I have a Marantz sa8005 cd player, they did a real nice job with that one. Has about 99% of their ultra high end cd players, I wish it had balanced output’s but you can’t have it all, but it does have a really good DAC. I’m tempted to get a turntable, but the thought of building a vinyl collection at this point in life is more than I could handle. SACD is enough I guess. I like having physical media, but I do have a computer attached to the usb input on the cd player which is nice. Now if I could get a fresh set of ears, mine are getting old. I am thinking of upgrading the L7’s to ceramic tweeters and a custom x-over “foil caps” exc. it would be fun to see what they’re capable of. On the other hand I’m really looking at Tekton speakers as a upgrade, I’ve heard nothing but good things about them.
Heh, balanced outputs really are just the latest fad, you don't need them for 3' - 6' cables. They are useful for long runs in PAs. Anyone who claims they can hear the difference in a home setting (unless long runs to a different room or similar) is lying and won't be able to in a blind test (this goes for $100 interconnects vs $2 ones as well).
About the only time cables matter is a) if one insists on tiny gauge wire for speakers or b) instruments like guitars where the cable impedance does have an effect on the whole system (I think more so with passive PUs but don't quote me on that)(this is how Monster manages to make "bass" cables for people who are very stupid/apparently don't have tone controls on their amp).
I wouldn't probably bother with vinyl if it wasn't for the fact that's what all my stuff from DJ days is on (90s). There is the OCCASIONAL thing other than that stuff you can't get otherwise (early ZZ Top even the latest remasters have their critics) but sound-wise it's more a wash than the pure-vinyl guys would care to admit, even with regular CDs.
Now it does crack me up how many high-end turntables run fast - it's just like how they crank the specs on TVs at Best Buy, all trying to out-shout each other, rather than having them tuned correctly. The ear prefers how things sound sped up so basically they all do it, like around 1% - not insignificant.
Have you ever looked into Tekton speakers, the Encore’s are ones I’m interested in. I would really like to listen to them before purchasing, a trip to Salt Lake City to listen to a set is a little much and explaining that to the wife. Every once in a while they show up on US Audiomart, it kills me how these guys run through audio equipment like changing underwear. The cable thing is the biggest racket going.
First I've heard of them. My initial reaction on seeing them is that design doesn't seem like it should work. So it probably is either horrible or brilliant. Many review quotes on the site, as you are surely aware, lean toward the latter, and quite strongly, often citing the right things (e.g. dynamics)...huh....
You're right about guys cycling thru stuff - I'm more the "pieced things together over time and now it works so well I'm glad to not mess with it further" place around all of it. These are also getting well into the "way more than you need to spend" category* where like I say I'm generally more about "busting through the price point and retarded Stereophile high-nose-angle reviews."
*I really learned my lesson on this one when a friend had a pair of really cheapo Technics rack-system-style speakers (12" woofers, cone mid and tweeters) that he ran with a big honkin' pawn shop receiver (I forget what) and a digital EQ with correction (white noise/mic and all that). That setup sounded far better than it "should" have, by quite a bit.
Oh and regarding W vs A, yeah of course, just generally once in this class of gear a big W number generally means they probably have the A part covered. Given their thirst I'm sure those L7s are what would be generally termed a "difficult" load so something with inadequate power supply/too small of caps/both would probably fall flat on its face pretty fast.
The wyred4sound sx1000r’s are incredible, the Crown made them sound like four drivers making music, the 1000r’s made it all come together without the drivers calling attention to themselves. I really didn’t notice it till I switched, it was a huge improvement. One of the complaints about class d amps is they sound sterile and dry, the Wyred4sound amps don’t, they really sound wonderful in my opinion. I have to say though, I haven’t listened to really high end amps in a while. My friend has some older Mark Levinson amps hooked up to the big Polk SDA’s. I think my system walks all over his and he agrees. I’ve never been a Polk fan, they sound fine but they just miss something. I have to have a capable speaker because my taste in music runs the gamut. His Polks are just too laid back I guess, the L7’s I think are way underrated, but I’m a big fan. They say they sound best with short ceilings and my basement is about 8ft so that might be why they sound so sweet. If they have a shortcoming I would say it’s the tweeter’s. Really other than the upgrading the L7’s i think a nice tube preamp and I’m done. I’ve done the home theater thing, but honestly with a great set of speakers surround sound is a waste. My two channel sounds better even with room correction. I love Blu-ray concert’s on the projector, lots of
fun.
I have a Marantz sa8005 cd player, they did a real nice job with that one. Has about 99% of their ultra high end cd players, I wish it had balanced output’s but you can’t have it all, but it does have a really good DAC. I’m tempted to get a turntable, but the thought of building a vinyl collection at this point in life is more than I could handle. SACD is enough I guess. I like having physical media, but I do have a computer attached to the usb input on the cd player which is nice. Now if I could get a fresh set of ears, mine are getting old. I am thinking of upgrading the L7’s to ceramic tweeters and a custom x-over “foil caps” exc. it would be fun to see what they’re capable of. On the other hand I’m really looking at Tekton speakers as a upgrade, I’ve heard nothing but good things about them.
Heh, balanced outputs really are just the latest fad, you don't need them for 3' - 6' cables. They are useful for long runs in PAs. Anyone who claims they can hear the difference in a home setting (unless long runs to a different room or similar) is lying and won't be able to in a blind test (this goes for $100 interconnects vs $2 ones as well).
About the only time cables matter is a) if one insists on tiny gauge wire for speakers or b) instruments like guitars where the cable impedance does have an effect on the whole system (I think more so with passive PUs but don't quote me on that)(this is how Monster manages to make "bass" cables for people who are very stupid/apparently don't have tone controls on their amp).
I wouldn't probably bother with vinyl if it wasn't for the fact that's what all my stuff from DJ days is on (90s). There is the OCCASIONAL thing other than that stuff you can't get otherwise (early ZZ Top even the latest remasters have their critics) but sound-wise it's more a wash than the pure-vinyl guys would care to admit, even with regular CDs.
Now it does crack me up how many high-end turntables run fast - it's just like how they crank the specs on TVs at Best Buy, all trying to out-shout each other, rather than having them tuned correctly. The ear prefers how things sound sped up so basically they all do it, like around 1% - not insignificant.
Have you ever looked into Tekton speakers, the Encore’s are ones I’m interested in. I would really like to listen to them before purchasing, a trip to Salt Lake City to listen to a set is a little much and explaining that to the wife. Every once in a while they show up on US Audiomart, it kills me how these guys run through audio equipment like changing underwear. The cable thing is the biggest racket going.
PS you could build this...may need to build a house around the project first
https://www.audioheritage.org/html/perspectives/drews-clues/audiophile.htm
$18,000 in 1988 yikes
First I've heard of them. My initial reaction on seeing them is that design doesn't seem like it should work. So it probably is either horrible or brilliant. Many review quotes on the site, as you are surely aware, lean toward the latter, and quite strongly, often citing the right things (e.g. dynamics)...huh....
You're right about guys cycling thru stuff - I'm more the "pieced things together over time and now it works so well I'm glad to not mess with it further" place around all of it. These are also getting well into the "way more than you need to spend" category* where like I say I'm generally more about "busting through the price point and retarded Stereophile high-nose-angle reviews."
*I really learned my lesson on this one when a friend had a pair of really cheapo Technics rack-system-style speakers (12" woofers, cone mid and tweeters) that he ran with a big honkin' pawn shop receiver (I forget what) and a digital EQ with correction (white noise/mic and all that). That setup sounded far better than it "should" have, by quite a bit.
Oh and regarding W vs A, yeah of course, just generally once in this class of gear a big W number generally means they probably have the A part covered. Given their thirst I'm sure those L7s are what would be generally termed a "difficult" load so something with inadequate power supply/too small of caps/both would probably fall flat on its face pretty fast.
The wyred4sound sx1000r’s are incredible, the Crown made them sound like four drivers making music, the 1000r’s made it all come together without the drivers calling attention to themselves. I really didn’t notice it till I switched, it was a huge improvement. One of the complaints about class d amps is they sound sterile and dry, the Wyred4sound amps don’t, they really sound wonderful in my opinion. I have to say though, I haven’t listened to really high end amps in a while. My friend has some older Mark Levinson amps hooked up to the big Polk SDA’s. I think my system walks all over his and he agrees. I’ve never been a Polk fan, they sound fine but they just miss something. I have to have a capable speaker because my taste in music runs the gamut. His Polks are just too laid back I guess, the L7’s I think are way underrated, but I’m a big fan. They say they sound best with short ceilings and my basement is about 8ft so that might be why they sound so sweet. If they have a shortcoming I would say it’s the tweeter’s. Really other than the upgrading the L7’s i think a nice tube preamp and I’m done. I’ve done the home theater thing, but honestly with a great set of speakers surround sound is a waste. My two channel sounds better even with room correction. I love Blu-ray concert’s on the projector, lots of fun.