jimmyblues1959
Responses from jimmyblues1959
| Thanks to Paul McGowan Not surprised that you heard a significant improvement going from the stereo Carver amplifier to the PS Audio Monoblock amplifiers. IMHO, a well designed mono amplifier will usually outperform a well designed stereo amplifier. Even if the diffe... | |
| Stereo or monoblocks Back in the 1990s I was using a Naim based system 72/Hicap/250, and decided to try a pair of Naim’s 135 monoblocks (based on the 250). The differences were noticeable immediately. The Naim house sound remained but all sonic aspects improved. Most ... | |
| Were you an audiophile in the 1980s and 1990s? In the 1980's, I began my journey in Hi-End audio with an original Rega Planar 2, a Belles I amplifier, Belles I preamplifier, and a pair of 15 ohm teak Rogers LS3/5A's. It was a very musical system that I still remember fondly to this very ... | |
| CD TRANSPORT THAT MAKES AN AUDIBLE DIFFERENCE I use an Onkyo C7030 as a transport with an Audio By Van Alstine Insight multibit dac. IMHO the combination sounds quite good. Bought the C7030 new and the AVA used for a total cost of about $500.. | |
| Were you an audiophile in the 1980s and 1990s? IMHO, both Gordon and Harry played a valuable role in contributing to the betterment of audio products and most certainly the creation of the Hi-End audio industry that exists today. I think we can also thank Julian Hirsch of Hirsch Houck Labs ... | |
| Kenwood KA-8100 integrated Amp Yes, this old Japanese gear from the 1970's was built to last. I also have a Marantz 2230 receiver that I received from my parents as a 16th Birthday gift in the mid 1970's. Another time capsule that's been sitting in a cabinet for the past 4... | |
| Kenwood KA 8100 as a pre amp? Using my KA8100 as a preamp with a pair of Antique Sound Lab Wave 25 tube mono blocks, and it sounds quite good. Have had the KA-8100 since 1978 when I purchased it new. It really is a nice piece of gear. | |
| Kenwood KA-8100 integrated Amp Bought my Kenwood KA8100 new in 1978. Used it for about 5 years of light use, then gave it to my folks to use in a living room system where it sat in an enclosed cabinet for the last 40 years. I doubt that it has more than 100 hours on it since ... | |
| How hot is hot when moving from class a/b to to a or tubes? My last pure class A speaker amplifier was a 1987 Classe Audio DR3 VHC. It was designed by David Reich (hence the DR prefix). The VHC stood for very high current. The amplifier was a work of art that weighed in at just over 100 pounds. It cost cl... | |
| What's the best EL84 amp? +1 on the Leak Stereo 20. Had one in the mid 1990’s and used it to run a pair of 15 OHM Rogers LS3/5A’s. System was a Naim CDI, Nac 72/Hicap/ Nap 250. Used to alternate between the Nap 250 and Leak Stereo 20. The Stereo 20 really synergized nicely... | |
| How long do speakers last? As for the question regarding how long speakers can last, I have a pair of 40 + year old KEF Reference Series Model 101 British monitors, as well as a pair of original Linn Kans from 1987 that are still going strong. I also have a 50 year old pair... | |
| Linn Audio I remember listening to a Linn Naim system back in the mid 1980’s that was quite impressive. I liked it so much that I eventually put a system together based on some of their gear. However, I got caught up in gear cycling via the original Audiomar... | |
| Takedown of pricey servers, streamers OCD HiFi guy I’ve been using Amazon Fire tablets for streaming audio for a few years now. My Amazon Fire HD10 and Fire7 sound great with the outboard dacs and headphone amps that I use them with. As such, I see no need to upgrade to a more expensive server, wh... | |
| CD or Streaming... am I missing out? Streaming just makes sense. Especially since an inexpensive tablet can be used for quality streaming via a quality outboard dac and headphone amplifier. I use Amazon Fire HD10s and a Fire 7 for streaming audio, and am amazed at how good high qua... | |
| Building new system starting with power amp. What would you choose ? A pair of Classe DR3 VHC amplifiers used in monoblock configuration gives 100 wattsof Class A power per channel. These were designed to drive the notoriously inefficientApogee Scintilla at its 1 ohm setting. A used pair of DR3 VHC's should cost ... |