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Edrogers911

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  1. Hi, I've had both through the years, and like them both very much. You will probably be happy with either. But at your price point, you will have a limited choice for new products. I would personally be looking at the used market, you can go pretty far on your budget. The real question is what is your associated equipment? Are you going to need balanced connections? What output impedance will mate well with your amplifier? And how tubelike do you wish it to be? I, myself, absolutely love what tubes bring to music. But if they aren't going to mate well with your rig, it can be very frustrating.
  2. Hi, I've recently listened to both dacs in different surroundings, completely different systems. And I liked them both, but I thought they both had a different sound. I think you should see if you could audition them first if you can. If you can't, I'd go with the Bryston, you're already familiar with their sound, and the best I heard the Bryston, was with a Bryston complete system. It really made a difference. This was at RMAF a few weeks ago. I've been tempted to pick one up ever since....
  3. I think the best part of the show was getting acquainted with some old favorites, and making some new friends. I went to the show interested in hearing what was new and exciting, but I ended up being overwhelmed by all the flavors presented. I really had a good time at the can jam. I've never been a headphones kind of guy, and still won't, but I was mighty impressed and spent more than three hours there. Really nice, and many flavors to absorb. Speaking of old favorites, Brystons room with the PMC speakers was really something I could live with. Just flat out great sounding top to bottom. Haven't had any of their stuff for years, will have to look into them next time. Audio research once again blew me away. Disclaimer, I have had at least one of their pieces for the last thirty years, I'm biased. The music was so involving, I didn't want to leave. The powered sub vandersteens would not have been my first pick, but they were very nice. And at this show, I actually found ARC prices to be a bargain! Never thought I would say that! Harbeth sounded very very nice, and I can see why so many people love them. I just play too many styles of music to be able to live with them. Vienna acoustic's kiss speakers were a piece of art, and they sounded really good too. Absolutely stunning, it and it's bigger brother are something everyone should give a listen to. That was one price tag I forgot to check..... Dan D'agastino came to the gun show with a howitzer. And it was a joy to have him as my personal DJ for a while. Big grin on his face the whole time. I wonder if there is anything left of those Sasha's after he was done with them. Now there was a display of current. I wanted to hear Frankie goes to hollywood's welcome to the thunder dome! Slam, and then some. Newer stuff I hadn't spent much time with and enjoyed. Once again, Brystons media player and dac, top notch. MSB's room, I could definitely live with, with the silver line monitors. Better than I thought it was going to be. Big sticker shock! DCS's representation was more than I expected, and their stuff is really that good, always has been! Focal, I really enjoyed. Very nice speakers, just don't know if I could live with them. Yg, hometown group disclaimer. Nicely done, warming up to them fast. MBL sounded really good, but not my cup of tea. I could go on and on. And I missed a lot of rooms due to time constraints and work. But I made a point to keep my negative comments out of this. Everything above I thought had good merits and would make a lot of people really happy. Like the Rega line which I forgot to mention that I could really live with. I was very unhappy with some rooms that I put down to poor setup and equipment synergy. And some things I just didn't get. I went primarily to get a listen to some s.e.t. Amps, and was let down every time. So I gave up and let my ears lead the way. Many times right past doors that I would normally enter. The quality and prescence of computer audio was the thing that was truly inspiring. Thumbs up to a great show!
  4. I just thought I would start a thread. I've spent the last two days listening to everything under the sun that I couldn't possibly fit into my house, well maybe I could fit that over there...... I need to sort my thoughts a little bit, Its been an onslaught on my senses. It was my first time, and you really can get a lot of ear time without driving a million miles. A really special extravaganza that I recommend to all of you. I was really impressed with much of the integration of Computer audio and analog, and how many different ways of doing it was presented! Absolutely loved it!
  5. I'm a big fan of ATC speakers, I have had some passives, but the actives are supposed to be pretty spectacular. But I am a stalwart dome midrange fiend. Might look at meridian also, but lots of options. Room size?
  6. I've had numerous tube components and still do. I just can't get away from the sound that they can give. I would highly recommend just going with a preamp, and getting a good higher powered solid state amp. I've had larger tube power amps, but I just can't justify the upkeep cost compared to how good solid state amps have become. I'm a big fan of Classe, Krell, Pass Labs, and numerous others that I would choose over the big tube amps that you would need to buy( to run your speaker choice properly). Now, good entry level tube preamps. Depending on what type of music you like. You will need to research each unit specifically. And balanced output will increase your budget, but I highly recommend it. Buy used! I like the 6922/6dj8's the best. Sonic Frontiers, just good value for the money Conrad Johnson, can be a good value. Quicksilver, hometown favorite Audio Research, some can be reasonable, love their sound BAT, used prices are making these a steal
  7. Absolutely love the 991's. Good piece, but can be a little bright up top, probably mates really well with your speakers. I would definitely tear those speakers apart and upgrade the x-overs. I think your crossover is one of the best passive units I've seen, next to a Nelson Reed unit that was pretty nice too, from the seventies, when you had to have them. Have you taken out the cross over and run the low out from the 1098? And run full range to the 991. I've always thought that getting rid of unnecessary stuff opens up the sound. The 1098 should control the sub by itself.
  8. Hi, looks like your source is well set up, and you've put a lot of thought and time into it. I come from a different line of thought on sound quality. I am new to the computer based audio format, but thoroughly invested in analog. My transition has been pretty easy, because I've got a few systems running that were astonishing to begin with. But with different characteristics. So, please list everything after the 1098, which I used to have, and think is a great unit. Room size, cables, etc. And you didn't say whether your previous setup was more rewarding? More info would be great. I'll try to refrain from saying "where's the tubes"! Which for once, the system I'm listening to right now has none.
  9. I think we all look at your whole system and think about what we would do to improve it. And, like mine I can always think of something here and there. But I would be doing the same as you right now, getting the maggies the power they need, and buy used. I've found over the years that getting the sweet spot of sound level that works best for both amp and speaker is my biggest problem. Right now, my volume is too high in the sweet spot for casual listening with my krell and high efficiency speakers. But that's another story. I have been contemplating a pair of 1.7's for my system because of that. And in my research I have found that the amps dujour for the maggies are Pass Labs and Bryston. I am a big fan of both, and they are both well made. I would recommend the Bryston for a few reasons over the pass. First, twenty year transferrable warranty, period. They make great stuff and stand by it like nobody else. Second, they mate very well with maggies, it is what magnepan themselves use for demo's and shows. As far as buying used over the Internet. I've had good luck and bad. The bad was always over lower quality gear. And tube gear, only because of shipping. I've been upgrading, downgrading for so many years that I enjoy threads like these. I get to see where people have been and what they would recommend. A lot of good ideas here. Except for one, stay away from the nakamichi stasis. I've had a couple. Absolute crap! Your NAD Will blow it away. I wouldn't even recommend it for a sub amp! My two cents.
  10. have you tried the balanced analog bypass mode? This only works if you have balanced outs to your amp. Good luck, I have always enjoyed classe products. And I've never found any of their stuff harsh. I would check the manual and compare the input specifications for the balanced analog inputs to the outputs of the gear you have, there should be a solution. Ed
  11. Sorry, I'm not a huge fan of iTunes, one of the few around here. Please don't throw anything at me! I am not familiar With your system, it's been a while since I've looked at the meridian line, but I had one of their transports a while back and liked it a lot. But being fairly new to this myself, I've spent a lot on different dacs and software, and found they weren't for me, need any? What I've liked the most was my computers spdif out to my sonic frontiers dac(still low res) to my tube amp to speakers. But I don't have any hi Rez stuff. But I was floored by how the simple system performed. I used j river and my iPad to control it. But for good sound and an awesome interface, I would recommend a squeezebox unit with the duet controller. Will access your nas folders, get you up and running very quickly. I am using the transporter, but they all work together and adding rooms is a very inexpensive option, which the controller accesses. They only go up to 24/96, but like your meridian, next month there's a higher bit rate that you need a whole new system to get to. But it plays any Internet station also, which I use the most. About a zillion are preloaded and categorized, but you can add any you wish. I've found the duet controller the best part. I almost bought the perfect link setup, which is very nice. But I'm still a little new to this and was weary of whether it will be another obsolete 5k expense in 6 months. I'm using a nas that runs the server software, so no computer needs to be running while it works. This goes directly to my audio research amp to my silver line speakers, very simple and rewarding. Good luck on your quest, there are so many options, and I'm still looking myself. Ed
  12. I started with the software, I downloaded EAC and started ripping to a hard drive. I've seen nas drives under a hundred for over a terabyte, but the controller is what I've had the hardest time with. The SB touch is very nice, but the duet controller is simply awesome, and it can control all SB devices at once, plus it's a wifi device, so it's not dependent on line of sight. But the duet doesn't do hi res. But it could be a good starting point. If he has a smart phone there are jukebox software systems that allow you yo use them as a controller. There are so many options, the more I think about it, the more I agree with everyone else that the SB touch, digital out to the Sony's dac, and spend the rest of the money on a new iPad, download the SB controller app (free) onto the iPad, and you have the best remote ever! Plus the iPad might have a few other uses...
  13. I guess I'm the first in the food service industry. But my job is really overseeing a bunch of mid-twenties girls, and plunging toilets. My audio history, started with a paper route that bought a Marantz receiver and Cerwin vega speakers. I was the first person I knew who bought a cd player. Though I only had a Peter Gabriel cd for the first month after I recovered from the cost, 700 for the time was a huge expense for the cheapest player available. The first available under a thousand, I think that was 1982. Then after college my first introduction to quality was when I bought my Audio Research sp-8. I only used it for a few glorious years. But it rocked a lot of house parties. Then the home theater bug hit me really hard. Seven channel with dual subs and a 36 inch Sony was an awesome rig in the nineties. It kept growing in size as the years went on. And it became pretty impressive. Eventually, I came across a very nice Classe amplifier for sale at a pawn shop for a few hundred. I couldn't resist. I knew the silver would match my sp8 in the closet. When I hooked everything up, I couldn't believe what I had been missing with the home theater. The details made my eyes tear up. Then the power supply caps in the preamp went.... Got it fixed, and the home theater is in the closet now. Still figuring out exactly how to make my music server work well, and that is why I'm here. Cheers!
  14. Splash top, and you can do more than just jriver.
  15. The first thing I would do is start at the end. Make sure the speakers are in phase, positive, negative. Then the receiver, make sure it is working properly, pull out the manual. Use the tuner straight, and see if you are happy with the sound. Rotel and B&W usually can make anyone satisfied, they really work well together. Make sure all connections are good, and good quality. Audio quest is a good combo, stripped power cords aren't. But, even then should be ok if they are in phase. Go to the dac, hook up a cd player to it, or run your DVD player to one of the digital inputs and play a cd. Make sure everything before the computer is up to snuff first. Then tackle the computer. I've been there before and I've only enjoyed every minute of it. I just noticed ur dac is only USB input, you might see if you can borrow another dac.
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