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tomwipf

Responses from tomwipf

Cardas Customer Service is Amazing!
It's nice to hear about your positive experience with Cardas. Having owned a Clear Beyond XLR loom and Clear speaker cables, I can say it's the best of the regular brands.(say AudioQuest, Transparent) I've since moved on to Argento which is in a c... 
Relaxed/Analog sounding DAC for under $10k (used or new)
I believe Ayre Acoustics QX-5 meets all of your criteria. It's made me a better listener with all the timbre. The clock is 5mm from the dac chip so they do things right rather than sell you additional expensive boxes which don't do as good of a jo... 
PREAMPLIFIER UPGRADE QUESTION
If you want a wide open sound, Ayre uses ZERO feedback, fully balanced and can be found for very reasonable prices used. I started with a KX-5 Twenty used and liked it so much I upgraded to a KX-R Twenty used. Their products are so well designed t... 
Power cords: does length matter?
I hesitated on Argento 2m and Furutech 1.8m PCs because I liked the 1m AudioQuest Hurricane keeping the mess down in my tight space. Cardas i/c & speaker cables are my current reference but I'm an AyreHead and not a fan of ferrite so I can't d... 
Back to the DAC
Used QX-5 are less than $5k which I will never understand. Ayre Codex, QB9 are even less.  
What the Best Dac have you heard or owned. How could you tell it was that good.
The timbre, impulse and transient information coming out of my Ayre Acoustics QX-5 Twenty ($15,000) with L5xe is fantastic. Horns, voices or anything else in the midrange sounds rich, relaxed and has information around the notes normally missed in... 
T+A's new R 2500 R integrated amp
I know you already bought but if I were buying an $18k integrated, it'd be an Ayre Acoustics AX-5 Twenty. Full disclosure I own KX-R Twenty, MX-R Twenty, QX-5 and L5xe. For me it's Ayre Acoustics or nothing!  
Back to the DAC
I sold my $20,950 Bartok Apex, bought a $15,000 Ayre Acoustics QX-5 Twenty (full, ethernet and usb options) and couldn't be happier. The QX-5 is better in every way. It's an easy choice. The timbre(transient information) and bass coming out of the... 
Best DAC’S $5k to $15k
I sold my $20,950 Bartok Apex, bought a $15,000 Ayre QX-5 Twenty (full, ethernet and usb options) and couldn't be happier. The QX-5 is better in every way. It's an easy choice. The timbre(transient information) and bass coming out of the QX-5 is e... 
Putting an end to the audio cable debate! Part 1
Once everybody has $3k/meter retail to drop on a loom of ICs the debate may come to end.My ears seem to be the most sensitive to IC changes vs power cords & speaker wire. I sold a AQ Fire cable to buy a longer one. While I had a Water between ... 
How important is the pre-amp?
I took out my Ayre KX-5 Twenty a few times to test if the cost is justified. I immediately put it back in with a dCS Bartok & Lumin T2 (demo) going to an Ayre VX-5 Twenty. My experiment to omit the preamp backfired as I ended up buying an Ayre... 
The Music Room
I just had a positive transaction buying cables from Nick @ TMR. They turned down my AMR dacs but there's no hard feelings. Thank you, Nick! 
High-pass line filter to relieve main speakers from low frequency
Vandersteen also makes a high pass amp but I doubt you'll like the price.https://www.vandersteen.com/products/m5-hpa 
High-pass line filter to relieve main speakers from low frequency
It lools like you guys are looking for an active crossover. Per ocd hifi guy - check out Marchand. - https://www.marchandelec.com/electronic-crossovers.htmlMany folk discourage. I have limited knowledge but I believe crossovers cause phase shift. ... 
Lumin T2 impressions?
If you like the T2, I would recommend the X1 or Bartok. The switching power supply is a deal breaker for me despite the favorable price. It doesn't get there. Happy listening :)