller speakers-it was 2017. I was more impressed by the sound that they were making than anything else in the Capital Audio fest. Of coarse he was running Audio Research gear- Ref 6 preamp and the 75 ref amp... 
Improving a stone rack
“African black granite” is not granite but instead fine grained gabbro. It’s denser than granite, as different minerals make it up. No quartz, and denser, more calcic plagioclase feldspar, and relatively dense, iron rich pyroxene. I am retired now... 
Giving Advice without recommending your own equipment
+1 hickamore    
Are your record surfaces as silent as CDs?
+1 jasonbourne71. The Shibata and other line contact types ride deeper in the record grooves and are thus typically quieter than elliptical and especially conical types that ride higher in the groove. With a VPI record cleaner and my setup (Benz A... 
DAC suggestions for a reasonably modest system
Schiit Yggdrasil Gs2 at $1699. Smokes anything near it IMHO.  
Cary Audio SLP-5 Preamp Tube Replacement.
I run Raytheon VT231’s in the gain stages and CBS Hytron 5692 in the buffers fo my SLP05, and they sound glorious. Tubes of this quality are still available from Brent Jessee and others.