Zachzib: That was quite a reply you gave ! Let me deal with your points, one by one. First, in general, from the overall tone of your response, I may have hit a sensitive chord with you about your own equipment. To get to specifics, no, I do not consider those owners who have spoken on this thread to be a bunch of "mid fi hacks". These are your words, not mine. In fact, I very much respect most of these Audiogoners' opinions. The only ones I do not respect are the wise crackers with nothing constructive to say. My "conscious/unconscious" reference is sincerely not designed to stoke the fire of contemptibility---another facsimile word of yours. At one time or another, all of us have not been fully conscious of certain goings on in our eveyday experiences. That's not necessarily a sin. I've been with people who have made me aware of things I hadn't noticed before, and so have you....As to the matter of glare, have you ever heard a sound that causes you to wince, and on repeated hearing may cause you to anticipate it with tenseness ? Though somewhat different and more painful, it's like having the dentist hit a nerve while drilling your teeth. Some components produce sounds that "hit the nerve", and with the kind of frequency that makes the listening experience more of a nervous than enjoyable one....The problem I hear is pretty much in the upper midrange. It's as if somewhat of a hump or overemphasis resides there. It's not a totally overbearing one, but a significant one nonetheless. I hear it on various record labels, and especially with horns and high strings in unison. With my previous preamp, this was not a factor, nor was the upper midrange deadened.....You asked if I have tried other equipment. Yes, and I intend to try more. I certainly have not thrown in the towel. As I said several times before, I consider the Cortese to be a superb sounding unit, the present issue notwithstanding......It seems to me that it is with the Divas that I hit the most sensitive nerve. You as much admit to this in your response. Zachzd, They were, and,I believe, still are, the finest speakers I have ever had the pleasure of owning, and I've owned quite a few (Kefs, Acoustats, Nestorovics, Martin Logans, to name some). My jaw remained dropped on the floor for so long that it became sore. Like you, I tried everything with them in an effort to deal with that upper midrange bump. Alas, I was unable to. But, I'm curious as to how they now sound to you. If you've got the sound to where you enjoy it, and I hope you do, I greatly envy you. Oh brother ! That sense of huge stage, the power, the marvelous low level underpinning---absolutely stupendous !.....As to my having "a sense of pride in finding flaws where no one else has before" (again, your words), that is not my intent, and could not be further from the truth. Man to man, imagine the kind of frustration you already alluded to with your Apogees. How do you think I feel with my situation ? Any different from you ? Yet, you seem to find my feelings in my situation to be unacceptable. Haven't you and I been experiencing essentially the same kind of frustration ?.....With regard to your next point, I never intended to imply that my homemade absorbtion panels were on the same level as those produced by professionals. They just work fine for me. And the assertion that I think I have "golden ears while everyone else has lead ears" is yours, not mine.....As to tube isolation---yes, you have a good point. I will try Herbie's......And, when you say that neither Maril555 nor I will "fix" our problems by throwing one set of tubes after another, you are probably right; but, at least, I have to learn that on my own.....Other comments from you: 'be sure to blame the preamp" and "You picks your poison." I won't respond to those bitter, misplaced statements. Rather, my wish is for you to return to your Apogee sound system in the honest hope that you thoroughly enjoy it. If you have something positive to tell me about those Apogees, I'd love to hear it. Take care for now, and I wish you the best of luck.
