sierratrails

Responses from sierratrails

What the Best Dac have you heard or owned. How could you tell it was that good.
After years with the built-in DAC in our tube Jolida JD100 CD player and decades with our Quad amp/pre-amp, we bought an Audio Note Cobra tube integrated and started using its DAC with the same Jolida tube player. Light years in difference in deta... 
can subwoofers make things worse?
I can only let you know what happened with our purchase of a set of year-old Quad ESL 57s many eons ago. They were sold to us with a Dalquist EQ-1W sub-woofer with a passive crossover at about 80 Mhz. What happened was the mid-range leaked through... 
Aggrivated tinnitus from speakers?
In living with tinnitus over ten years, I can understand the frustration and depression when you love listening to music. There is one thing I have learned - if I listen to a combination of tube electronics and electrostatic speakers, most of the ... 
How long does it take your tube amp to warm up?
My Audio Note Cobra takes 30 minutes...can't listen to it before then. After 30 minutes, it is an entirely different listening experience.  
HAVE YOU ARRIVED AT YOUR FINAL SYSTEM AND WHAT’S IN IT? WHAT ARTIST IS YOUR GO TO?
After 47 years, I am finally done. Audio Note Cobra integrated amplifier with Audio Note speaker cables, Audio Note Audio Note CD 3.1x/II CD player, Quad ESL-57 speakers. There. Done. Happy.  
Class A integrated amp recommendations
After replacing the 40 year old Quad amp in my system two years ago with an Audio Note pure Class A integrated, I have never gone back. I listen to exactly the same music you do, but on Quad ESL-57s, also over 40 years old. After two years, I am s... 
Anything more resolving than 65 year-old speakers?
Honest to gosh, I have tried to find something better than my ancient Quad ESL-57s but have failed. The Quads aren’t perfect, but all other speakers are less so. After running them for years with Quad electronics, finally upgraded with an Audio No... 
tube pre & ss amp integrated
We have the similar system that doesn't need a lot of power to make the speakers sound good. We choose the Audio Note Cobra. Extremely happy!  
Which pair of speakers changed your Hifi life?
Many moons ago, I sold hi-fi and was fortunate enough to be able to audition hundreds of speakers. But only one pair took me away - Quad ESL 57s. I still have a pair and they are now run by an Audio Note Cobra tube integrated. A very simple system... 
Are there speakers that disappear regardless of the recording?
We are fortunate to own 40 year old full range electrostatics and they disappear in 95% of the recordings when we added a Class A tube integrated amp last year. Really enjoying the system now. 
Products you added to your system in 2021 that made most impact to your music enjoyment
This was the year of complete change from a system we thought was wonderful and had been in place for decades. We retired and sold the vintage Technics SL-120 with its Mayware-Polk Audio arm and Micro Accustics 2002 cartridge. No more LPs. We sold... 
Best Integrated that you've heard under $5k
It's just a bit over $5K, but so worth it considering the excellent onboard DAC that for most of the others you would have to add...consider the Audio Note Cobra.