ghdprentice

Responses from ghdprentice

New Speakers $10K -$20K
In the May/June issue of The Absolute Sound Alan Taffel talks about compact reference systems… which addresses, a little,  the close to the wall speaker problem. He mentioned the Wilson Duette as about the only choice when up against the wall. You... 
Looking for preamp which is good at BOTH single-ended AND balanced output
My equipment is Audio Research. It supports both single ended and balanced. The designs are balance, ARC recommends using balanced. I have compared both… the difference is just plain minuscule. The differences between different component brands or... 
New Speakers $10K -$20K
I have Sonus Fabre Amati Traditional. They are wonderful speakers and are placed center to a room roughly of the same size. They are gorgeous, although outside your price target. They fill the room with sound well.  
How to isolate turntable from footstep shake or vibration
The springs in the turntable are to isolate the turntable from higher frequency noise. Not footfalls and subwoofers. Typically the solution on floating floors  is to decouple it from the floor and use a wall mounted turntable shelf. 
TUBES
Elliot is correct. These tubes are small, they last multiple thousands of hours. Particularly when you first get into tubes it is a little disconcerting. It is power amps that have shorter a tube life. But with modern equipment even these are gett... 
Conrad Johnson vs Van Alst
Conrad Johnson makes outstanding high end audio gear. It is known for its excellent musicality, build quality, and will last a lifetime. This is the kind of gear worthy of the price. I worked with a friend to pick his out over 25 years ago. He sti... 
TUBES
Also, channels need to matched… so pairs, quads, need to be matched. There is a small charge to make sure the output is matched. 
Looking for preamp which is good at BOTH single-ended AND balanced output
I think the important thing is to buy the best possible preamp (with both)… the sound quality of the preamp is critical… in many ways the most important component in your system… the difference between the two in/outputs are likely to be small. Gi... 
Separate Amp for AV receiver
@millercarbon.  “The easiest way to correct a room with an AVR is to remove the AVR from the room. Massive improvement!”I am afraid he is absolutely correct. 
Can a speaker just die?
Loose wire inside? 
Tube vendors.
I get mine from The Tube Store. The first I tried, they seem to be pretty quick and reliable. I have ordered at least a half a dozen times. 
Old Amps that can still Kick Butt
@orgillian.Now that was a cost effective purchase! 
Songs for Discriminating Ears
Here are a few I use… for different reasons.Rebecca Pidgeon: Spanish HarlemDowntown Higashi: Hiroshima Electrified II: YelloRachmaninov: Vocaise OP. 34 No. 14Wicked Game: Chris IsaakRiverside: AmericaBlack Queen (live): Crosby, Nash, and Young - 4... 
What is the sound level of Your Listening Room?
@wolfie62 Incorrect if you have a good system. The noise floor is critical in hearing nuances in most music.Mine is 23… but I have to hold my breath. A breath takes it into the thirties. I would imagine late Sunday night at midnight I could find a... 
upgrades
Sounds like first rate upgrades. The NAT sounds like a good choice (I read a review)… the 805’s should be a great upgrade to the Thiels. Yes, a couple little subs would really round it out well. We have 5 x 805’s + 2 800 series subs for our home t...