laurenceusa

Responses from laurenceusa

Racks: Box Funriture vs Sistrum
To be fair, I just heard of Box Furniture so I can’t make a direct comparison. But common sense should tell you that a piece of wood furniture marketed as an audiophile rack can’t begin to compete with a Sistrum rack or platform that’s scientifica... 
How do I break in a tube amplifier?
I just upgraded my Cary 300SEI. All the upgrades will take 300 hours to break in, partly due to the Duelund Silver Bypass Capacitors. For the first 150 hours, I’m running it 15 hours a day using my tuner and cheap headphones. I’m using cheap tubes... 
Preamp choices:Short list
I don't know if this fits your criteria but First Sound makes the most musically and emotionally engaging line-stage preamps I've ever heard. And I've auditioned quite a few high-end systems. Emmanuel's preamps are also upgradable (within certain ... 
High Fidelity Cables MC-0.5 Effect
I also have some Bybee iQSEs (2 inside my Cary CD303/300 + 2 below my Cary 300SEI) and two QSEs on my fuse box. The MC 0.5 was a worthwhile tweak that removed another layer of noise (without making the sound more analytical), even though I have an... 
MONSTER CD RINGS . How to Remove ?
GooGone didn’t really help; It just ruined the label. Best result I've had so far has been to pick on the outer perimeter of the ring with my fingernail until I can begin to SLOWLY pull it off the disc. Pulling too hard or too fast can separate th... 
Best Floorstander Under 10K?
I hope you have the opportunity to audition the Ruark Solstice before making a decision. All I have to say about them is that they they sound like music. Unfortunately they're out of production because the components became too expensive for the p... 
advice on brightness
I would say that the biggest bang for the buck is going to be a good used CD player. My recommendation is a Rega Planet. It's very musical for the money, not harsh and bright like the HK. Get good components before looking for tweaks.