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  1. valkyrie

    Pass Lab owners - Check in!

    Hello English, Good move - I too moved from a Odyssey Audio Khartago Mono Blocks to a Pass X150.5. Main things I noticed was that the Pass was far more powerful. The Khartagos would die around 80 watts - get very hard sounding. The Pass is a more effortless sound, as well as being a...
  2. valkyrie

    Optimum dispersion in speakers

    Try listening to Gary Ritchie on "Open Baffle" speakers. He develops the topic of speaker aperture and sound wave propagation in this presentation; Since Gary is an accomplished speaker designer - who actually has proven the objective results of speaker break-in (at least for woofers) - you...
  3. valkyrie

    Your Personal Top Three Speaker-Amp Combos That You've Actually Heard.

    Yes - this is a David Slagle production. Assembled on site.
  4. valkyrie

    Your Personal Top Three Speaker-Amp Combos That You've Actually Heard.

    Here is more of the rack. HP lab power supplies for bias. more tubes for the plasma super tweeters, AC isolation transformers on the floor. And of course the Cello Palette. Quit a rig. Plays ONLY vinyl - and each record, in its own slip cover has an index card listing the Cello settings for...
  5. valkyrie

    Your Personal Top Three Speaker-Amp Combos That You've Actually Heard.

    At an audio show. The owner of these prefers to remain private. These are made on an individual "order" basis. I have no idea what they cost and am frankly not even interested for whatever the price? THEY ARE MORE THAN WORTH IT. Incredible - like sitting in row 12 of a concert hall...
  6. valkyrie

    Your Personal Top Three Speaker-Amp Combos That You've Actually Heard.

    These - stacked Quads - pretty much transcend all others I have heard - even better than big Wilsons. Paired with 300B push pull amps integral to the speakers. Fantastic cabinet work, plasma super tweeters, Garrard 3xx spinner, Alnic TOTL phono amp - quite an experience.
  7. valkyrie

    Pass Lab owners - Check in!

    While a Pass fan of the first order, I have to admit that the JC-1 is an exceptional amplifier - in every way imaginable. BTW: Most Pass amplifiers will deliver about 10% more power - continuously - than their rating. Same with the bias point - typically Pass biases his amps for about 10% of...
  8. valkyrie

    New Full-Range Ribbon Speaker Line Debuting in Munich

    I heard the AlsyVox at RMAF - pretty incredible speaker. Deep bass - using their own recordings, solid through out the 30 Hz range. Though I did not hear the low C - 32 Hz - what I did hear was rather incredible. Airy, transparent, fantastic clarity, full range - but rather pricey. The amps...
  9. valkyrie

    Common excuses that non-audiophiles give for why they do not purchase high end audio systems?

    The real reason - at least in my opinion - that audio is no longer particularly relevant to the population. Simple - in 1979 I went to Pacific Stereo in Long Beach, California, dropped $1100 and walked out with a very fine sounding system; AR-10pi, Marantz 2265B receiver, a Pioneer turntable...
  10. valkyrie

    Why No Treble and Bass Controls on High-End Audio Pre-amplifiers?

    The absence of tone controls, is based on an observation concerning a certain ARC preamp - that HP, in his infinite wisdom and perfect hearing - found added noise to the signal when the tone controls were engaged. There was an article based on this in his marketing rag. From that point forward...
  11. valkyrie

    Jumper pin on Balanced input

    Read the manual? You mean RTFM? IS that what you are suggesting? Please!! I have what is to me a dream purchase and you want me to stop and read the "manual"? Really? Please!!!. Plus - I am an audiophile - I don't read manuals. thanks for your input.
  12. valkyrie

    X250.5 amp vs the X350.5

    I have noticed that with some amplifier gear (whether tube or solid state) high power outputs, that are typically developed using a large number of gain cells (tubes, FETs, Transistors) in parallel seem to sometimes lose their magic when the number of devices gets too high. With transistors the...
  13. valkyrie

    Jumper pin on Balanced input

    About two months got my first Pass amplifier - X150.5. Very happy and excited about this purchase. So much so that when I set it up, with RCA inputs from my preamp, I did NOT install the jumpers in the balanced inputs. The sound? Best way I can explain it was that everything sounded like...
  14. valkyrie

    Pass Lab owners - Check in!

    X150.5 here - love that amp. Best sound in the world - to MY EARS. YMMV.
  15. valkyrie

    I want your opinion on this statement

    Bravo GaryProtein!!!!. Well stated.
  16. valkyrie

    I want your opinion on this statement

    Bravo Northstar. Said it all; life is pretty darn tough and seems to be a very leveling process. But hey - we are living in a "golden age" of audio. This audio age requires a lot of gold.
  17. valkyrie

    Meet the new player in high rez playback land- pro audio DSD recording pioneers!

    Sorry - I don't see any "there" there. Much like W.C. Fields noted about Philadelphia. So we have a DAC, an ethernet switch/router (TCP/IP over 802.3), a computer with a fat disc - and that is worth about - maybe on a good day - $1000. Maybe. The French are "kool" beaucoup so if I may say...
  18. valkyrie

    Negative show report posts... enough is enough.

    Only one question; Who the hell is Peter Brueninger? I looked him up on the 'net and he was listed as some "financial adviser" in Pennsylvania. How did this guy - neither musician, nor engineer, nor recording expert - how did he become an "expert"? Is such no more than self-proclamation...
  19. valkyrie

    April 2015 Toole video on sound reproduction

    Bravo TIM!!!!! Now everybody will pile on for you noticing the mastodon in the mansion.
  20. valkyrie

    Taking care of grounding

    DaveC, While I appreciate your epistle to the "unwashed" (myself) I find it rather long on histrionics and rather short on actual information, logic or explanation. I have learned that hand-waving and the expression of deep fears (that I and my loved ones may die - that was great!!!!) do not...
  21. valkyrie

    Taking care of grounding

    To quote Atmasphere; In short (of you will pardon the expression) you may be getting away with it but such is not proper electrical practice. Great pun - thanks. With all the heavy seriousness usually accompanying discussions of stereo kit I really appreciated your light hearted reply...
  22. valkyrie

    Taking care of grounding

    First I want to thank Atmasphere and Amir for their courteous and explanatory expositions on the subject at hand. Thank you gentlemen!. In regards further comments. There is NO "stake in the ground" on my (or any other I have ever seen) domestic electrical system (three wire AC - coming from a...
  23. valkyrie

    Taking care of grounding

    Sorry guys - but what has been stated by Amir and Atmasphere, whom I respect greatly, does not quite square up with my perception (experience) or education (extensive including an MS degree). Earth ground (or the "third prong") is in reality tied to the AC return line (the white insulated wire...
  24. valkyrie

    Taking care of grounding

    In regards AC grounding I believe there have been some misconceptions brought forth. In my AC system in my house in Dallas (and in all others I have inspected) the "earth ground wire", which in commercial residential "Romex" (most used form of AC wiring) is a bare copper wire (with a loosely...
  25. valkyrie

    Has anyone experienced a system blow up?

    PS Audio HCA-2, Class D amp. Playing a CD with lots of bass through a set of Schweikert speakers when suddenly there was smoke, sparks, and a small fire on the main board. Cooked a nest of discrete transistors on some "stand offs" on one half of the main board. Fuse (or relay?) never blew...
  26. valkyrie

    Why Tube Amps Sound Different (and better) Than SS Amps

    About what I would expect in a hobby in which fashion is more important than fact. Sigh - double.... Myles; hey - tubes are not as reliable as transistors. Think about a chunk of ARC gear where the tubes are "ganged" in pairs and when they fail - they take out both themselves and a local...
  27. valkyrie

    Why Tube Amps Sound Different (and better) Than SS Amps

    Tubes are different - but definitely NOT better Sigh... So here is my view of this matter (and do remember - I have an MS in science and worked for 27 years as an engineer and then TAUGHT engineering for 10 years at SMU and UTD). For the record - I have had several different tube amplifiers...
  28. valkyrie

    Not happy with audiophoolery marketing and products? Do something about it!

    but it does cure cancer I will have you know that I resemble very closely that remark about an old curmudgeon. So there. A good stereo, one that makes you happy and allows you to connect with the deep emotions of music - that does cure cancer - or maybe what it does is keep you from...
  29. valkyrie

    Not happy with audiophoolery marketing and products? Do something about it!

    Complain about what? If somebody is spending their money on nonsense - that is their business and of no concern to any other person. I know lots of audiophiles who buy stuff that is so whacky as to be laughable - but they enjoy it - they believe it helps their "sound". It makes them happy -...
  30. valkyrie

    JPLAY Responds: An Open Letter

    I will defend to the death the right of people to be absolutely stupid in their purchasing decisions - as long as no harm comes to innocent bystanders or the body politic. I have a long time friend who buys "power cords", magic pieces of paper that you put on your CD (changes the sound he...

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