Audiophiles in Prospect Heights?

ril

Are there any audiophiles in the neighborhood? I'm planning on moving to PH soon and would be amenable to meeting fellow 2-channel lovers. My system is listed in the AA board under my username.

doctorj

Subject: Re: Audiophiles in Prospect Heights?

ril wrote: Are there any audiophiles in the neighborhood? I'm planning on moving to PH soon and would be amenable to meeting fellow 2-channel lovers. My system is listed in the AA board under my username.

'Your search - "audiophiles anonymous" ril - did not match any documents.'

My NAD blew a chip, and the parts are on backorder, so at the moment I'm more of a 0-channel lover.

kofetyme

Subject: 2 channel rocks

I am pulling together the pieces of a system using a modded 2a3 3.5 watt SET amp and no crossover fostex driver speakers. If you're into that sort of stuff I'm down.

whyfi

I listen to some of the finest gear in the world on a daily basis... Tough job, but someone's gotta do it.

theoryofpractice

I've been at head-fi for awhile and got sucked into some of that goodness. But I'm not a real enthusiast (they scare me, what with the transistor/tube this and their cable that).

idlewild

A Pathos Classic One supporting a pair of Opera Callas' and a Moon CD player.

I hooked my 'puter's Creative soundcad witha 47 Lab dac which is connected to an Accuphase solid state which supports a pair of Totem Mites.

I'm looking at a Shindo pre-amp and power amp next.

whyfi

That Pathos is a great little piece! And the best remote ever!

Oh, and since this is a Brooklyn board, I'll have to plug a Brooklyn-based company! If anyone is looking for some new speakers, give a listen to something from the DeVore Fidelity line!

ril

Good stuff all around. I have ATC active speakers (2-ways), Blue Circle preamp, Tact 2.0S used as a DAC and a modified Olive Symphony as a transport.

I'm currently in contract for a place in PH, and will assemble a new system after I close since, as every audiophile knows, a new room means a new system. WhyFi, hook me up!

idlewild

WhyFi wrote: That Pathos is a great little piece! And the best remote ever!

Oh, and since this is a Brooklyn board, I'll have to plug a Brooklyn-based company! If anyone is looking for some new speakers, give a listen to something from the DeVore Fidelity line!

I love DeVores! Attach those babies to a Shindo 40w and you are in some serious fucking business.

quig

Hey I went to RISD w/ him.

whyfi

Idlewild wrote: I love DeVores! Attach those babies to a Shindo 40w and you are in some serious fucking business.

Well, I might recommend some other gear with 'em, but I'm a little biased!

quig wrote: Hey I went to RISD w/ him.

John? Cool. I'm meeting up with him next week...

idlewild

Such as.............?

whyfi

Idlewild wrote: Such as.............?

Since we don't happen to carry Shindo, I can heartily recommend many of the brands that we DO carry! :P

Actually, the Gibbon 8s work pretty well with just about everything I've hooked 'em up to. They're easy enough to drive and are very detailed but not hyper-critical. For my tastes, I like tubes throughout, but they do well with decent solid state also... The Classic One MKIII is great with 'em and VTL has a little integrated that pairs well, also... That being said, you could spend much more and still be rewarded with increases in performance - it injects just enough of it's personality while conveying the strengths of the gear upstream. A really great speaker - I'd think that they were a value even at a thousand more.

idlewild

WhyFi wrote: [quote=Idlewild]Such as.............?

Since we don't happen to carry Shindo, I can heartily recommend many of the brands that we DO carry! :P

Actually, the Gibbon 8s work pretty well with just about everything I've hooked 'em up to. They're easy enough to drive and are very detailed but not hyper-critical. For my tastes, I like tubes throughout, but they do well with decent solid state also... The Classic One MKIII is great with 'em and VTL has a little integrated that pairs well, also... That being said, you could spend much more and still be rewarded with increases in performance - it injects just enough of it's personality while conveying the strengths of the gear upstream. A really great speaker - I'd think that they were a value even at a thousand more.

Who is "we"? Where is "we"? I know of Sound by Singer and In Living Stereo and Lyric, what am I missing in ultra high end?

whyfi

Idlewild wrote: Who is "we"? Where is "we"? I know of Sound by Singer and In Living Stereo and Lyric, what am I missing in ultra high end?

I work with the infamous Big Andy.

ril

WhyFi wrote: [quote=Idlewild]Who is "we"? Where is "we"? I know of Sound by Singer and In Living Stereo and Lyric, what am I missing in ultra high end?

I work with the infamous Big Andy.

Ah. i was guessing it was SBS because In Living Stereo, the other Devore dealer, does carry Shindo.

whyfi

ril wrote: Ah. i was guessing it was SBS because In Living Stereo, the other Devore dealer, does carry Shindo.

So you'll understand some of the constraints that my boss will place on me when it comes to hookin' someone up! #-o I do what I can!

ril

WhyFi wrote: [quote=ril]Ah. i was guessing it was SBS because In Living Stereo, the other Devore dealer, does carry Shindo.

So you'll understand some of the constraints that my boss will place on me when it comes to hookin' someone up! #-o I do what I can!

Yes, no worries. With 2-channel dealers in such short supply, I'm happy to do what I can to make sure they continue.

whyfi

ril wrote: Yes, no worries. With 2-channel dealers in such short supply, I'm happy to do what I can to make sure they continue.

We are a dying breed... but I'm happy to report that I convert at least a couple home theater shoppers per month! Why have a $10k HT when you can have a $10k 2-channel system instead?!

doctorj

WhyFi wrote:
We are a dying breed... but I'm happy to report that I convert at least a couple home theater shoppers per month! Why have a $10k HT when you can have a $10k 2-channel system instead?!

Ok, I'm listening (and currently ampless)... give me the pitch. And do I really need separates?

whyfi

doctorj wrote: Ok, I'm listening (and currently ampless)... give me the pitch. And do I really need separates?

Well, you're better to answer that question yourself! I would say that there's a potential for better performance with separates, but there are some incredible integrated amps out there. Keep in mind your speakers, your room, your listening habits, and the sound that you like... oh, also your budget. If you want to listen to some stuff, PM me and bring some good recordings (that you're familiar with). I'll ask a few questions, make a few suggestions and we'll see what you like.

You say you had a NAD? We used to carry 'em, but no longer - good price/performance, but reliability issues...but you'll like the stuff we have. We have fun toys.

kofetyme

Here's what makes it happen in my music world. I own a pair of highly modded (Bill Baker) ASL Hurricane mono bloc's running 8 KT88's each and putting out 120 watts triode. They were going into a pair of Audio Physic Libras. I had them in my house upstate NY before we moved into BK.
In an apartment with neighbors, I'm the other way around. Sold the Libras, and used the proceeds from to buy another highly modded ASL, this time a 2a3 Tulip, a 3.5 Watt SET amp. These will feed into a pair of Cain and Cain Abbey's 95 Db 40 HZ to 25Khz, no big boomy bass, just basic apartment sized music. On my system you'll hear mostly 50's/60's jazz, solo acoustic, some classical, and vocals. You can see I tend to the mellow side of the musical arc.
If I were going to go with an integrated, I'd buy a used Manley Stingray and run it into into a pair of locally made DeVores, or Ohm's. Or you can check out Ed Garber at Fi, who makes low power amps and an intregrated that will drive interesting speakers such as Horn Shoppe or Cain and Cain. This will give you an enivornment sensitive, musically satisfying and involving experience.
One point of my evolution in this hobby is the realization that the bigger name (everything is relative right? Big in audiophile gear is tiny elsewhere) guys have huge markups. Check the makers specs, and then check the net an you can see that in many cases you're paying huge premiums for five dollar capicators and dime store resistors. If you want the big names buy used. Audiogon on the web is a great resource, and very trustworthy.
That said, the retailers who are willing to work with their customers do a good job of filling a quickly disapearing niche. The problem is that the attitude of some is to sniff at the guy who doesn't have the mega bucks and blow them off as not being worth the time to show then what's possible at a reasonable price. In a time when a $10K speaker is considered as entry level, you can easily see why audiophilia is a disease that is likely to be vanquished in our lifetime.

whyfi

kofetyme wrote: That said, the retailers who are willing to work with their customers do a good job of filling a quickly disapearing niche. The problem is that the attitude of some is to sniff at the guy who doesn't have the mega bucks and blow them off as not being worth the time to show then what's possible at a reasonable price.

I see this happen at the shop every once in a while, and it's disheartening... and it's just bad sales. Some sales people get so concerned with what's going out the door NOW, that they don't take the time to nurture something that could even more fruitful over time. NOW is nice, but future referrals are even better.

There is a flip-side to this, though - there are people that come in and sap incredible amounts of time and resources and then buy those items online or second-hand... Or there are people that will just never be happy - they'll sit and listen for hours only to walk out because they detect a slight glassy-ness in the upper mids :roll: If a salesperson sniffs out hints of either of these, being standoffish or terse is completely understandable.

kofetyme wrote: In a time when a $10K speaker is considered as entry level, you can easily see why audiophilia is a disease that is likely to be vanquished in our lifetime.

Gotta disagree with you here - I don't know anyone, Andy included, that would consider $10k pair of speakers entry-level. I'll help someone put together a killer system for $10k, any and every day of the week.

I don't think that price-point is killing 2-channel, I think marketing is killing 2-channel. When some marketing guru realized that specs could more easily sell than sound quality, and the wattage wars began... well, cue the fat lady. Then there's Bose, slingin' their crap - great marketing, horrible product. Then home theater... more speakers MUST mean better sound, right?! Ugh...

Also, I like to think that stores like the one that I work at help to keep the manufacturers honest... at least a bit. If someone is putting out an inferior product at a given price-point, the sales people don't like it and don't show it. Why waste the time when a 3-second A/B will show it to be the crap that it is?

doctorj

WhyFi wrote:
I don't think that price-point is killing 2-channel, I think marketing is killing 2-channel. When some marketing guru realized that specs could more easily sell than sound quality, and the wattage wars began... well, cue the fat lady. Then there's Bose, slingin' their crap - great marketing, horrible product. Then home theater... more speakers MUST mean better sound, right?! Ugh...

The thing is... I like to watch DVDs with 5 channels. I can't stand what that does to music. Which is why I invested most in the 2 floorstanders and picked them carefully. I can only afford 1 amp and it's going to be closer to 2-3K than 10K... really hard to justify 2 channel not HT, when a better than average HT doesn't cost much more and drives my Dalis in 2-channel mode just fine. I'm definitely not in the audiophile league, this is not a hobby, I'm just looking for something head and shoulders above the consumer crap end of the business (in terms of sound, I don't care how it looks) without spending more on the amp than the speakers.

idlewild

Who is Big Andy btw?

whyfi

doctorj wrote: The thing is... I like to watch DVDs with 5 channels. I can't stand what that does to music. Which is why I invested most in the 2 floorstanders and picked them carefully. I can only afford 1 amp and it's going to be closer to 2-3K than 10K... really hard to justify 2 channel not HT, when a better than average HT doesn't cost much more and drives my Dalis in 2-channel mode just fine. I'm definitely not in the audiophile league, this is not a hobby, I'm just looking for something head and shoulders above the consumer crap end of the business (in terms of sound, I don't care how it looks) without spending more on the amp than the speakers.

Absolutely - I don't want to sound like I hate HT, I really do like it - it's what got me in to the business years ago, but, personally, there's a magic in 2-channel that isn't present in HT for me.

HT isn't bad, but I do think that it's been a factor in the complete ignorance of 2-channel performance for many many people. Quite a few people come in to the shop thinking HT because they don't know that there's another option. If they say that they plan on doing a fair amount of music listening, we work on the L/R pair first. Most fall over themselves when I play something with a strong central image - in a passive way, HT has taught them that if you want a sound from there, you need to put a speaker there. From this point, well more than half decide to put all of their budget in to two speakers and a few components, rather than 5 lesser speakers and a few components. HT is cool, but for the same money, you can get a 2-channel system that can outright play; This is especially true when on a tighter budget. Again, it's just preference - what's better at giving you goosebumps? Being enveloped by sound and being drawn in to the movie? Or the emotional connection of an almost-live musical performance in your living room?

Idlewild wrote: Who is Big Andy btw?

Singer.

jamielevin

Yes indeed.

I run a completely analog system (michell turntable, Mc amp, cary preamp, gallo speakers).

Might I suggest a get together at one of the local watering holes?

Perhaps sepia!

kofetyme

I've been to SbS a few times and had a couple of different experiences. Neither was terrible, but neither was it as interesting or educational as the few times I had a salesman spend time and shown me many different ways to skin the budget cat. I'm in sales and I can tell you horror stories of people who are time wasters and big talkers...thing is you can't always tell so you have to approach each experience with an optimistic tone and an open mind.
I'm down for a few brews at Sepia, it's nearby for me, one night, or weekend afternoon. Should be an enjoyable time if we can bring some music and kick back and talk about watt not.

jamielevin

Subject: Drinks @ Sepia | Monday Oct 30 7:30

Hey audiophiles.

Lets meet up at sepia http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=234+Underhill+Ave,+Brooklyn,+NY+11238&ie=UTF8&om=1

Monday October 30th at 7:30.

kofetyme

8) monday at 7:30 is good for me. Never been to Sepia so its a two birds one stone thing for me. Looking forward to meeting up with fellow good sound folks.

whyfi

Bah! Monday is no good for me this week! B-day stuff.

Have fun ladies and/or gents!