Kimo

Over at Alpha Audio they did a shootout and seemed to conclude that the TPR was better than the SQM, at least when wired for RCA. Nice to hear that the Vovox clearly trumps the TPR for analog use. I think I am going to be stuck with Sonorus. I probably don't have more than 8 inches to work with behind the amp and it sound like this would be too tight for the rather stiff Excelesus.

I have been doing the plug/unplug thing pretty regularly. So, I was a bit surprised to find that an alcohol cleaning removed so much gunk. Sound improved a bit too. Probably, way overdue. Thanks guys.

My BPT power strip has been in service for over 10 years. Everything works fine, but I don't know if 10+ years of service would mandate replacement of the Arrow Hart outlets. Easily done. Maybe an upgrade? Any thoughts, opinions? I guess I could just pop some new ones in but I am kind of a lazy guy.

Yeah, and "Joy." Such irony.... I am getting too far off topic, which is something with which I often struggle.

You have to give Tekton credit for one thing. They have succeeded while selling some of the worst looking speakers in the business. Reminds me of the "The View."

Well, you recall how copper wire was invented...

Mine too.

I now have a Boazu on the way, so I guess I will report on my own thread. Still curious with respect to the LTA gear. I have gathered some opinions, though.

Looking to go smaller, lighter with my amp. I am down to either an LTA Ultralinear or Z40 integrated or a Lenjoklou Boazu integrated. The LTA gear has the advantage of built in phono stages, but a Lejonklou dedicated MM or MC phono stage should work well with the Boazu. Speakers are an easy 8 ohm load, but only 87 db. The Ultralinear may be a little light on power, but the LTA stuff that I have heard seemed to shoot above its rating. Any and all opinions on these amps are welcome.

I have run SETs and both low and high powered PP tube designs. I have also tried a few tube pre amps with solid state amps, and a tubed DAC with both solid state and tube amplification. The one set up that I generally disliked was using a tubed preamp with solid state amps. The Aqua DAC and the Gill Audio tubed DAC were both okay with solid state amps. Same with the Qualiton tubed phono stage.

I finally got my cheap lazy self to insert a Topping digital bridge for an experiment, and sure enough the respective character of each USB cable shows up. Additionally, I am finding the coaxial input, via the outboard bridge, doesn't sound as good as going straight into the USB input of the Linnenberg. That may just be my bias against adding boxes at work. Finally, I am not hearing much difference with coaxial cables in this set up, even when I use one that really isn't advertised for digital use.

I have seen people do the same thing with lawn care.

So neither stuck with you? Any specific memories regarding either?

I found a link with audio samples and a brief discussion regarding cable loudness. This time it was Vovox. Interestingly, neither of the samples is really that close to the original. I confess that I didn't hear that Vovox bump in my system, but I have seen it commented upon frequently. I almost always hear the star quad softness or congestion heard in the sample. Perhaps, the Grimm SQM avoids it, but also perhaps used TPM might be a better place to start? https://gearspace.com/board/so-much-gear-so-little-time/1373743-i-bought-vovox-sonorus-cable-find-interesting-things-audio-sample.html

I think it just means louder. Lower resistance? The 18 gauge Oyaide that I use feels louder than most. I never noticed that with TPR.