karls

Responses from karls

what are some decent starter am/fm tuners ?
Scott,Which digital radio services have you tried, and how is the fidelity compared to good fm? My only experience with this was years ago, when I signed up for a cable tv service because they had several dozen digital music-only channels sorted b... 
Coolest color for Wilson Watt/Puppy 7 ?
I vote for fuschia, especially if you want to impress the chicks.Or if you have kids, I would go for a separate color for each of the four boxes, say red/green on one side and blue/yellow on the other, kinda like a big Rubik's Cube just exploded i... 
Best way to combine Sub and floor speakers?
Definitely option C, and go ahead and connect speakers to one set and the sub to the other if that's most convenient; it doesn't really matter. Keep in mind that this connection mode will NOT work with balanced/bridged amps (that is, amps which fl... 
Do tube dampers really work?
Well, ARC does it on all their stuff, one of the reasons I like them. As for why others don't, the cynic in me wants to say that they probably don't want to admit that it's a problem. There's a psychological issue with admitting to yourself that t... 
The best DAC for the money
I second the Theta Gen Va. Older to be sure, but absolutely great performance for the current prices. 
BAT VK-200, Plinius SA100 MK3, or Levinson 27.5?
The BAT is slightly dark-sounding, hard to describe but not as airy or sparkling as most amps. A great choice if your speakers or upstream components sound a little too bright. The ML 27.5 is a great amp and thought by many to be superior to their... 
Material to place under Down firing Sub ?
Having used many RELs, I have to disagree with the above Sumiko recommendation. The only time it is appropriate to go without spikes is if the sub is sitting directly on a hard surface. Otherwise, you should use the spikes and adjust them so that ... 
Ported Speakers and Tube Amps??
It all depends on what you like. Most ported speakers are going to sound looser than sealed or TL, and most tube amps are going to sound looser than SS. Put the two together and you get more of the same, only compounded because ported speakers rel... 
Halos or Coolers?
In general it is far more important to put dampers on the small-signal tubes (preamp and input tubes). Power tube microphony is much less of an issue. Probably best to stick with just coolers on the power tubes. 
Your Experience with Sub/Monitor Combos
I've been using sub/sat systems ever since I discovered the REL subs. Prior to this, I could always tell the sub was "there", and so couldn't live with them. But with the arrival of the RELs, and a select few others now, subs have gotten so good t... 
Solid state design options...
Bombaywalla, great post. Please do not assume I have bought into the "all negative feedback is bad" camp, as that is not the case. I merely mentioned VAC's site as interesting food for thought, and much of what they have to say is probably applica... 
Will the 4 ohm double if I bridge my Mcintosh???
The reason that most amps aren't rated at 4 Ohms when bridged is that bridging effectively drops the load in half. In other words, the "300 watts bridged into 8 Ohms" is twice the "150 watts into 4 Ohms" rating, because both channels are driving h... 
Problems with Movie Dialog-Just the normal?
It may be a setting in your processor is screwed up, though I don't know what your system has in it. I used to have an NAD receiver/dvd player setup that was HT-capable but would occasionally get "confused" about whether it was supposed to be doin... 
The Truth About Preamps
I would echo the above and say that in your price range, you are probably better off spending money on the amp and cd player and going direct. I haven't owned the Miles, but the Wadias, of which I've owned several, are quite happy running direct t... 
Sutherland PHD
Except for the need for periodic replacement (which really isn't very often-- the lifespan of those D cells is probably better than most power tubes!!!!), batteries are superior to AC power any day in every way. The currents that are required in a...