strobl0e1d

Responses from strobl0e1d

backlight is out on Rotel CD player
I fixed this problem on my NAD cd player. You could still see the LCD very faintly from the front. After removing the cover I could not see any light bulbs but I then discovered 2 of them under a white cover over the LCD. I replaced them with bulb... 
DAC-Help
Go to Radioshack and buy a 75 ohm video cable. This is what Stereophile recomends to start with. Use only 75 ohm cables for digital. Do not give up on using a DAC. It is the only way to get good sound. 
Best Audiophile Christmas Recordings
Christmastime With the Judds is a "must have" album. 
room acoustics
I am not trying to downplay the good effects of proper room treatment but I think that a lot of audiophiles do this to try to correct a poor digital front end. If you are not using a D/A converter I would try that before spending extra cash on reb... 
Bi Wiring - Any Good
I tried it and it works. You hear less strain in the midrange when a bass passage occurs in the music. This improvement is the result of having a separate path for hi's and low's. You can convert any speaker to bi-wiring by changing the crossover ... 
Interconnect suggestions
Check out the parts connection mail order catalog(a division of sonic frontiers). They sell many popular types of wire in bulk at big savings. Such as: kimber- pbj,silver streak,kcag also other brands and speaker wire. You buy the lentgth you need... 
Good cheap silver wire?
The Parts Connection(sonic frontiers) mail order sells Kimber Silver Streak and KCAG in bulk.($18 ft./$50 ft.) Measure how much you need and terminate them yourself. My system needed 13ft. total.(You also have the advantage of shorter wires) 1-800... 
What type of digital cable is best? XLR or optical
Illuminations d-60 silver coax is my choice. See stereophile's review. 
Need preamp suggestions
Why go low end? You can get a used Adcom GFP-565 for under $500. It is a very good pre-amp and it has a headphone jack. I also suggest using Kimber interconnects. 
Is something wrong w/ my pre???
I think your problem is that you do not have a good digital front end. A pre-amp cannot "find" digital data that has been thrown away by the digital to analog chip in a low grade processer that is found in most one-box cd players.Good d/a converte... 
DAC for CAL Icon II
Try a used adcom gda-600 ($350 used ) with an Illuminations D-60 coax digital interconnect ($168 for .5 meter). Enjoy your CD's until the new dvd audio-only standard comes out. 
DAC for CAL Icon II
 
More critical? Amp or Signal Processor Pre-amp
Invest your money into a 5 channel amp (or amps). The quality of the signal on digital dolby is not as good as the compact disk. Also the standard for future DVD has not yet been decided on by the manufactures.(or, for that matter; the dvd-audio o... 
Cables
Kimber PBJ interconnects offer excellent sound for the money. Because they are unshielded they must be routed carefully. The unshielding is one reason for their great sound. 
Adcom dilema (GTP600 - GFA 5500)
add an adcom gda-600 or gda-700 d/a converter for better sound.