What Equipment in Your Rack not reviewed by TAS, Stereophile, etc?

astrotoy

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Back in the very old days, many of us bought our hi-fi equipment based on visiting B&M stores and getting recommendations from dealers. Then came the hi-fi magazines and their recommendations which guided many of us. Then the internet on-line magazines and the print magazines with formal reviewers. Now we have a proliferation of comments on forums, including informal reviews, and more formal reviews and comparisons.

Looking at your current equipment, what are the pieces that you have which have not been reviewed formally, and if not, how did you decided to buy it? Also could you include equipment that has been formally reviewed. You can note if you bought it independent or in spite of the the review.

Thanks, Larry

I'll start:

Herron 360 Preamp - never reviewed. I have bought Herron preamps since the early 90s, upgrading every few years when Keith changes models.
Herron VTPH-2A phono pre - never reviewed. See comment on Herron above.
Cary 2A3 Signature monoblock amps - never reviewed. Bought the pair 15 years ago - wanted a pair of SET amps for several years.
Pacific Microsonics Model Two ADAC - never reviewed. Bought - actually had my consultant find one - 8 years ago after a shootout. Really hard to find. A pro piece of equipment, not designed for the consumer market.
Ampex ATR-102 R2R - never reviewed. Pro machines bought used after restoration. Recommended by sound engineer friends. Wanted to be able to play 1/4' and 1/2' tapes and copy tapes (have two of them)
Bottlehead balanced phono pre with variable EQ - never reviewed. Had custom made by Bottlehead for my vinyl ripping project.
512 Engineering/Marutani Symmetric Power Unit - never reviewed. Mentioned in TAS/Stereophile show reviews. Tested prototypes and bought one of the first production models in December 2017.
512 Engineering interconnects - never reviewed. Custom built by Scott Rust.

Reviewed:
Doshi 3.0 Tape prepro (in Positive Feedback, I think that is all). Buzz on internet and emailing friends.
Lampizator Golden Gate (in some on-line pubs) Buzz on internet and talking to friend who has one.
Avantgarde Duo Speakers - reviewed extensively. Bought used in 2003 to match my SET amps - still main speakers
Velodyne DD-18 Subwoofer - reviewed extensively - Bought used in 2010 - still main subwoofer
Conrad Johnson MET-1 mch preamp - sort of review by HP in TAS a decade ago
VPI Classic 3 TT with Soundsmith Zephyr II cartridge and Miyajima Zero mono cartridge - reviewed in print and on line
NADAC mch DAC - reviewed Stereophile, TAS? Postive Feedback - use for mch files
Oppo 105- reviewed extensively
 

Mike Lavigne

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the only gear I use that has been formally reviewed in print are my darTZeel pre 18NS and 458 amps, my Clearaudio GFSv2 cart, and my NVS tt. I did own the 18NS and NVS tt prior to the reviews.

the MSB Select II dac has been mentioned in print with comments, the standard Durand Telos tonearm (w/wood arm wand) was reviewed but my Sapphire Telos not even mentioned that I have seen.

otherwise none of my gear has been reviewed. -3- Studer A-820 RTR tape decks, King Cello tape repro, SGM digital Music Server, MM7 Evolution Acoustics speakers, Tripoint Troy Sig and Elite, Entreq Silver Telos, Poseidon, and (3) Atlantic Minimus, Equi=tech 10WQ power grid isolation transformer, none of my signal, power, or grounding cables have been reviewed. Taiko Tana/Daiza/TS-140 and TS-150 anti-vibration units have not been reviewed.
 

LL21

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Dec 26, 2010
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Reviewed
- Zanden 4-box digital
- CJ GAT 2 preamp
- Gryphon Colosseum Amp
- Wilson X1/Grand Slamms
- Velodyne DD18+
- HRS & Stillpoints - Various
- Sennheiser 650/Arcam rHead

Not Reviewed? (All these brands have been reviewed...but not the exact model?)
- TA Opus MM2 & Gen5 Cables
- Tripoint, Entreq, Artesania, EAT - Various
- PAD, Gryphon, Sablon - Various
 

microstrip

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May 30, 2010
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From my signature:

Reviewed

DCS Vivaldi 2.0 stack, ARC Phono 3, Lamm ML1.2 Ref, Lamm L2ref, Crystal Dreamline ICs, TA XL digital, TA XL gen V power cables, CenterStage footers and Nordost Qkore8's

Not reviewed
Soundlab A1 Px's (there is very little in common with the old model reviewed thirty years ago) , Stealth Dream speaker , EMT927, SME3012R.
 

JackD201

WBF Founding Member
Apr 20, 2010
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To date: CS Footers, M|B cables, Stromtanks :D

Reviewed eventually by the major mags: CH, Air Force One, CMS racks, Graham Elite

Purchased after pubblished review: SAT arm, Aurender W20

Speakers: Show reports only
 

bonzo75

Member Sponsor
Feb 26, 2014
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I grew up on the net where hifi is concerned, I never really started reading review mags except where links came up in searches of components I had already heard and got excited about. So even my purchases which had extensive reviews... Like Martin Logan, verity, audio research, etc... Came by after I heard them, and then I hadn't read a single review of them. And my future speakers will almost certainly be DIY mods which will not be reviewed. It is possible TT could be mods or obscure.

When I like something I hear I read about it on forums... Sometimes it leads to an audiophile's review, sometimes to a professional's. The review gives me leads to listen to other components... Say the audiophile preferred X to the component I was researching... So I seek out X for a listen... And so on... Till I stumble on something I like.

The only thing I bought without listening and based on review was the Ayon push pull amp... And in this case I did have some listening sessions with the reviewer before with other amps.
 

MasterChief

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Jun 26, 2012
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the only gear I use that has been formally reviewed in print are my darTZeel pre 18NS and 458 amps, my Clearaudio GFSv2 cart, and my NVS tt. I did own the 18NS and NVS tt prior to the reviews.

the MSB Select II dac has been mentioned in print with comments, the standard Durand Telos tonearm (w/wood arm wand) was reviewed but my Sapphire Telos not even mentioned that I have seen.

otherwise none of my gear has been reviewed....Entreq Silver Telos...have not been reviewed.

Stereotimes reviewed Entreq Silver Tellus. :)

http://www.v2.stereotimes.com/post/entreq-ground-boxes/
 
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astrotoy

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Thanks for all the replies so far. If possible, could you share what path led you to decide to buy the equipment that wasn't reviewed or that you didn't know about the review? For example, discussion from the internet, hearing at a dealer or a friend, previous experience with a manufacturer, seeing an ad in a magazine or online, etc.

Larry
 

LL21

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Dec 26, 2010
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Interestingly, i have NEVER bought a single piece of equipment because of a review:

- Zanden: randomly bumped into this piece because it was a trade-in. I had never even heard of Zanden before. I was thinking DCS at the time but could never convince myself to spend so much on even a 2nd hand piece. Walked in, saw the Zanden for 20 minutes and bought it 24 hours later...for more than 2x my budget for a 2nd hand Elgar Plus.

- CJ: heard the PV14L at the dealer's...never heard CJ before, and have been hooked ever since...upgraded in the family since.

- Gryphon: mainly based on other audiophiles/advice and hearing the DM100...upgraded in the family since.

- TA: bought it 2nd hand after other audiophiles had recommended it/then saw how many studios use it...upgraded in the family since.

- Wilson: randomly walked into the dealer's and heard the Wilson X1s...and never forgot it...and years later a pair came up 2nd hand and it took me 1 second to say interested and a week to agree the price/terms

I actually only read the reviews as a post-decision sanity check (ie, reliability, weird interactions, etc) and as part of learning about the equipment, watching for setup notes, etc.
 

Mike Lavigne

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Apr 25, 2010
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Thanks for all the replies so far. If possible, could you share what path led you to decide to buy the equipment that wasn't reviewed or that you didn't know about the review? For example, discussion from the internet, hearing at a dealer or a friend, previous experience with a manufacturer, seeing an ad in a magazine or online, etc.

Larry

the only gear I use that has been formally reviewed in print are my darTZeel pre 18NS and 458 amps, my Clearaudio GFSv2 cart, and my NVS tt. I did own the 18NS and NVS tt prior to the reviews.

the MSB Select II dac has been mentioned in print with comments, the standard Durand Telos tonearm (w/wood arm wand) was reviewed but my Sapphire Telos not even mentioned that I have seen.

otherwise none of my gear has been reviewed. -3- Studer A-820 RTR tape decks, King Cello tape repro, SGM digital Music Server, MM7 Evolution Acoustics speakers, Tripoint Troy Sig and Elite, Entreq Silver Tellus, Poseidon, and (3) Atlantic Minimus, Equi=tech 10WQ power grid isolation transformer, none of my signal, power, or grounding cables have been reviewed. Taiko Tana/Daiza/TS-140 and TS-150 anti-vibration units have not been reviewed.

in the case of the darTZeel, even though it was reviewed, I bought my first dart 108 amp in 2005, after hearing it at my friend Jonathan's home. I then tried it in my system and loved it. as far as the preamp I had the original prototype in my room both for the original version and then 9 years later for the Mk2. with the 458's I also had the prototype 'ugly duckling' in room prior to ever hearing the full production version. so the reviews were not a factor.

MSB Select II I heard at shows 4 times prior to purchase. the SGM Server was brought to my home by one of the owners of SGM and left for me to try.

NVS tt; I had the original prototype in my room, and purchased one of the first. Durand Tonearms; Joel Durand used my room for some testing so I had prototypes of the Telos in my room.

Evolution Acoustics speakers; I heard the pre-prototype over a number of years at my friend Jonathan's home. then heard the final design of the first MM3 at the designer's home. 7 years later heard the MM7 prototype (crossover was being voiced) at the designers home too prior to purchase.

Studer A-820's (3); back in 2007 there was no one talking about tape. The Tape Project was just starting, and there was zero on line info on tape decks so I was in deep investigation mode. I had already bought an Ampex ATR-102 then learned about the Studer A-820, so bought my first one from a studio in Austin, Texas. then a year later learned about the King Cello tape repro through a friend and tried it three times in my system before the interface got worked out for my system context and I bought it.

Tripoint; I knew the Tripoint owner/designer Miguel through Audiogon and after some back and forth purchased the Troy Sig. then 4 years later again bought the Elite directly from him. Entreq I read about on forums and as more Tripoint was too big a $$$$ leap at the time I decided to try it.

Equi=tech was recommended by my room designer Chris Huston in 2004, but did not pull the trigger until 2010.

Herzan active isolation was a brand I knew from being exposed to Halcyonics in my old room in 2002. then in 2012 I purchased 2 Herzan's to solve a feedback problem when I added the MM7 speakers with the huge bass tower 6 feet from my tt. later, October 2016, when the SGM owner visited my room he heard what the Herzan was doing and did a year long investigation to optimize it; which became Taiko Tana/Daiza. so my use inspired that new product.

my signal cables are either Evolution Acoustics or darTZeel. my power cables are Evolution Acoustics or Absolute Fidelity from my friend Gary Koh who owns Genesis Loudspeakers. Grounding cables are Tripoint or Entreq.
 
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cjfrbw

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Apr 20, 2010
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Never heard of any formal review of the original Allnic L5000 DHT preamp *except* for the lay review that I wrote myself a several years ago (not a formal review).

I have a couple of amazing sounding 26 DIY preamp/gain stages that I use variably, depending on gain needs for amps in my active crossover system. I heard about 26 tube preamps over the DIY morse tap prison pipes. One looks very rudimentary with just one in and one out, the other kind of klunky in a large case, no kudos for art object appearance, and both of them together cost me about 1800 dollars including upgraded NOS tubes. I can even hook them up in series to get about total 15db of gain, and they still sound great, with mercury vapor rectifiers. They nip at the heels in sound quality of the mighty Allnic and another Manley Neo 300b Preamp. Yes, they add elusive 'magic' to the presentation.

I have a no-name Euridice preamp/gain section, too, which uses a pair WE417a tubes transformer coupled. It is surprisingly potent and sounds great, even compared to the DHT units. I bought it for about $275, because one channel wasn't working. It took 15 minutes to re-solder a cathode wire, and it was working again. It has an all wood case, with two chasses (power supply and output) and I think it was made by Silk Audio of Thailand. This one is surprisingly robust. I bought six pairs of WE417a tubes many years ago. I am surprised to see that these tubes are now selling for multiples of what I paid for them, they are pricey little buggers.
 

RogerD

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Recommend Parasound amplifier,McIntosh MR78 tuner

Never reviewed,but purchased by my own personal opinion:

Agtron Platinum Mono Blocks
ParAcas Sierra electronic crossover
ParAcas Satellite speakers
ParAcas dual ported subwoofer
Sony DVP N55P DVD CD used as a transport
ParACas Psycho acoustics
Fulton speakers
Mission speakers

Reviewed at some point in time

Accuphase C200 preamp
Accuphase P300 amplifier
Monarchy NM24 DAC
Linn LP12 turntable
Velodyne FSR-18 subwoofer
NBS cables
Nirvana Digital SPDIF cable

Various reel 2 reel recorders by Studer,Ampex,and Crown

Grounding Extreme by my own design

The sum of all of the pieces in the system is far greater by my design
 

bazelio

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Thanks for all the replies so far. If possible, could you share what path led you to decide to buy the equipment that wasn't reviewed or that you didn't know about the review? For example, discussion from the internet, hearing at a dealer or a friend, previous experience with a manufacturer, seeing an ad in a magazine or online, etc.

Larry

So in the case of the passive preamp I mentioned above, there was talk amongst various different friends about TVC and AVC based line stages. As these are highly transparent devices, I decided the best approximation was "no preamp". Luckily, at the time, I had an amplifier which had rear mounted volume controls for each channel. I had always left them at 100%, but this allowed me to listen to my system with the then-tube-based preamp removed entirely and evaluate at normal listening volume. The results were dramatic. It was amazing how such a well regarded preamp was doing so much harm. The rest is history, and the AVC is my new linestage to beat. However, I don't think that is going to happen because the transparency of the AVC is sooo close to that of "no preamp" that it doesn't seem possible to beat in any meaningful way if you realize that a preamp can not improve the original signal, it can only add it's own distortions and colorations. Without preamp perturbation, I hear a new level of articulation and micro-dynamics with no loss in soundstage scale... and I'd put it up against any linestage I've heard at shows, in home, or elsewhere.
 

Lee

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Feb 3, 2011
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Magnepan speakers are not reviewed by Stereophile since there is some issue around Stereophile testing them.
 

JGlacken

Well-Known Member
Mar 4, 2011
64
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My Oasis S 200 mono blocks
200 w class A
Audio limits got best of show one year with them and after speaking with Darin I bought a pait
 

audioguy

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What Equipment in Your Rack not reviewed by TAS, Stereophile, etc?

Depends on who "etc" is. I'm not sure I own anything that someone has not reviewed at some time in the past. But except for my speakers, maybe my BluRay player and SSP, none of my stuff has been reviewed by either TAS or Stereophile (not my amps, cables, or "streamer" boxes, etc). But I can unequivocally state that none of my equipment was purchased as a result of a review in any formal review article or magazine. Every decision was made from either visiting an existing user or reading other user(s) "reviews" of the equipment I now own.
 

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