mhedges

Responses from mhedges

CD and SACD player under $500
Does anyone know if the Sony DVP-S9000ES would be an improvement?I didn't mention it before but one thing that is prompting this upgrade is that I want 100% reliable no hassle SACD playback, which is something I have not been able to get from the ... 
budget towers? $500/pair
Take a look at your local craigslist. Good stuff does come up occasionally. I got my NHT classic fours that way for about what you want to spend. Mark 
is a center channel really necessary??
In general I would say yes, unless you plan on sitting exactly centered between the front speakers. The center channel helps a lot with centering the dialog onto the screen if you are sitting off to the side. Now having said that it has been my ex... 
Difference Between Sony ST-SA5es&ST-SA50ES tuner
That's true the European SA5ES is quite different from the US and Asian models, which seem to be about the same. Judging by the pictures the European SA5ES seems to be a hybrid of the US SA5 and SA50. It has the same encapsulated front end as the ... 
CD and SACD player under $500
Thanks for all the recommendations. I actually already have a OPPO 83 in my AV system- it doesn't get a ton of use so I will steal it from there for a while and try it in my 2 channel system. First I want to break it in a little as the CD and SACD... 
More female vocals
You may like Jearlyn Steele. Mark 
Difference Between Sony ST-SA5es&ST-SA50ES tuner
I found this old thread and thought I would comment -I just got a SA5ES tuner from ebay and the build quality is much better than the SA50ES. The SA5ES is much heavier with a bigger transformer. The SA50ES does have some cool features that the SA5... 
What pre in the $500 pre owned market
I like my Sony TA-E80ES. Built like a tank, remote control, etc. They are hard to find but often are at around $500. Mark 
Preamp predicament
I would also consider the Dayton audio subs from parts express. They give a lot of bang for the buck and for $300 you could get one that would slaughter your Yamaha.Mark 
Drill holes in rack shelf to keep amp cool?
Thought I would post an update if anyone is interested- I decided not to do any drilling. Instead I changed the shelf spacing to give about 3 1/2 inches more space above the amp.The rack I use isn't really designed to allow for changing shelf spac... 
What's your favorite MFSL
Anyone heard the Natalie Merchant "Tigerlily" MOFI CD? Is it worth a rebuy?Mark 
Can SACD's be played in ony 2 channel format
I would have thought SACD's would sound better than traditional 16 bit record players/recordngs, but according to the this particualr fellow it doesn't seem so. Except below 10k.You need to pay more attention to the last sentence. The frequency ra... 
Can SACD's be played in ony 2 channel format
As far as I know all SACD's have a stereo layer. Pressing the "Super Audio CD Setup" button will cycle between the CD layer, the stereo SACD tracks, and the multichannel SACD tracks. You can also go into setup and select the default layer for SACD... 
Can SACD's be played in ony 2 channel format
The 2 channel SACD tracks are DSD- Direct Stream Digital. It is a one bit datastream at something like 3 MHz sampling rate. It is completely different from PCM which can be 16 bit or 24 bit, but I believe the theoretical resolution is something li... 
SACD's to avoid due to poor remastering.
I have noticed that on Diana Krall's "The look of Love" the bass is mixed much lower on the stereo SACD layer than on the CD layer. Not sure if it is worth avoiding it as a result but I thought it was curious.Mark