rkeman

Responses from rkeman

Best Subwoofer avaible?
The best reasonably sized subwoofer in my experience is a sealed box design (3.5 cubic feet) based on the Adire Tumult 15" driver (www.adireaudio.com). In this configuration it is well damped (Q about 0.55) and has a typical in room F3 of just abo... 
Pre/Pro choice at around $1500 new...
No preamp/processor can compete with high quality stereo equipment so give up on that idea from the start. Of the processors available, the Outlaw is the way to go. It is surprisingly good and so inexpensive that it should be the first choice for ... 
One or two subwoofers?
It all depends on the circumstances. If the crossover frequency will be high(>100Hz) and/or the low pass crossover slopes small (<18 db/octave), stereo subwoofer are more necessary because they will operate into the area where the ear can lo... 
I need some suggestions for some new speakers...
Magnepan MMG's and a Adire Rava SE subwoofer. Absolute magic for about what you want to spend and no used equipment to deal with. Good luck! 
Julian Hirsch dies
Hirsch was a man of integrity who always stuck to his guns and was a voice of reason. Although I did not always agree with his views, I still miss his insightful column and reviews. Despite the presence of a number of good writers and editors, Ste... 
transport sound quality of good modern CDPs
Great question. Yes, I compared the mentioned transports to the Panasonic RP-91 which is the primary reason that I currently employ it in a mostly-music stereo system. As I wrote before, there really was very little difference between any of them.... 
transport sound quality of good modern CDPs
The lack of decent quality CD transports today amazed me as well until I started auditioning a number of transports from a number of manufacturers (Theta, EAD, Audio Alchemy, and Wadia) and discovered only nominal differences between them. These w... 
Best speaker value
Why buy used? The Thor kit from Madisound (www.madisound.com - look under kits) is $1500 per pair and is a wonderfully clean and smooth speaker. The speaker is a transmission line design with an MTM driver layout based on the latest magnesium cone... 
DYI Speakers. How good can they be?
Superb and a great value. I have built speakers as kits and from the ground up and have been very satisfied with the results. My current stereo rig uses the SEAS Thor based on a Madisound kit. They cost about $1500 for the pair with preassembled a... 
Maggie 3.6R performance dilemma..
Magnepans can be driven very well by some affordable amplifiers. My home theater uses the MG-1.6, MG-CC3, and MG-MC1 all driven quite well by an Outlaw 750. I have also used Bryston, Aragon and Anthem amplifiers with good results. Magnepans are fa... 
2 Channel SS Preamp Suggestions
Save your money and get a Monolithic PA-1. A passive buffered unit, it is amazingly quiet and absolutely transparent. A second good choice would be the Morrison preamp which costs a bit more. If no phono stage is necessary, these should provide al... 
Speakers that sing
SEAS Thor. This is an incredibly clean MTM design that is an excellent deal. Check out www.madisound.com under the kit section. One evening with a screwdriver and you will have a speaker that is easily outperforms many speakers in the $5-10,000 pe... 
Wadia 25 DAC
The Wadia 25 is a very good DAC. Check out my review at www.audioasylum.com. 
Connecting CD directly to Poweramp
Try an Monolithic PA-1 or one of the Goldpoint passive preamps (www.goldpoint.com). You will love either. 
Magnepan 1.6 vs. ML Aerius i owners opinions..
The Magnepan is substantially more dynamic and has better resolution in my experience. The newer ML speakers are far too dependent on the woofer module and no longer provide the image height and expansive soundstage of a more traditional flat pane...