Pioneer PD-65 CDP. Bought it in 1991, now with a friend, still playing beautiful music.
Anti-Cables IC's - scarily closer to my Valhallas.
Anti-Cables IC's - scarily closer to my Valhallas.
Amazing ''Overachieving'' products...your pick?
I have owned both expensive gear (and I do mean expensive) and ''budget'' gear. Many components are mind-boggling on a price-paid versus performance ratio. Three of my favorites are:
1. The Bedini clarifier. This gizmo just plain works. You may like - or not - the difference it makes on your cd's. In my case, it clears up a lot of fog. The cheapest upgrade to ALL my cd's.
2. The Cayin TA-30 integrated amplifier . So much performance and flexibility for so little money. Put it up against anything up to 3 times the price, musically and from a build-quality perspective. Just plain amazing.
3. The Apple i-Pod Mini. Yes, even from in an audiophile application, playing cd's (not downloaded MP3's). You can snob it but you cannot ignore it.
What are YOUR picks ?
1. The Bedini clarifier. This gizmo just plain works. You may like - or not - the difference it makes on your cd's. In my case, it clears up a lot of fog. The cheapest upgrade to ALL my cd's.
2. The Cayin TA-30 integrated amplifier . So much performance and flexibility for so little money. Put it up against anything up to 3 times the price, musically and from a build-quality perspective. Just plain amazing.
3. The Apple i-Pod Mini. Yes, even from in an audiophile application, playing cd's (not downloaded MP3's). You can snob it but you cannot ignore it.
What are YOUR picks ?
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- 163 posts total
The challenge with any audio system is synergy. However, the second challenge is to maximize the "weakest" portion of your systm. Considering the cost the following candidates meet the criteria in my little rig. 1. Jolida 302B Highly modded by Underwood HiFi. Never heard one without the mods but with them -- oh my! The challenge is tube selection. I find that REAL Svetlanas (yes the old ones) are magic in this amp. Couple that with an entire Mullard NOS front end (ECC83s and the 12AT7 equivalents) and boy houwdy do you get bang for the buck. 2. The now nearly antique Audio Alchemy DTI Pro32 -- a jitter filter between your transport and whatever DAC you use. Now, because of age they can be had very reasonably. There is nothing in my system that I wouldn't replace -- except for this. 3. Pretty much ANY digital cable from Chris Sommovigio. I am currently using an Stereovox HDXV and a Stereolab XV2. Bang for the buck is defined here. Actually considering getting his new cable (remarkably less expensive new than the two I currently own) that is reported to be superior to these older products. 4. This one is a very narrow audience achiever. I have a Muse Model 2+ DAC. It manages HDCD output (as does the Audio Alchemy piece) and renders it what it was intended to be -- amazingly musical. My next quest is to identify the weakest link in my current system and upgrade it. In the meantime -- the synergy of each of these pieces -- along with the other stuff not mentioned -- is wonderful. |
Parasound Z amp How many amps at any cost have: * S/N ratio of 116db * Damping factor >400 * Slew rate 90V/u sec? |
- 163 posts total