skullguise

Wow, Ian, cool stuff indeed! Reminds me almost of a female Nick Cave, Western Noir is pretty apt. Her cover of The Gun Club's "She's Like Heroin To Me" is pretty very different, but I like it.... Will definitely check out more, thanks.

Definitely agree! On the anniversary of his death, I watched that video 6 times during the day. What a powerful and emotional song in his hands..... And a couple more: * Holy Cow - Work (lyrics: work....work...work...work....work...work...eat....sleep...work...work......, continuosuly over a droning guitar and percussion a la metal banging. Crescendos to a scream of work....work....eat....sleep....and DIIIIIIEEEEEEEE) Kind of how I've been feeling recently * Gordon Lightfoot - Carefree Highway, Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald

The amp looks like one of those Chinese imports, like a Qinpu or the like. Not sure it'd be great, but as Hopstretch says, if RBH is involved, I'd be given to trust it. The speakers look pretty nice, though. I'm surprised they are Beryllium woofers, I thought that was pretty pricey stuff (or maybe just to apply a coating layer to tweeters, a la Focal).

Good question. I'd trust John's intuition for the most part. I think the single-driver speakers might be better tonally within their range, but dynamics and frequency extension would likely belong to the Jr's. I've had 4" Fostex-based horns and 8" Lowthers in bass-reflex cabinet. Both were outdone in sheer power by their multi-driver brethren (though the Lowther, driven by a Pathos Twin Towers, was amongst the best sound tonally I've had in my house). If the room is small, the single-driver may be enough. I've always wanted to try a small single-driver like that for desktop audio. But for a room-filling application, unless it's a small room or you don't go too loud, the 2-way may be best. I'd also make a recommendation I did in another thread: Silverline. There are some nice models available, including a Prelude II floorstander on Audiogon for $600 shipped (I think it may even be in FL). But given all I've heard from them, I think even their small Minuet would be a good competitor..... New, most are out of your price range. But used, I think they're a great bargain. And BTW, my Preludes sound great with the jazz I've thrown at them (mostly piano and vocal, and a tiny bit of brass/wind like Roland Kirk & Gary Larson). Food for thought. Didn't realize you hadn't got the RW Sig yet. Let me know on the Virtue, I should be getting it back this week.

Echo this....I actually bought a pair of Aurasound 2-ways from him (he and a friend bought a lot of extra stock from a company going OOB). We chatted multiple times, always a pleasure and a learning experience for me. I used to own a pair of Zhorns, small horn speakers using 4" Fostex treated drivers. John and I chatted about these, other horns, his builds, and a lot more. He clearly knows a good amount, loves music and his hobby, and is easy to deal with. PS - Miguel, nice to see you got the RW Sig! How do you like?

PM sent to OP about my Opus DAC FS.....SPDIF in, with SE and Balanced out. Used this briefly with one of those original PCLink buggers from Cryoparts, and it was pretty fine...lossy MP3's, but sounded a heck of a lot better than any other way I listened....

Wow, sorry to hear this as well....I once called the company, back when I had a local dealer selling an old demo pair of 0.5's I think it was. Jim himself answered the phone, and was extremely gracious and helpful. Indeed, I hope the company can continue....

Pretty much spot on IMO. I have one of these, got it used (opened, but unused; someone got it as a throw-in to a speaker deal from AV123). A CK2III I had sounded a lot better, for not much more $....

I'd second Odyssey (based on brief listening in someone else's system, plus what I've read) and Belles as well (based on 2 pre's and integrated I've owned). Especially Belles; there is something VERY right about his equipment that I've heard. Personally, I haven't been impressed with the Musical Fidelity gear I've heard or owned. I had an amp and integrated from them, I want to say in the A3x series IIRC. Somewhat neutral mids that impressed me at first, but bass-weak, and highs seemed too artificial sounding for me. It did not sound like music to me, and not even very good hi-fi. Same thing at a dealers, when TRYING to drive some Totem's unsuccessfully; power was there, but music was not. We moved to Plinius and it was a world of difference. YMMV, different systems and component interactions.....

One of my cats loves it when I pick him up and cradle him a bit like a baby. His paw WILL come around my neck, and as I scratch his neck and sides of his face, he'll kneed a bit, digging his claws into my neck. Sometimes hurts a bit, but too cool to stop. Great guy....but he's the first cat of mine/ours NOT named after stereo equipment

Didn't even know about this until today. I got to met him briefly in the mid-80's as well, he still seemed pretty much "destructed" then. But the news of his passing seemed to hit a little harder and sadder than some of the recent celebs' deaths. Not sure why.....

I heard an older pair of the floor standers (before they went to ribbon tweeters) a couple years ago. I agree with jp#'s in that they do smaller scale well, but don't quiote do bigger or harder music as well. Also, we had to toy with placement a bit to get best sound.....they sounded even worse until they "snapped in"

It's been a while, but I owned an RS-1 and had good fun with Eddie Current's EC/SS amp. The EC/SS also sounded good with some Beyer 880's I had (and I didn't love the Beyers with much else). IIRC, the EC/SS runs off a wall wart, and it may be fine with NZ voltage. They don't come up used too often, but I think they could be a good deal despite the opamps.... In my brief audition with other phones, though, the EC/SS didn't fair as well (AKG 701's were kind of plain and lifeless, as I recall). Otherwise, I'd probably vote for the M^3 as well.

I've noticed this too, Nate. We have I think 8 different iPods in the house, for 3 people (don't ask). I used to be able to connect any to any machine, and any NEW song would be able to be loaded to that iPod. Anything already loaded to another could not be put on the new one. Now, on my iTouch (haven't tried it with others) I get the "delete" message. Oddly, I haven't updated the firmware on it (it's still 1.x!), nor updated iTunes from version 7.1 (IIRC)..... For simple song movement, you may be better off trying one of the 3rd party proggies that can move songs back and forth.

I added a Diamond 7.1 PCI card on my PC. Coax SPDIF I and O, 24/96 capable. About $30. I got some native 24/96 WAV's, there was a noticable improvement for the hi-rez playback compared to 16/44. Not sure if it fits all your needs, but if you have slot space, a nice cheap alternative to USB options. EDIT: I see you want 24/192. I'm sure there are cards that support this as well..... EDIT2: Argh! Just read your "external" requirement. Curious as to why, though.....

Cool, didn't think many others knew/liked her. I love "Walk And Talk Like Angels" a lot, too.

One more name to throw in the mix: Silverline. They make great-sounding speakers, are easy to drive, have decent bass for their size, and you can get them used for nice prices. Heck, even their little Minuet is $400, allowing for a sub if you want (need) it. FWIW, I own a pair of their floor-standing Preludes. They are rated to mid-to-high 30's in Hz bass output. 6"W x 8/5"D (bit more for bases), they are easy to move around.

I like a lot of what's already been said here, and others will have to check out for sure. My additions, MOST off the top of my head: * Mary Black - Song For Ireland * Loreena McKennitt - Snow * Husker Du - I Apolagize * Tool - Sober * Joy Division - Decades * Bauhaus - Bela Lugosi's Dead * Nick Cave - The Ship Song, The Mercy Seat (from Live Seeds album) * Einsturzende Neubauten - Headcleaner * Iggy Pop - Lust for Life * (many singers do this well) - Night And Day * Heather Nova - Heal, Heart and Shoulder * The Damned - Sanctum Sanctorum * The Cramps - Goo Goo Muck * Wall of Voodoo - Call of the West * Alison Moyet - The First Time (Ever I Saw Your Face) * The Blue Nile - A Walk Across The Rooftops * Cocteau Twins - Blue Bell Knoll

Have never really got into her, though I had often heard OF her; but checked out the latest, and it's pretty nice....any order of recommendation for prior material?

I got some 12" x 12" x 16" H granite blocks from a stone dealer in NH. $50 a pair, he used a mini-forklift to put them in my car, and my neighbor and I lugged them upstairs to my room. Back in the day, I had a pair of VMPS Ribbon Monitors (taller than avg. "monitors") on them, driven by a Pathos Twin Towers integrated. Used a Symposium-like shelf under the VMPS's. Some of the best sound in my house ever (especially before the room became my wife's "office," and now I can't get much of anything to sound really good here). I also used a smaller piece of granite, maybe 14" x 14" x 5-6" tall, and sat a Carver Sub Jr/ on it. Crossed it over at ~40Hz, and it extended my system quite nicely. The granite base seemed to help with the one-note quality of the bass.

Guy I used to work with bought an NHT Power 2 when they were being cleared out. I BRIEFLY got to listen to them, after they had been playing in his home off and on for a week. My impressions, on a less-than-familiar system, was that they were actually kind of bright. Slight - very slight- glare in the upper mids, made female vox a little less enjoyable. Of everything, that's what stood out in my memory. I haven't heard a lot of ICE amps, but I like what I've heard from Hypex chips/amps better. Smoother top to bottom so it seems, with good detail, and pretty musical. I told a friend about it, he built his own amp (UCD180HG modules IIRC) with a tube pre built in, and loves it.....

The Babylon Rising series by Tim Lahaye. On book 3 of 4 now. Religious Adventure/Mystery

Mark Burgess, ex of the Chemeleons UK, with a great local Boston-area band, The Curtain Society, backing him. Got to meet and chat with Mark, and the show was quite intense and emotional.

Slightly OT, but Niagara-on-the-Lake is a beautiful place! My wife and I vacationed there in May, and loved it! A nice downtown without any "brand name" stores, the theaters, wineries, restaurants, etc. The Old Mill Tavern quickly became a favorite of ours on the visit! Lots of luck in the venture. I've personally never quite loved the Grado's, despite trying most of them. But the process here looks great.

But I'm an Audiophool! I have to have the FOTM....even in my gin!