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Post by MartinT on Mar 22, 2019 7:52:54 GMT
That's really nice to hear, Jerry. I hold Black Cat in high regard and my 3202 Airwaves are doing great service in the preamp to power amp position. The Silverstar 75 I just sold has the family characteristics, too. As you say, they are very transparent and open with great soundstage.
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Post by MartinT on Mar 29, 2019 12:06:39 GMT
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Post by MartinT on Mar 29, 2019 15:20:30 GMT
Spotify directly into a power amp, eh?
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Post by jandl100 on Mar 29, 2019 15:33:00 GMT
Direct is best.
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Post by jandl100 on Mar 29, 2019 15:35:16 GMT
Oh kay. I've fixed my sig for now.
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Post by jandl100 on Apr 5, 2019 6:55:27 GMT
I had been on the point of selling my Grado PS1000 headphones having started to find them just a bit too Grado-ish (surprise! - whodathunk a Grado headphone would have the Grado house sound?). Just a mite too feisty at the top for me, it gives a wonderful sense of musical enthusiasm, but a bit wearing after a while on my classical choons. But a thought struck - it does sometimes - why not team them up with a tone control? And I had great success previously driving incredibly hard to drive Wharfedale Isodynamic headphones with my vintage Rotel 603 receiver - but the Rotel is now in the loving and very appreciative hands of AOSer Audio Al. But there on the shelf, doing a wonderful job of looking fabulous, was a vintage JVC JR-S200Lii receiver, very kindly donated to me years ago by a fellow forum member. And it has a 5-band equaliser. Wired it up using spare output sockets from my DAC, some subtle nudges on the equaliser sliders and bingo! - that will do nicely. Goldilocks time. Those old Japanese receivers had real heft behind their headphone sockets, marvellous.
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Post by MartinT on Apr 5, 2019 8:10:26 GMT
I remember those JVC receivers. Instantly recognisable.
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Post by jandl100 on Apr 5, 2019 8:11:35 GMT
I think they look amazing.
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Post by Firebottle on Apr 5, 2019 8:53:04 GMT
Good one Jerry to make use of some of the 'ornaments'.
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Post by jandl100 on Apr 5, 2019 19:48:58 GMT
Yes, it's a bit like me. Not only am I ornamental but I also perform well.
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Post by jandl100 on Apr 5, 2019 20:03:57 GMT
New DAC. Benchmark DAC1 HDR. More than a little impressed by this. Its preamp section [remote controllable] is also excellent, which is a pleasant surprise, and has allowed me to simplify my system. Herewith my current Tower of Power ... Subjective review - www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/benchmark-media-systems-dac1-hdr-preamplifier-tas-204/“Super-clean, super-clear, super-quiet, super-transparent.” Technical review - www.kenrockwell.com/audio/benchmark/dac1-hdr.htm<iframe width="42.600000000000136" height="32.200000000000045" style="position: absolute; width: 42.6px; height: 32.2px; z-index: -9999; border-style: none; left: 5px; top: 119px;" id="MoatPxIOPT0_32538968" scrolling="no"></iframe> <iframe width="42.600000000000136" height="32.200000000000045" style="position: absolute; width: 42.6px; height: 32.2px; z-index: -9999; border-style: none; left: 2041px; top: 119px;" id="MoatPxIOPT0_361251" scrolling="no"></iframe> <iframe width="42.600000000000136" height="32.200000000000045" style="position: absolute; width: 42.6px; height: 32.2px; z-index: -9999; border-style: none; left: 5px; top: 1647px;" id="MoatPxIOPT0_48073746" scrolling="no"></iframe> <iframe width="42.600000000000136" height="32.200000000000045" style="position: absolute; width: 42.6px; height: 32.2px; z-index: -9999; border-style: none; left: 2041px; top: 1647px;" id="MoatPxIOPT0_71186703" scrolling="no"></iframe> “If its selection of inputs and outputs suit what you need for your desktop, home hi-fi or broadcast facility, get one.”
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Post by ChrisB on Apr 5, 2019 23:03:00 GMT
I fully approve of you putting a receiver to good use Jerry, but you should be careful whose company you keep when you talk about EQs. On some forums I could name, they might take you outside and have you shot.
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Post by jandl100 on Apr 6, 2019 6:16:04 GMT
I fully approve of you putting a receiver to good use Jerry, but you should be careful whose company you keep when you talk about EQs. On some forums I could name, they might take you outside and have you shot. Hah, yes, very true, Chris. The Grado cans have so much going for them in so many ways that it would be a shame to move them on just for one aspect that began to irritate. Especially when it's so easily sorted. I'm also becoming convinced that, even leaving tone controls aside, vintage Japanese receivers make superb headphone amps. This JVC easily compares with my just-sold Lehmann Linear and my Chord Hugo, as did my previous Rotel RX603 receiver. And they look so amazingly cool.
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Post by ChrisB on Apr 6, 2019 6:55:23 GMT
I agree. Always a lover of a good receiver, I am downcto just a couple nowadays. My mainstay Yamaha has a couple of front mounted headphone sockets and a little blanking plate to keep them dust free. It shows that phones were treated seriously back then.
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Post by jandl100 on Apr 18, 2019 18:14:06 GMT
Collected today. Sounding very good so far. A big Vincent amp has been on my To Do list for years. My gosh, Bryn Terfel has never sounded so powerful and lucid in RVW's Songs of Travel. Vinnie should do nicely for a while.
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Post by Slinger on Apr 18, 2019 19:18:05 GMT
That's a lovely looking beast, Jerry. I'd prefer a 1952 Black Lightning, though.
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Post by MartinT on Apr 18, 2019 19:27:57 GMT
Very nice, Jerry. It clearly sounds as it looks.
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Post by jandl100 on Apr 19, 2019 6:08:21 GMT
... and in-situ ... The Vincent SV-234 is my main amp now. Very impressed so far. Power with grace and subtlety. And also a re-furbed Cambridge Audio P110, a Stan Curtis design from the early days. I bought it as a stand-in between main amps. It sounds remarkably clean, transparent and detailed when the tape input is used - that bypasses the preamp section and really clarifies and opens things up. But no, it doesn't have the sheer whump of Vinnie or match its tonal richness. I suspect the new components are still bedding in, I shall leave it "cooking" with a spare output from the Benchmark DAC and I shall return to it now and then. A useful spare to have around. <iframe width="42.600000000000136" height="32.200000000000045" style="position: absolute; width: 42.6px; height: 32.2px; z-index: -9999; border-style: none; left: 5px; top: 184px;" id="MoatPxIOPT0_89233018" scrolling="no"></iframe> <iframe width="42.600000000000136" height="32.200000000000045" style="position: absolute; width: 42.6px; height: 32.2px; z-index: -9999; border-style: none; left: 2041px; top: 184px;" id="MoatPxIOPT0_96117768" scrolling="no"></iframe> <iframe width="42.600000000000136" height="32.200000000000045" style="position: absolute; width: 42.6px; height: 32.2px; z-index: -9999; border-style: none; left: 5px; top: 1712px;" id="MoatPxIOPT0_88462709" scrolling="no"></iframe> <iframe width="42.600000000000136" height="32.200000000000045" style="position: absolute; width: 42.6px; height: 32.2px; z-index: -9999; border-style: none; left: 2041px; top: 1712px;" id="MoatPxIOPT0_10100877" scrolling="no"></iframe>
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Post by jandl100 on Apr 20, 2019 18:30:30 GMT
New interconnects. I bought these on an eBay whim, as one does, and they arrived today. I have to say that these and my new Vincent amp are a match made in heaven. My Black Cat cables were a bit edge of the seat with the Vincent, although they worked very nicely with my previous Trigon monoblocks. Anyway, I'd never heard of these before - Esoteric Audio USA AIR-LITZ Technology 1. Anyone come across these before? <iframe width="33" height="25" style="position: absolute; width: 33px; height: 25px; z-index: -9999; border-style: none; left: 5px; top: 152px;" id="MoatPxIOPT0_46608873" scrolling="no"></iframe> <iframe width="33" height="25" style="position: absolute; width: 33px; height: 25px; z-index: -9999; border-style: none; left: 1571px; top: 152px;" id="MoatPxIOPT0_4651543" scrolling="no"></iframe> <iframe width="33" height="25" style="position: absolute; width: 33px; height: 25px; z-index: -9999; border-style: none; left: 5px; top: 1327px;" id="MoatPxIOPT0_15297202" scrolling="no"></iframe> <iframe width="33" height="25" style="position: absolute; width: 33px; height: 25px; z-index: -9999; border-style: none; left: 1571px; top: 1327px;" id="MoatPxIOPT0_71839459" scrolling="no"></iframe>
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Post by MartinT on Apr 20, 2019 20:02:25 GMT
Never heard of them, Jerry, although they look well made.
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