Audio Accessories

The two receptacles in the wall by my computer and assorted audio equipment are both quite poor. They're at least 25 years old and don't hold plugs well anymore. I'm looking for some quality replacements. I balk at the idea of paying $100+ for boutique audio outlets, but I don't want $3 pieces of junk either. There must be some middle ground in the market. Any suggestions on brands, models, and where to look would be muchly appreciated.

I'm sitting here looking at my lavry and my zana deux (just put it together after a long vacation). and now i realize i need XLR to RCA connectors. question, does it matter (should i go for 6 dollar ones) or should i spend the $ on the fancy cardas?

Looking to up the ante on isolation for my Technics 1210 turntable. Anyone have thoughts on this: AudiogoN ForSale: edenSound MyrtleMat I was thinking to put some sort of vibration absorbing feet under the above platform, and then spike cones under the turntable. Open to thoughts and comments. Cheers Pete

http://gear.ign.com/articles/723/723296p1.html A picture is worth a thousand words in this case.

I guess that pole-smoker Ken has got another scam up his sleeve. From the $925 "super cotton" USB cable... "Using ALO's proven silver in cotton design to a USB cable that now proves to take your DAC to a new level. We start with a specially designed solid silver wire that is to our specs, purity, temper and gauge. Then we manually push the silver wire in a thick tube of 100% cotton. The advantages over this vs Teflon are huge, there is zero Teflon, PVC, or PE products associated with the ALO Super Cotton USB. We then use a special geometry to isolate the data from the VDC conductors, double sleeve these yet again and finish up with a black and gold mesh jacket. Wha…

I'm thinking of getting a small stand for my dac/amp. My desk is quite small and I have to stack up the amp and dac. S2 audio has the stand like that but their site went dead I've just contacted Steve regarding this but still need some ideas to have a nice one. My amp is quite big and heavy (the Littledot mk vi) while the dac is small (dac1). Of course the amp will be on top of the dac. I just wonder if there's any small stand like that? No need for exotic looking, only as strong and durable as possible cos I don't want the amp falls off on my dac

Since this was mentioned recently in another thread, I thought I'd post this sale I just came across. Seems a good deal for those looking for storage. Thermaltake BlacX USB Docking Station - dealmac.com

Not sure if we've discussed this, or even if this is the right sub-forum to post this in, but this looked semi-interesting. Ripserver

roll up, roll up, buy an expensive empty box.. https://shop.mcintoshlabs.com/products/lb200-light-box

So basically desk space is getting to be a problem. I realized that when I have my monitor on top of my CDP, it does deaden the music a bit to my ears, so now it is in the back corner of the desk on top of some old books and it is hard to read. So I want to get some kind of floor standing rack to accommodate a 17" wide, 12" deep cdp, a PPX3, a future amp, and possibly, if I can get a stable enough stand, room at the top for my TT (17"w, 13"d). Anyone have any good recommendations for component stands on the cheap? I was thinking of going with Boltz since I enjoy my CD rack, and they would match, but goddamnit I don't want to pay $600 for a component stand. I'm hoping …

So, my dad finalized his choice of source + speaker + amps (Accuphase DP-500 + B&W 803D + McIntosh MC402 Power amp/McIntosh C45 Pre-amp) so he needs a decent pair of speaker cables and xlr interconnects. My speaker guy is pushing Tara Labs and Cardas, but like spending $3000+ on wires is just too much imo. Any suggestions? or should I get cheap Blue Jeans for everything and upgrade later?

Is there anywhere in the US or close by that sells the HI-Fi 2000 cases, specifically the black 2U Pesante Dissipante 300mm or something similar. Decent quality, not like the crappy Par Metals case I have now. Preferably priced in $US and not cost an arm and leg to ship like it would from Italy, or is there no way around this pickle?

I'm in need of a new tone arm cable. I am presently using the stock Van den hul cable on my SME V arm. It's copper but is not as resolving nor as rich as I would prefer. I was thining Cardas Golden Reference or Cross, but they are pretty pricey, as is the more revealing but more linear Hovland and Graham 2.2. Any suggestions?

SignalCable risers -- they should use different pictures, this one puts me in mind of the shell game:

I have always been curious by what appears to be a wide variety and diversity in the various permutations of the above rectifier tube. They seem to come in all forms of mullards and rebranded mullards as well as philips, with fancy bases and logos and others that are more basic pedestrian looking, all seeming to garner outrageous prices and others being more modest. I have never even bothered to roll or even think about the concept of the rectifier having an impact on the sound signature, probably due to spite. Feel free to share your thoughts and experiences.

I'm trying to find spring loaded binding posts, the sort where you push on the end to reveal the hole and let go to clamp the wire. I need them as a quick release thingy (not for wire) These sort of things used to be quite common in the old days but I've only found one so far and it comes with stupid speakers attached Personally I find that going a bit far just to bump up the price of binding posts but these sharks will try anything. So if any of you have/do come across something simlar, let me know. Thankee kindly mon amis

Should I be worried about gain on TVCs? I don't think I listen that loudly, but certainly not at whisper-level either. I like to turn it up once in a while just to rock out and try to get some big dynamics going. More specifically, would a TVC have trouble with the output level of cartridges? The specific model that I might be interested in is the Bent Audio TVC, which uses a the S&B TX-102 transformer, and has up to 6db of gain.

wow, this is probably the real deal. it has replaced my wolff gain on the running springs haley power conditioner. wonder how does it fare against the vh audio airsine...

Going to meets and packing up all my gear is a pain. And now with CanJam, it may limit what I bring. I was thinking of getting a Pelican case or two. Does anyone use them. Any other case suggestions? I don't want to use suitcases and cardboard boxes anymore.

I don't have enough experience to answer, but I'm curious to see what others think. Let's keep this friendly...who am I kidding (I will be setting up a double blind cable test to see how I do, right now I'm trying to find a Nordost Blue Heaven RCA cable to pit against a cheap Monster IC)

So, hopefully I'm not making a complete fool of myself for asking but... If you had to chose, would you rather have a longer USB cable or RCA cable from computer -> DAC -> amp? Would having a longer USB be better because of they way it transmits data? Does it apply to optical and coax too? I remember reading (don't remember where) that if you had to chose a longer speaker cable or a longer IC from source -> amp, you should run longer IC and keep the speaker cable shorter... not sure if that's related though...

Does Deoxit work? I'm having a slight problem with one pair of my SRM-1/MK2's RCA jacks and was wondering if they need to be cleaned or, y'know, something. Does Deoxit do anything or does it spray snake oil?

I like these headphones but I think the bass would sound better with deeper earpads plus they would keep my ears from bottoming out in the earcups. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks a lot! Gene

Anything besides Blue Jeans LC-1 ICs I should consider for $50 or under a pair?

ok so i got a pair of xhadow female xlr plugs in the house and man they do sound better than the furutech rhodiums for half the price. anyone fancy a pair of used furutechs for like 25 bucks? anyway, xhadow cardas vs zu mobius should be interesting.