rbstehno

Responses from rbstehno

Using a DAC with the Esoteric DV-50
tough call. the esoteric is such a nice piece along with the tri vista sacd player. sony makes a good transport but the sound quality in cd playback (without any external dac) is pretty bad (any sony: scd1, 777es, 9000es, etc...) but with a dac or... 
ok guys get me into 200+ wpc
classe ca-200, odyssey stratos or the monoblocks for a little more $$$ ($1600 right now on audiogon). 
aerial10t vs. vandersteen 5
i agree with Avguygeorge. i would go with the 5s before the 10t's. i don't agree with Avguygeorge however on speakers costing less money that sound better than the 10t's. there are a few out there and i have a pair that i think sounds better. if i... 
SS apm for Totem Mani -2
i use a pair of odyssey monoblocks with my mani 2's along with classe preamp and cd player. I have the upgraded monblocks (120,000 caps) and klaus from odyssey is making the extreme version of the monoblocks, which i have heard are also very good.... 
Would an external DAC improve the sound of my SONY
i would agree with bigkidz. sony doesn't have the best sound in cd playback. the transports are very good and there are a lot of people that modify these transports to sound very musical. another way is to purchase an external dac unit. other dac'... 
Please recommend SACD player under $6K - "warm"
imo, the Esoteric and the MF Tri Vista are very nice musical players. no lean/cold sound from these players. an even better player would be the classe sacd player but at twice the price of the above units. all sony's (imo) tend to have a lean soun... 
which monitor isn't lacking in the bass dept.?
i second Jh2os response about the Mani 2's from totem. very musical full range monitor. they are expensive but worth every penny. they are rather ineffecient, so you need a good powerful amp to drive them. i upgraded from a pair of totem 1's mated... 
Speakers and Stands. What do you use between them?
i used to use blue tack until i read that blue tack smears the sound. didn't realize this until i removed the blue tack. the article recommended using a piece of wood between the stands and speaker. i tried this and I noticed more detail and at fi... 
One big subwoofer or two weaker subwoofers?
i would agree with Sdcampbell and Sugarbrie, it's the quality that counts. I have had a REL subwoofer in the past and they are very good, and imo, one of the best out there. For audio, i never heard a subwoofer that I liked with a bigger than a 10... 
speaker order
audition the totem mani-2's, model 1's, and the forest. 
Best Monitor speaker - low volume level listening
listen to the totem mani-2's. they need a powerfull amp and good stands but sound very nice at any volume if you have the right equipment. 
Bryston or Classe for NHT 3.3
i used to own NHT gear (2.9's, 1.5's, super one's, super zeros) for my ausio room and still use an ac-2 and pair of sub two's in my home theater room. i used to get fatigue with the 2.9's after a short period of time. i tried many different amps w... 
Question on KEF speakers
i liked their reference series and currently use a pair of reference 2's in my home theater. you can find a pair of kef reference 1's for around the price you are looking at that (IMO) would sound better that the small 'Q' series speakers. 
Best all around box speaker between 15K and 25K
i also agree with tumbler's reply. I just purchased a pair of totem mani-2's. my reply above was for a very large room. any smaller, i would go with a pair or Totem speakers and invest the $$$$ you would save. You will not be disappointed. 
Transparent Link 200 for Totem speakers
i used to own transparent musicwave plus speaker cables to my totem model 1's and I moved to all bogdan silver cables and ic's. the transparent cables were lifeless compared to other cables I listened to. if you move up the transparent chain, they...