Jay,
You are merely ranting, sorry to say. I didn't want to say this before, but since you brought up the Rane, I will tell you that on my visit of Dec 23, I brought my tweaked Rane, bought from mrdecibel, and put it in place of the Pass preamp. The Rane was first used as a line stage with flat settings, no EQ at all. I asked Steve to listen to the Rane using his familiar recordings. He immediately said that the Rane was more forward, neutral and detailed than the Pass, but most of his customers would prefer the laid back and sweeter quality of the Pass. Then I adjusted the Rane several ways to illustrate effects on vocal tonality, and HF percussive transients. He said the experience was an eye opener. In an upcoming video when I bring all my components, I will reveal more. He suggested that I take the Rane to our audio repairman to get better caps, etc. I don't want to touch my precious Rane bought from mrdecibel, but I will take my original Rane to the repairman. I thanked Steve for his great idea.
YOU need to open your mind, listen for yourself just as Steve did, and stop your uninformed remarks about how a very cheap component can't be any good. I have praised your expensive equipment for their sonic qualities. Now it is time for you to show equal respect. BTW, I am one of Steve's doctors, and our friendship remains. How do you know any of your dealer/business contacts are really your friends?
It is true that I have diminished HF hearing, but that is not why I boost the HF. I used the same settings I use at home for Steve's system, and he agreed with me about the benefits of the EQ the way I use it. That's what he heard with his ears.
Whether I buy the speakers is NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS. Even if I don't end up buying the GTA, my analysis is truthful because I have no hidden agenda. You can listen to the videos yourself, be honest with what you hear, and tell us what you hear. I asked the others here to do the same. If some people prefer warm, rolled off sound, that is their privilege. I hope that this is still a free country after Jan 20.
Most important, I believe that since you value clarity, although maybe not as much as I do, that you would benefit by considering the GTA speaker with 2-6 subs. I spent most of my time listening to it without the subs. I heard excellent mid bass from the panels alone. I brought a recording that has soft 36 Hz bass. It was there, although we both agreed that subs are necessary for low bass. This system does everything better than anything I have heard in my life. I told Steve and will level with you here, that I am not sure that the GTA quite equals my combined Audiostatic 240/Enigmacoustics Sopranino super tweeters for clarity at low/moderate SPL's. Of course, for large scale music, the GTA kills my speakers for dynamics, bass extension, realistic imaging. My speakers may be superior for small scale music clarity. I will know more when I bring my components to his house next Wed. I was still impressed by how even the euphonic Lampi and Pass still showed the superiority of the speaker compared to anything currently available. I can only imagine how your SOTA source and electronics would show off the GTA + subs.
Steve is an honorable audio professional who respects his customers' needs for thorough evaluation, and routinely welcomes his distant customers to bring anything they want to his system. Most of the dealers I have met are nowhere near this degree of professionalism and true caring about customers' desires.
I intend this post to be friendly and helpful, not as a troll. I respect your business goals and don't interfere with that. You can cultivate customers who share your approach. In addition, I sincerely hope you can appreciate the great accomplishments of the designer who I believe has the best speaker for nearly every sonic criteria, and one day seriously consider it. I am not getting any commissions for sales. I just want to share truth with people who share my passions.
You are merely ranting, sorry to say. I didn't want to say this before, but since you brought up the Rane, I will tell you that on my visit of Dec 23, I brought my tweaked Rane, bought from mrdecibel, and put it in place of the Pass preamp. The Rane was first used as a line stage with flat settings, no EQ at all. I asked Steve to listen to the Rane using his familiar recordings. He immediately said that the Rane was more forward, neutral and detailed than the Pass, but most of his customers would prefer the laid back and sweeter quality of the Pass. Then I adjusted the Rane several ways to illustrate effects on vocal tonality, and HF percussive transients. He said the experience was an eye opener. In an upcoming video when I bring all my components, I will reveal more. He suggested that I take the Rane to our audio repairman to get better caps, etc. I don't want to touch my precious Rane bought from mrdecibel, but I will take my original Rane to the repairman. I thanked Steve for his great idea.
YOU need to open your mind, listen for yourself just as Steve did, and stop your uninformed remarks about how a very cheap component can't be any good. I have praised your expensive equipment for their sonic qualities. Now it is time for you to show equal respect. BTW, I am one of Steve's doctors, and our friendship remains. How do you know any of your dealer/business contacts are really your friends?
It is true that I have diminished HF hearing, but that is not why I boost the HF. I used the same settings I use at home for Steve's system, and he agreed with me about the benefits of the EQ the way I use it. That's what he heard with his ears.
Whether I buy the speakers is NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS. Even if I don't end up buying the GTA, my analysis is truthful because I have no hidden agenda. You can listen to the videos yourself, be honest with what you hear, and tell us what you hear. I asked the others here to do the same. If some people prefer warm, rolled off sound, that is their privilege. I hope that this is still a free country after Jan 20.
Most important, I believe that since you value clarity, although maybe not as much as I do, that you would benefit by considering the GTA speaker with 2-6 subs. I spent most of my time listening to it without the subs. I heard excellent mid bass from the panels alone. I brought a recording that has soft 36 Hz bass. It was there, although we both agreed that subs are necessary for low bass. This system does everything better than anything I have heard in my life. I told Steve and will level with you here, that I am not sure that the GTA quite equals my combined Audiostatic 240/Enigmacoustics Sopranino super tweeters for clarity at low/moderate SPL's. Of course, for large scale music, the GTA kills my speakers for dynamics, bass extension, realistic imaging. My speakers may be superior for small scale music clarity. I will know more when I bring my components to his house next Wed. I was still impressed by how even the euphonic Lampi and Pass still showed the superiority of the speaker compared to anything currently available. I can only imagine how your SOTA source and electronics would show off the GTA + subs.
Steve is an honorable audio professional who respects his customers' needs for thorough evaluation, and routinely welcomes his distant customers to bring anything they want to his system. Most of the dealers I have met are nowhere near this degree of professionalism and true caring about customers' desires.
I intend this post to be friendly and helpful, not as a troll. I respect your business goals and don't interfere with that. You can cultivate customers who share your approach. In addition, I sincerely hope you can appreciate the great accomplishments of the designer who I believe has the best speaker for nearly every sonic criteria, and one day seriously consider it. I am not getting any commissions for sales. I just want to share truth with people who share my passions.