Voltron

Yep, I am a W

What he said!

I like candy corn. And when I really want to make myself sick, I eat those big round candy corn pumpkins. Man, do those chew up your insides!

Told ya Monkey!

I hate to jinx it but the HP-1 is pretty much exactly like the HP-2. Maybe your amps or your brain or whatever will be more ready for it. I would have thought the Dragon would have been a good match for HP1000 cans, but who knows. The PS-1 is totally and completely different, so you will have to try them out sometime. I would be happy to send mine to you for an audition if you are interested at some point. Sincerely not trying to influence you, so enjoy the Joe Grados and see what you think. I like them and think they are cool, and depending on your amp it can be a great pair of cans.

Stupid white letters wrecking the blackness.

Hello Dusty Chalk, we miss you.

You went Kurps instead of replacing the french drip?! Reks is gonna hurt you!

A lot of people are exceedingly high . . .

This: is at least better than this:

I think naamanf's original post is funny as hell, and starting off with a reference to guttersluts.com set a very nice tone. I like mechanical pencils and good rollerball pens but can't seem to be bothered to have anything but firm issue stuff at hand. I always have a few different sized Sharpies around too because they are one of god's best gifts to mere mortals.

Good man. Try to convince at least a few Floridians that Obama isn't an Israel-hating, Muslim terrorist in elitist Ivy League intellectual's clothing.

Ray has had ALO cables and docks for a long time. I remember him extolling their virtues in Florida the first time I went there (whenever the hell that was!). Is that relevant to anything, though?

Cawk. The best is the guy who says "awesome shirt! definitely would do business with again!" amidst all the other reviews.

Hilarious response by the Admin to one, and only one, of the incredible claims about this magical shirt.

JP will have to talk about the White Unicorn, aka Nick Doshi Alaap Mk.II Purist Tube Preamplifier with phono stage (MM and MC input). Here are a couple pics, though I do not know what wood is on the one in SF (which might already be taken):

Is that for a turntable or an amplifier?

I really like the Gallos and think that they are a bargain for what they can do. They are not at their best in my current setup because the McCormack is really too much for them to handle properly. My HT amp is also a McCormack and it is at 125 watts per channel, which seems to suit the Gallos better. This is all exacerbated by the fact that the SDS-XLR is too hot for big amp such that with the preferred 2c51 outputs it is loud at the first step on the volume. It makes the sound more holographic and engaging than the EMM Labs (DCC2 dac/preamp) but the range on the volume control leaves too much to be desired. Using 6sn7 outputs makes it a lot better on the gain/volume side but isn't *as* good as the 2c51s. If I had a better amp match, that might work out and if JP buys a McCormack DNA-1 that he is thinking of buying I might try to get that over here for a try out. In any event, I am planning on hearing some gear, hearing some speakers, and then seeing which way this takes me. I am in no rush other than the fixation factor.

Get over it guys, you made your point and Sherwood has eaten enough crow already.

Thanks for the input Sherwood. The speakers will change, Mike, whether before or after anything else. I have thought about just getting a real preamp in the system before doing anything else -- amazingly enough the Voice of Reason actually suggested that -- so it is possible. Hell, maybe I should try the Ayre with the rest of my rig as it is now.

Now we're talking! Sherwood, how could you hold out on me if you heard the gear at RMAF?! Any more details other than "breathtaking"? As for the active vs. passive preamp issue, I don't think I have heard a truly spectacular passive preamp. One of the other contenders in my mind for some time has been Steve McCormack's VRE-1 that is a hybrid active/passive design (whatever that means). He tried to make this pre a fully passive design and found that it was lacking in balls (not is so many words but you get the gist). I really like Steve's work and have talked to him on a few occasions. He offered the VRE as a demo and I should really take him up on it. I am guessing that it would match up will with my McCormack DNA-500 power amp, but there are some limitations on the VRE such as no balanced loop out that make it a little less appealing than the Ayre. I am damn curious about it, though, and I could avoid a lot of expense if it truly mated well. More things to consider...

I actually don't want to open it up generally speaking, but there you have it. The Doshi White Unicorn may already be sale pending and the dealer won't open the box because he thinks the value will plummet. Might have to scratch the mythical beast off the list I don't want to have in the first place. Anybody else read the Stereophile articles on the Ayre stuff? I really am curious if others have thoughts of a technical nature. Interesting ideas in play, but I am not sure that the price is "justified" (never is at this level anyway).

So far, all the Voice of Reason has done is add a couple of other really expensive options to the mix! I will try to audition some Shindo gear, which I have been meaning to do anyway. And it turns out that the White Unicorn of tube line/phono preamps is available in SF new but at a used price because it was traded in before being used. Same dealer as Shindo, so maybe two birds will be killed with one visit. This is nuts!