Please help - Impotence problem

sorry sorry sorry - i'm bush league, i'm a novice at best...

... i spoke too soon. my entire system had all new cables and speaker wires and they just weren't broken in yet. at this point, this is by far the best system i've ever owned. it's too good because i'm hearing how badly so many of my recordings are. a friend (a hardcore audiophile for about 20 years now) came over with his reference cds and said he never realized how crappy they were until listening on my new setup. when we put in some primo stuff we sat listening with our mouths open like morons. (i turned him into a coltrane fanatic in one session.) every day things are getting better; smearing has gone, the treble has eased up (although not fully) the bass is unlike anytihng i've ever had, solo instruments like coltrane's sax (on the right recording) sound like they're in the room when turned up at live levels and i never thought a home system could play so loudly w/o distortion.

i might finally be happy. not satisfied, but happy.

i never had a full replacement of cables before so i never really understood burn-in but i gotta say, new cables sound like shit and can scare the living hell out of you when you first hear them. i thought at first i had connected my crossover incorrectly the system sounded so poorly. and the cleaner power in LA at 3am makes all the difference in the world.

i'm glad i didn't call the guy who sold me these waveforms and tell him what i was all geared up for...phew. a guy could get shot for much less in los angeles.

thanks to all for the help.

Jeez, about time Dennis.

*****

Does it sound good?

It does sound good.

Are we convinced?

We are convinced.

*****

Also what's up with your TT, no phono preamp?

Dekay, dont be convinced too quickly. i keep speaking too soon. i guess the break-in is still happening because every day one thing gets better but another aspect gets worse. so far, overall the system is doing more things right than other systems i've owned but it's not doing everything better. it's a total trip getting up each day and listening to the changes.

the big issue i have right now is that the system is laid back and i think that's not going to prove a funtion of the cables. i'm not crazy about laid back systems. i like the music more upfront and i guess that's why i was an acoustat junkie for so long. time to start playing with tube rolling. this is about preference now, not a problem in the system. i had a friend over who flipped out and said this was the best my gear ever sounded and another one who said he MUCH preferred my old Acoustat 4 setup. what can you do?

i also have figured out that coincidentally most of the recordings i listened to first with this new setup were recorded out of phase and since i had the sa-11 modified there's no way to switch the phase back. this, combined with the fresh cabling, is what really had me panicking originally.

my tt should arrive soon, then i'll get down to business.

happy listening!

Hi Dennis:

You mentioned RCA 5692's (which are said to be mellow/laid back. I found a pair of Tung-Sol 6SN7GT's (rectangular plates) that might bring things up a bit (use them in combination with the RCA's). I will take them to Armetron first and have them tested to make certain that they are OK.

I noticed that Ed Sawyer has been cleaning out his 6SN7 collection (you might ask him for some suggestions as I assume that he has tried most types).

Oh, and I overheard your two friend's (@ Starbucks), detailing/planning how they were going to "F" with your mind. Now their conversation makes perfect sense.

david, you're too generous. before you bring them to amatron i should make sure that i can get away with two 6sn7's and not 4. the circut has changed in my sa-11 and i can't remember if it's two or four in the output.

and nobody needs to f* with my mind about my system, i've proved an expert at doing it all by myself!