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  1. 2

    DAC recommendations

    WIth a budget of $5K - $25K, my first and foremost suggestion is Bricasti M21 Platinum. You get four modes of processing: Sigma-Delta, R2R, DoP and DSD decoded in analog (as Sony intended). Each mode has its expected strengths but not so much the downsides. All modes sound organic and natural...
  2. 2

    Holo Audio May KTE Dac

    My comparison notes result from evaluating 16/44 - 24/192 via Qobuz. Also Tidal 16/44 and MQA. The streamer is Auralic Aries G2.1; note that MQA is decoded via proprietary, non-MQA code emulating MQA. While I have Roon, the control software used is Auralic Lightning DS. Upsampling in the Aries...
  3. 2

    Holo Audio May KTE Dac

    I have a long history of preferring R2R DACs over delta-sigma and in that context I have had a Holo May KTE in for extended demo with extended comparison to the Bricasti M1LE-Gold and Bricasti M21. The M1LE-Gold is sigma-delta only, whereas the M21 gives you four processing choices: sigma-delta...
  4. 2

    The best 5 speakers that you have had

    1/ Zu Definition 6 2/ Zu Druid 6 3/ Zu Definition 4 4/ BBC LS3/5A "doubled" ala the Absolute Sound Double Advent System from 1975 5/ Tie between Quad ESL "57" and KLH Nine Honorable Mention: ProAc EBS Phil
  5. 2

    Clearaudio TT2

    Yes, Clearaudio moved to a stabilized duo-bearing design, for whatever reason, but the principle of a low-friction, low-mass, low-friction, purely mechanical linear arm remains. It's all traceable to work Lou started in the late 1970s before I met him. -Phil
  6. 2

    Clearaudio TT2

    BASED on? Was the Opus 3 linear arm around in 1982? Not that I recall. I can tell you Lou had no idea of an Opus 3. -Phil
  7. 2

    Clearaudio TT2

    I worked with Lou Souther back in 1980-83 to refine the materials and design execution of the Souther Linear Arm, which Clearaudio later acquire. It was a chance meeting, Lou and me, but the collaboration was successful, as his design at that point was glitchy and not market-ready, but held...
  8. 2

    47 Labs Koma

    As follow-up, I was then asked about Michael Fremer's negative review from 2008. My response to that: First, I don't take Michael Fremer seriously and largely never have. He's right sometimes and often fraudulent. A self-made celebrity more than an actual authority on musical authenticity from...
  9. 2

    47 Labs Koma

    Here's my public answer to a private query: I did have a chance to hear the 47 Labs Koma some years back. If one of my modded Luxman PD444s bit the dust, I'd try to get a Koma. It's a sublime turntable, absent the "laziness" of most belt drives, it has drive more like a Direct Drive or Idler...
  10. 2

    The best 5 speakers that you have had

    1/Zu Definition 6 2/Zu Definition 4 3 Zu Druid 6 4/ Quad ESL "57" 5/ ProAc EBS Phil
  11. 2

    Clearaudio TT2

    I have plenty of information on the Clearaudio TT2, because I worked with Lou Souther on the final development phase of the Souther Linear Tonearm 40+ years ago to refine the design, get it working and launch his initial marketing. Lou later sold his design, patents and business to Clearaudio...
  12. 2

    Tesla solar and Powerwall to power audio system?

    I have had many correspondences and f2f conversations with people who had micro-inverter installations who nevertheless had the same RF noise issues I had with a master inverter. Solar panels can emit bothersome RFI regardless what inverter type is used. Whether a given sound system component is...
  13. 2

    Tesla solar and Powerwall to power audio system?

    In my experience, micro-inverter vs. master inverter is not much of an issue, in part because the master inverter is usually many feet or yards away mounted on a side wall of your house. For example, I have a master-inverter. I have two hifis. The primary hifi directly under the solar panels is...
  14. 2

    Tesla solar and Powerwall to power audio system?

    Experiences are varied. I know of installations with micro-inverters that are noisy and some with large inverter installations that are quiet. Hifi system variables are part of the equation. I eventually solved my problem by finding SET amps that do not function as antennas for the RF noise, and...
  15. 2

    Tesla solar and Powerwall to power audio system?

    Seatrope, There is quite extensive evidence that solar panels alone emit EMF, though it's neither dangerous nor extensive. Many SET amps happen to be perfect antennas for it, via their inputs, especially if overhead. The inverters arrangement is certainly aggrativive. In my case; the...
  16. 2

    Ron’s New System

    For the record, I've never been a fan of massed-tetrode/pentode high power tube amps, and that goes further true for VTL. Plus it's stuffed with today's generic blah Russian mass-produced KT tubes. That said, listening to Ron's temporary system via Magnepans last week showed the objective...
  17. 2

    WestminsterLab Re-imagining Amplification

    First, understand that I am not the person auditioning these amps for possible purchase. I'm a requested 2nd/3rd/4th opinion. I have not said that cables could not make a difference, only that for someone auditioning many amps, the system context is best kept consistent, and that includes a...
  18. 2

    WestminsterLab Re-imagining Amplification

    Understand that I don't have only Absolare amps and have plenty of experience with tube and solid state amp topologies over more than 50 years in hifi. I've never gravitated to "warmish" amplification, tube or solid state, nor do I think amplifiers should be designed to "sound like an SE tube...
  19. 2

    WestminsterLab Re-imagining Amplification

    Three WBF members, including me, recently listened to the Westminster monoblocks and preamp on Fyne F1-12 speakers, with the digital source being MSB. While opinions about the WML electronics varied somewhat among the three of us, I think it is accurate to say that none of us experienced the...
  20. 2

    Holo Audio May KTE Dac

    Holo Audio explicitly asked me not to judge it until at least 500 hours of use, so your experience matches the maker's. -Phil
  21. 2

    Holo Audio May KTE Dac

    One correction. I got into the box today. I was sent a Holo May KTE, not a Spring v3 KTE....
  22. 2

    Holo Audio May KTE Dac

    To more thoroughly grok what Bricasti is doing with DSD, it's worth noting the manual for the M3 (the Bricasti guys are engineers, not writers...emphasis mine): "...DSD playback and the M3 "DSD playback with the M3 is done via DoP when using the AES or SPDIF inputs, and Native or DoP for USB...
  23. 2

    Tesla solar and Powerwall to power audio system?

    Also, I have not seen any solar + batteries installation that routes the combined DC outputs from panels and batteries through a single inverter. At least one of the reasons for this is that the battery needs its own inverter/rectifier to be chargeable from the grid, whereas the solar panels...
  24. 2

    Tesla solar and Powerwall to power audio system?

    Whether Sun Power or anyone else builds the inverter into the battery chassis or keeps it external, there has to be an inverter for DC>AC. -Phil
  25. 2

    Tesla solar and Powerwall to power audio system?

    I have solar panels + two Tesla Powerwall batteries. Whether your solar array uses micro-inverters or gangs all the panel outputs into one inverter, you will end up with a second inverter for the Tesla Powerwall(s). Depending where you live and the seasons, solar can easily charge the Powerwall...
  26. 2

    The Sound of Analog, the Sound of Digital

    Understand I am not advocating Reed. I have experience with the Brinkmanns. I have heard the 47 Labs Koma. I have no experience with the Reed; I cited it as a candidate conceptually because the design *should* compete well if executed well. I take your comments on the Reed seriously. Now I am...
  27. 2

    The Sound of Analog, the Sound of Digital

    Poor Yamaha...
  28. 2

    What's Spinning Tonight?

    Harry Belafonte Sings the Blues. 1956. Tube consoles, everyone in the studio at once. No multitracking. Listen to the immediacy, transparency and bursty honey of "losing Hand" track 2. The whole album is great but that cut... Phil
  29. 2

    The Sound of Analog, the Sound of Digital

    Always happy to answer your pinpoint questions, Ron! -Phil
  30. 2

    The Sound of Analog, the Sound of Digital

    Yeah, I used to do this back in the '80s with a Tandberg TCD-440A and a ReVox B77 at high speed. It certainly was a sufficient method to augment audio memory and drive immediate, direct comparisons into the mix of evaluations heading toward judgment. Phil

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