mcmanus
Responses from mcmanus
| Need Some Help Choosing an Integrated Amp I second the Almarro 318B - incredible value and bested my DK Designs MkII by a mile running ZU Druids. The case is like a piece of furniture. | |
| DK Design MK II as a preamp with Druid speakers? UPDATE - I got an Almarro 318B 6c33c set amp and it is some-kinda-wonderful with the Druids. It tames music that was harsh with the DK. The bass is more full (fat?) but with less punch or impact that before but I will happily trade that for the cl... | |
| Planar close to a rear wall? Quad for example? Magnepan MC-1's are made to mount on the wall. I am running a pair on a wall that frames a picture window in front of my desk. I have the speakers about 5 feet apart and 4 feet from my listening position. Sandwiched between the speakers and the wa... | |
| iMac based system -- any advice? I use the optical out jack on my Mac. My DAC only accepts digital coax so I run the signal through a Monarchy DIP (about $120 used) to get into my DAC. I agree that your DAC is the key. | |
| Looking for a great DAC for my Airport Express.... I tried both the Scott Nixon and the Bel Canto DAC 2 from my Mac via toslink. The difference was night and day with the DAC 2 coming out way ahead. I put the DAC 2 up against my Resolution Audio Opus 21 and the Opus (at 3x the price) was noticeabl... | |
| A higher level than Mullard in tube quality? Thanks for so many great comments and tube suggestions. I read the enlightening "Joe's tube Lore", thanks Sbank. I think I will call Andy at Vintage Tube Services and see if he can put together a sampler of used (inexpensive) tubes for me. Then I ... | |
| Amp to Use with Magnepan MC1 In my experience, you have "mass consumer" products that peak with Denon, and then Rotel gear generally in the $800 - $1,200 range used. Then you move to mid-fi which is B&K and Arcam in the $1,500 to $2,500 range, used. I just moved to B&... | |
| Anything better than Magnepan 1.6? I think the biggest upgrade you can make is to modify the 1.6's. From the factory, the Maggies are great speakers but they are built to a price point and that means they have to make trade offs. For a few hundred dollars in parts, you take the 1.6... | |
| AMP to drive MMGWs I ended up getting a Dk Design Lab Vs.1 MK II hybrid integrated amplifier -- I'll post the listening results. | |
| Magnepan evaluation I second Elevick -- finding the sweet spot is critical. It can be frustrating or fun -- depnding on how you approach it. Positioning the Maggies is, in many ways, like focusing a camera lens. It takes small adjustments and lots of listening. At fi... | |
| Airport Express compared to High End Transport. The AE uses mini-optical. My unit came with an optical cable and an adapter. I kept the adapter and use it on a VH Optocoupler. Keep in mind that the AE only has an optical jack so if your DAC does not have an optical input, you will need to get t... | |
| Playing Websites Through My System The AE does not have a digital coax out which I found out AFTER I picked by DAC so I had to buy a used Monarchy Upsampler and another cable for about $300 more. You can get an older Monarcy DIP for about $100 on th is site and a used cable for pro... | |
| Better sound quality than the I-pod? Whether you use an iPod or another unit, the quality of your sound is most easily enhanced by adding high quality accessories. You will get the most bang for the buck with higher quality headphones, then a separate headphone amp, and finally a bet... | |
| Playing Websites Through My System An Apple Airport Express (AE) is the best solution. You can transmit a wireless signal from the PC to your stereo so no need to run wires. There is a a $39 remote that works through the AE to control the music from your listening room. The Airport... | |
| Best Used Bang for Buck if I Finally SWITCH ? I use MS OFFICE alot as well. And with this software (and others) the same logic about the hardware applies. The Microsoft team that developed the MAC version admitted that it is a nicer program than the original MS version. It can be designed to ... |