2. amps-preamps
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Is this ludicrous or not?

Did any of you GON members happen to read Six Moon's review,written by Six Moon's creator and resident audiophile guru Srajan Ebaen,regarding Red Rock Audio's Renaissance monoblock amps that sell for $38,750.00/pr? Ebaen,stopped his formal review when he couldn't elminate in his words,"a very belligerent ground loop". However even before this stated problem, he described the sound of these amps as,"berefit of tension,energy,color,communicativeness,or any true sense of music". Ebaen, also stated that a,"$999.00 Onix/Melody SP3 amp was superior". Now here's the fun part.By applying Walker's Extreme SST to all the tube pins the "veil" was removed and the energy emerged and unfolded.Walker is quoted as saying by using his Extreme SST that,"the amps went from being mediocre to bonafide super-amp magic".Now,I want to be totally fair,I use this product my self and find it to be quite good at adding that final resolution to my system. I also accept that a world class amp can be tweaked out to its ultimate performance with power cords and isolation devices.But would you spend $38,750.00 for a pair of amps that first sound inferior to an amp that costs less than $1000.00, and only after you use this tweak they become world class contenders! What does this say about the over all design flaws that are still there.I found this to be one of the most ludicrous reviews I have ever read. Notice I'm not attacking the statement that the amps improved after the tweak,but the ridiculous notion that anyone,in their right mind ,would spend close to 40 grand for a pair of amps and than be dependent on a $200.00 tweak to make them sound right! Thank goodness for that,"very belligerent ground loop",otherwise Srajan might have completed his review and loved these amps.It would be great if you GON members would share your opinions on this review,maybe I'm the crazy one.
teajay
eldartford
4,262 posts
 
Believe it or not, the geographic orientation of a tube amp might make a difference, good or bad, who knows. On my job, I was very surprised to discover that certain test measurements of a missile guidance system were affected by its orientation. We tend to forget that we live in the earth's magnetic field, and magnetic fields deflect beams of electrons.
boa2's avatar
boa2
1,551 posts
 
And I thought I was crazy, Eldartford, when the dealer pushed play on the Mephisto CDP, and the unit self-rotated towards...well, Audio Mecca, naturally.
larryken
537 posts
 
I think all of us are experienced enough to realize that magazine reviews are just for entertainment and nothing takes the place of our own set of ears...each of us is so unique in our tastes and hearing abilities that relying on a mag review is a sure fire guarantee to waste your dough...I get the biggest kick out of "Sam Tellig" who I wouldn't trust as far as I could throw...I stopped reading Stereophile years ago when I "woke up."
avguygeorge
2,300 posts
 
Pretty funny Boa2--- Anybody doubting the direction theory should take an older tv and place it on different walls.----This you could see. I'm not sure but I think they have done something to new tvs; to allow a tv to be placed on any wall. Most any tweek that works on a tv,also works on your audio,as well. Having gone thru a bunch of expensive power conditioners.---The best of my "bunch" improved both audio and video.
david12
1,454 posts
 
In a word, it is ludicrous, but lets not throw the baby out with the bathwater. We moved seamlessly from saying one review was crass, to the conclusion that all professional reviewers are dum/corrupt/lazy.
The point is, where does anybody start in looking for a new anything, be it car, condom, or CD player(please don't muddle up which of these items is which, by the way), your local Hi-Fi retailer, Pl..ease. You will probably get a 17 year old, who would'nt know a tube amp from a peanut butter sandwich. We all have to start somewhere and the magazines are as good a place as any. To be fair, most say, don't use our reviews as buying guides, but audition guides and that seems sensible. We might all say, use Audiogon as a guide, but a newbie has to stumble across it and that takes time. It took me 3 years, alright, I'm not very bright.
Interestingly, some of the Mags periodically fulminate about the user sites like Audio Asylum, Audiogon. That they are manipulated for commercial reasons and are populated by flat earth crazies(They may have a point there) Roy Gregory of Hi-Fi Plus recently had a little go and was most offended by the adverse comments from readers who enjoy the various sites. Who are we, humble readers, to seek advise from other sources.
There is nothing wrong with professional reviews, if you take them as audition guides, based on one persons point of view. All information sources have there drawbacks, you just need to understand that.
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