n_maher

At least for me the majority of my viewing is still standard def so I'd rather have a somewhat smaller screen that doesn't make low-def source material look like ass. But as I said the first time, that's just for me. By all means if you want a giant TV go for it. The way I see it the technology is just going to keep progressing and until there's an actual high-def standard paying for the latest and greatest makes no sense. Is 1080P cool, sure, but it's only supported by Blu-Ray. And most of the TV's that support it only support 1080p meaning that they have to upconvert every other signal. I'd rather have a 720p/1080i TV that is able to take the "current standard" high def signal and display it natively, without conversion. The other way that I look at it is if I can get a 42" 720p TV for under a grand that doesn't hurt so bad that if I want to replace it in 5 years I can.

Mind if I ask what you were using for a transport when you were using the internal DAC? I only ask because I've often wondered how much difference an external transport makes. And thanks for the internal pictures. That certainly is a crazy amount of electronics all packed in there. I'll also add, for anyone seriously considering this amp, that the home modules sound pretty damn sweet indeed. And that's coming from my lowly little HR Millett. Everyone I've let listen to this amp comes away saying the same thing, "That's a Millett?!??!"

In my experience 50 to 55" is going to look massive if you're less than 15' away. I had a 34" in my living room for a week with a seating position about like yours and even that felt overly large but part of that was the fact that it was a CRT and had a pretty big cabinet with it. I'd think something more along the lines of a 42" would be plenty for the size room you're dealing with not to mention that you'd be able to cut your budget in half. Sony 3LCD (dlp-like) 42"ers were going for $999 on sale last weekend. I almost picked up one as a holdover until I figure out exactly what I'm going to be doing for an HT setup.

What, my thread not good enough for you . On topic - heck of a feat you pulled there cramming all that stuff into such a tiny box. I don't think people quite get that the external dimensions of this thing are 6-1/4"W x 6-1/4"D x 2-3/4"H. I'd love to see some internal pictures.

Oh SNAP! Just when I thought my wallet was safe Tyll goes and drops a bombshell like this thing: For more information have a look at the Sponsored Thread on Head-Fi.

Glad to hear it Ethan. Every time I see you reply to this thread I get nervous.

I would try to find your closest Paradigm dealer and have a listen to something from their Studio series. I auditioned the Studio 40's way back in 2000 but they were a bit out of reach at the time so I got the Monitor 7s instead. Ever since that day I've lusted after the Studio 60's.

poof And just like that the Orpheus became "cheap".

I'll leave the other questions to the tube experts but I can handle this one. I've had several email conversations over the past 2 years with Pete mainly focused around my work on the development of the modified Millett Hybrid layout. I was going to tell you to just email him but he seems to have taken the address off of his website. So I'll shoot him an email tomorrow and see if he gets back to me, he's never given me the impression that he minds people asking questions and has always been really approachable. Also, you might try contacting Headroom about the amp since they sold Wheatfield gear for a short time and see if they have any insight into your issues.

Any idea what tubes the Aikido was running? And what it used for a PS?

bwaaaaaaaaaaaahahahahaha

At the recommendation of Todd I'm probably going to go with a Grado Red. The budget for this part of my rig is pretty limited, although it's price to performance ratio is pretty staggering right now. I have to do something about the placement of my TT. At the top of the rack as it sits now walking anywhere near it is a recipe for disaster.

Congrats Jay, I hope it turns out sounding better than expectations! And I'm with you on the face plate, I've always kind of thought that the McAlister stuff deserved a bit nicer looking face plate. It's not that they look bad, just kind of bland in my book. Happy listening!

I wouldn't if you want to be reinstated.

Well I figured I would update this thread since there's finally more news on my vinyl rig. Due to some extremely lucky circumstances I acquired a used, toasted Consonance PM-1 phono stage from a fellow Head-Fier for a price so low I refuse to post it. He had inadvertently plugged the power umbilical cord in backwards causing a mild Chernobyl inside the power supply and it had sat for over two years. With a little help from KG and Tangent I manged to figure out what parts would need replacing and waited eagerly for my next Digikey order. That day came earlier this week and with about an hour's worth of soldering I've not got a fully functioning rig. I still need to change the cart on my Thorens but for now that can wait - as I type a little Pink Floyd can be heard in the background... Clearly it's time to rearrange the stack so that the PM-1 gets its own shelf!

Show me a warning included in the Raptor documentation and I'll agree with you 100% Billy. But for a moment let's assume that such a warning is not included, in which Ray would be liable for the damage caused by his unit whether it was heat related or not.

Ethan, is there a reason you don't cancel whatever order has taken 6 weeks and just get them from Headroom since they say they have them in stock?

I don't think I ever said that Billy, but I will continue to doubt its ability to drive voltage hungry cans despite a few people say. The simple physics of what the Tomahawk does pretty much eliminate it from being able to properly amplify, or better put, do anything other than pass the signal from source to headphone. So what I would guess is that just like any other meet it was too loud to make any real critical listening judgement. If memory serves me correctly the last time Ray busted on the miracle switch box it showed that the Hornet is just as good as the Raptor, you want to argue that point as well?

Uh oh, the Tomahawk is not getting universal praise from the NYC crowd... Clearly they did not drink enough of the official meet beverage before listening.

Agreed and I'm sure they don't belong in this thread.

That's an insult to the Krell. Ray's amp looks like a bad derivative of the Krell perhaps. There's just way too much going on for me - not to mention the layout flaws I mentioned along with your noted design problems. There are elements of the chassis that I like actually, the lighted source knob is really trick but it just gets lost next to the monster volume knob and I like the layout of the tubes and their hardware but they get lost behind the faceplate.

Jebus, I thought the XLR's on the front were annoying but the DC cord has to run clear across the back of the rig from the power supply to the amp. It'd be one thing if they were meant to sit next to each other like the Raptor but since this is designed to stack I just don't get it... And Jay, at least he didn't put B-52 in quotes !

Not that everyone hasn't seen them by now but Ray's got pics of the B52 up on his site now... Can someone enlighten me as to why he would have put the XLR connectors on the front panel in upside down? And sorry, but that is the weeniest power switch I've seen in a long time.

I'd throw a different, known good source on it first and see if that helps. Might as well remove as much from the chain as possible. I'd also make sure all of the tubes are properly seated and that the pins are clean.