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Cartridge reco's for Technics owners typically fall into the Denon MC camp for compliance matching, and classic sonics. However, the Ortofon Concorde integrated shell/cartridge presents some interesting potential usability/setup benefits. Anyone have any experience with KAB's custom hi-fi version: Thoughts on the general subject? Thoughts on which stylus is best (STY20/30/40)?

Yes another USB converter.... I have an easy one for you: do these USB converters are that truly different from each other? I mean are they realy on different levels if you compare the ones you can find used like the affordable RedWine Audio to the crazy expensive Empirical stuff? I like the Canto presentation but at $500 (US) this need to be good. Thanks in advance. Amicalement

Anybody heard this cart? Rumor has it the 440MLa pairs well with the SL1200, and I'm thinking of picking one up not just for varieties sake, but also so I can get some practice adjusting cartridge alignment. http://www.needledoctor.com/Audio-Technica-440MLa-Cartridge?sc=9

Vinyl Source: $400 direct drive turntable first manufactured in 1978. It has gone through no changes since then. It is generally believed that there is too much rubber in the design, and the tonearm is obsolete. $200 phono stage with a 12ax7 tube from some company called Bellari $85 Audio Technica cart. Total: just shy of $700 Digital Source: Modwright Sony 999es. The mods alone cost $1150, I don't know what the 999es goes for on the used market. Mods include: So what we are probably looking at is the digital source runs roughly twice the cost of the analog, and it just doesn't sound as good. There is a realness, a presence, and a delicious liqu…

Because through a series of strange machinations a Revox B-77 and several tapes have found their way here free gratis. I'm reading google things and it came with the manual and stuff. Is this a format worth getting into?

Just got a set of naked old men from http://lemonparty.org, and got a pair of dildos from http://babeland.com by $700 this weekend. With some other gears I already have, experiences and thoughts in playing with those gears will be shared later.

I was reading this review, and it mentions the AqVox USB isolating power supply: A strong statement. But after looking around, there appears to be some controversy -- so...what it is? Have you tried it? Did it make a difference? It sounds like I should at least try it, but the AqVox appears to be geared towards the European market -- so is there a North American equivalent? I'd be particularly interested in Justin's thoughts since he has probably already put some thought into this. Justin?

Hi Everyone, I am planning to get a new bedroom rig to replace my old sony minitower. I am thinking of erecting it around the ipod nano and then using an ipod transport to feed the signal to a dac via spdiff. As far as I can check there are two choices currently: wadia 170i or onkyo nd-s1 ipod transport I was wodnering if anyone has tried either and can tell me about their experiences because I have no idea which to get. The onkyo is cheaper but the wadia is more widely available. Thanks in advance for any information Greetings, Anouk,

OK, so I've had this thing running for about an hour. At first I was meh. It was connected to my dekstop machine (Win7) using just USB, out to the Ventus and the ATH-ESW9s. It seemed so laid back up top. Weird. The ESW9s don't usually sound that way. Neither does the Ventus. Odd. So I swapped out the Ventus for the CKKIII that was behind me. What the hell. Ah. Better. More musical. More air. Things opened up quite a bit. Then I swapped in the HD600s. Finally! I didn't expect this combination to work so well. Of course, we all know about system synergy here, right? This is definitely a case where the reviews I read were off. 'Nuff said. I'm lik…

An interesting new DAC with bluetooth and USB input by Chord, looks like a good computer source. Chordette Gem

I didn't see this posted anywhere already, but when I saw "balanced I/O" I immediately checked the price...bit steep though at around 600 Euro yet doesn't have Firewire. The VGA plug break-out cable will make DIY dead easy though, and it's not recessed like the Duet's. From: RME Delivers Babyface Audio Interface

Not sure if this is the right forum for this, as it's not a source component... but then again it doesn't really fit anywhere else. I'm sure you know Jan Meier and his work. He just released an interesting new product, which - if anything - is certainly innovative. An external DSP box for headphones and speakers, with digital ins and outs, and an analog section with headphone and line outputs. All controls happen with physical buttons but on the digital realm, with an EQ, crossfeed (as expected), and then a number of more unique features I haven't come across before. More details here. I've been following the development of it via his newsletter, it's …

Well, the package arrived! Wuhoo! Unpacking... Hmmmm... What is it? The Denon DA-500 With its most important feature, to me at least... The ALPHA processor! I've long loved the Denon pieces as mid-fi sources. I like the smooth presentation and warmth that their DAC and ALPHA processors provide, and it's something I've kind of built my headphone and speaker rigs around. Unfortunately my luck with Denons as transports has been, well, horrible. And now they only offer the ALPHA processor in pieces well out of my price range. So I started looking for other options. I came across this, which I hadn't seen before and figured it was worth a shot. I was…

Slot-loading compact disc drive Asynch USB up to 96 kHz / 24-bit Ethernet link for iTunes and UPnP libraries S/PDIF inputs (AES/EBU, RCA, Toslink) iPhone/iPod Touch remote control XLR and RCA outputs, fixed or variable. Drool. Sounds like it's going to be expensive though. $6K or so.

Sony 9100ES and Denon 3910 mods. Disclaimer: To start with, I am NO WAY affiliated with APL, HRAM, or SACDmods, All mods done were at full retail price. Sorry about the ?fan boyishness toward some modding retailers. It is all there to see you get the biggest bang for the buck and not get burned. About the owner: I have and can mod my own equipment to some degree as well as build my own equipment as I have done so to many ?Amateur Ham Radio? pieces over the years as well as licensed to do so. However at age 56 my hand is shaky and the expensive items are left to the ?so called pros?. The ?so called pros? we will attempt to ferret out for you here in limited quantit…

Anybody else interested in the Olive One Music Player? I am kind of surprised that this interests me, but it does.

Per the review, it is quite good: http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/shanling5/3000.html In the $2k range with basic mods, more for better mods http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?dgtlplay&1200364575, and another $400 to 'modify' the balanced outs. I'm thinking of taking a shot on the stock (or mini-mods pkg) and roll some tubes. Thoughts / experiences?

I have searched but seems hard to find any professional review, however didnt find anything bad as well, but still not that much. Came acros used one and willing to hear more impressions, if possible please, especially in my system. Produkte - CD-Spieler 1 THX.

I would like to connect the KGSS (balanced), Woo Audio 5LE (SE), and GS-1 (SE) all to the ECD-1. I was hoping to be able to have more than one amp on at a time (but at least not have to plug and unplug cables). Is it ok to have amps connected (and running) to both the XLR and RCA outputs of the ECD-1 simultaneously and will this degrade sound quality? This was my plan: |----(RCA)----> GS-1 ----(loop out)----> WA5LE ECD-1 | |----(XLR)----> KGSS[/HTML]

Found this Techmoan video on MQA-CD when I was checking out Meiko's latest album from Chesky Records, Playing Favorites: I'm going to sit this one out for a while. It seems to be a Japan-only phenomenon for a while, and there are no mainstream players.

EDIT/MODIFY 3/7/06: Through speaking with a variety of people I've decided on the JMW-9. Wisdom no longer sought! (thanks?) (I'll try to condense as much as possible). I had a terrible accident a few weeks ago which ruined my cartidge's stylus (Clearaudio Aurum Beta S Wood moving magnet) and due to the scheme (scam?) of when trading in an old cart for a new, I went with the much greater discount offered by choosing a more expensive cart-Dynavector Karat 17D2 MK.II moving coil. The discount offered for a cart of similar or just a little more value than the Beta S was too small. I recognized what was happening but didn't protest as it was my plan to move eventually…

So, tube buffers. I've read numerous opines over the years about how great/bleh tube buffers are and wondered who here has ever played with them and what you think. Are they the shit or is it just a phony way of adding some tube distortion in a way pleasing to some. From what people are reporting it seems like they can make a middling system better but can also mess up a better one. It's all very confusing to my pea-like brain, however it does sound mildly interesting.

Anyone have any thoughts on this battle? Have the opportunity to pick up a Transporter discounted, but curious if others have compared?

Folks, just got an O2 and when paired to kgss and neko d100 i ended up with a sound sig darker than well for lack of a better word, dark..... After switching around with sources i have, i settled with stello da100. Its much better and suit my taste more or less. I also liked dacmagic my friend had. Are there any alternatives dac that would complement this rig well? Say price ranges between 1-2k ? And those that supposedly bettered than stello? Any advice as always is much appreciated

Interesting that PS Audio is still putting money into SACD at this point. I wonder if they are planning to release a new DAC as well: