126mhz

I have both a Scott 299D and a Dynaco ST70, they have both been completely redone with news caps and a matched Quad of JJ valves. I have played them on two different systems, one driving a Pair of Mint 1983 LaScalas with new AA crossovers and the other driving a pair of Audio Physic Yara loudspeakers. For me it's way too close to call. Right now I have the ST70 driving the LaScalas and a Carver true sub with a McIntosh C11 tube pre amp and that's the way it will stay until I get another itch for a change. The Scott is driving a pair of Paradigm V3 Legends in a very small study, so small there's no way to get the maxium benefit from any single component, but I do love the Scott. If I could only have one,...well I guess it would have to be the Scott. It's an integrated unit that in my opinion can sound every bit as good as the Dynaco ST70. Now that I've gone to the trouble of having each one, (as well as the McIntosh C11) completely redone I never want to have to part with any of them. Yes, recently I heard a better sounding system in the huge loft room of the guy I bought the Audio Physic Yaras from. He and I added up the rough retail cost of his entire system and it was about twenty five thousand bucks. No doubt to either of us that his large room with twenty foot ceilings played a big part in how good his system sounds. It was really cool to see this guy's reaction to all of my vintage equipment. (you can read his feedback about me on Audiogon, my "Handle" there is 126mhz) P.S. The ST160 Dynaco is a solid state amp and I'm not too impressed with them. ( I got rid of one and still have two ST120's on ice as reserves because they are so inexpensive and perform half decent) PS Craig at NOS Valves went through my McIntosh C11 and I wish I had known about him when I had the Dynaco and Scott redone. His attention to detail, quality of work, and service is second to none that I have dealt with. ANY other audio electronic work I need done will be by no one other than him. Craig is a class act.

I'm down with all of these guys but really, it's way too difficult to say ONE is the best. To me when you can listen to a given piece of music and say; "That HAS to be (given Guitarist)" because no one else can make that sound but (Given Guitarist),....That is a great guitarist. As an example Eddie Van Halen never did that much for me but there is no one else who can make his signiture sound with a guitar. Jimmy Page,...out of this world I've always loved Joe Walsh My first favorite guitar player as a kid, (knowing I LOVED The Who) Pete Townshend. I've seen Dave Mason live and he can REALLY get after it And many many more, Jeeze guys I love all kinds of music

I hate to say never, but my 1983 minty birch LaScalas with new AA crossovers would be the last piece of audio gear I would sell. Just curious, what was the dealer's best price on a new pair? Thanks,

I can't believe I bought anything with Monster on it but it was too good a deal given the features I wanted. I hope everything works out with Buy.com and my New Monster HTS3500 MkII. On the checkout page the final price showed FREE "Budget" shipping,...it said it should arrive in 7-9 business days. $159.99 and the fifty buck rebate showed a final price of $109.99,....not bad. We'll see. Once again thanks for all the input.

Dave; Do you know anyway I can contact Buy.com via land line? I just HATE to give my credtit card to any web site, (I never have) and I think I might want to jump on this unit. Griff: Once again guys like you are the reason I LOVE this site! Seriously, I have recieved more real world information from people like myself who listen to music and do not wish to be part of the "Audiophile" hype that teaches one has to blow huge money to get great sound. Very helpful information, thanks so much fellas,

I loved the way my second hand original Planet sounded and I have no way of knowing just how lightly used it actually was when i picked it up anout two years ago for $400.. Anyway about two months after I put it into my main system it began to skip,....lightly at first and only on music that had quite abit of bass in it. But soon after that it began to skip with ANY music. I tried isolation etc. ect. hoping in vain that I could make it work normally, but such was not the case. I called the North American Dist. in Texas and spoke to the Porduct manager who is a very nice fella from the UK who told me that many of Rega's customers bought one of their CD players because they was loyal to Rega's products and quite frankly expected their CD players to last as long as some of the other audio offerings Rega offers. Bottom line he told me that CD players do wear out and my problem sounded like the lazer or the transport was going or had gone out. He went on to explain that repairing it might be more than it was worth and that I sould send it in and he gave me a "Code" to include upon returning it. He said they would make me an excellent deal on one of their new products if it was indeed dead,....I never sent it in. Maybe I will at one point and see what they might be able to do for me.

Hey Griff, Not being an expert on joules etc, what furman model would you recommend for typical home use? I now have a cheap panamax but I understand that it will wear out after a time and when I replace it, I want something that will last but will not kill the bank. Thanks Josh Yes Griff; If you could take the time to look over Furman's site/products knowing I'm a regular guy who doesn't want to take out a second mortgage on my home and let me know which one would work best for home use I would greatly appreciate it.; I'm not that into all the specs and it would be very helpful. Thanks so much guys

See I have to rule out the amp for a could of reasons; 1. It has brecently been redone with all new caps etc. as well as a brand new matched quad of JJ tubes. 2. The same (once in a while small "Pop" is present with four other amplifiers I've switched into the system, two of which are near new solid state. As far at the what else draws on the household breaker, the living room light. Time will tell because I will not stop until I get to the bottom of it. Thanks fo rht input,

I have four systems in my home and I am most fond of my LaScalas which I have a Carver true sub working with. To me there's no way anything can compare to horn loaded sound, especially for the wonderful voices. Rikki Lee Jones, ("On Satueday Afternoons in 1963" almost brings me to tears it's so beautiful out of the LaScalas) But recently I picked up a pair of Audio Physic Yaras that I have played in a side by side switching between them and my LaScalas,.... Bass reflex or not they are out of this world. Right now I have them in my bedroom system being driven by a mint 1962 Altec "Astro" Receiver that puts out a little over 20WPC. Knowing I needed something with a small footprint for my rather small bedroom I can't see me ever dumping them not only for their sound and footprint, but because I got them for next to nothing from a fella with far more money to spend on HiFi than I will ever have. My two cents,

I have soft starts for all my tube gear but I think I might be able to benifit from a power conditioner for my main system which I have recently begun using for home movies. Somtimes I hear a few brief and light "Pops" once in awhile for a brief time right after I pwoer my system up. Currently I am using a ST70 as an amp and a reworked Carver C4000 Pre amp and a Toshiba 3960 player. (Of course I have evreything driving a pair of LaScalas with a Carver true sub). I'm happy with the set up but it was a friend who told me bad, (unclean power) was the "Bug" that caused the little "Pops" I've mentioned. Monster is currently ofering a Hts 3500 MkII for a final price of $149.00, (after a fifty buck rebate) is this Monster worth having? Do you guys think it will put an end to my infrequent "Pop" issue? Thanks as always,

I have three Toshiba 3960 players and I love them,....especially knowing how little they cost. In all fairness they take a little longer to load both initally when you put a new disc in and when you wish to skip between tracks but that's as far as I can go in looking for a weak point of these ultra low priced players. I have heard great things about Philips older CD723 players I was wondering if anyone has one of Philips newer 724 or 726 units,....are they something to write home about? What have the rest of you found in the low priced end of CD players that might be worth having? Obviously I'd like to have something that sounds better than what I have,.....Ideas? As always thanks,

http://hhscott.com/Default.htm I too have one of these cases for my 299D that he made as a one off I understand out of Mahogany and it is TOPS in both looks and quality. A VERY nice product! Regards,

Now you hae really made my day,....I think. I have three (3) Toshiba SD3960's that I picked up dirt cheap at Best Buy because they are 24/192 upsampled! I have been very happy with mine because they sound so good and they were so inexpensive. They take awhile to load once you have put a disc in and they take a bit longer than I am happy with to switch between tracks if you manually skip between tracks, (rather than just letting it play on it's own track by track) but it's been a small price to pay. Thanks again,

Do you guys realize how rare this site is among audio sites? I have looked all over the net to find a place where common sense fans of music can get REAL world information from people who are not paid to promote spending large coin to get great sound from audio gear. I love this place,...thanks guys!

I don't own and have never ran a Mac 240 but I have been using a matched quad of JJ 6V6's in my 1961 Ampex Mono Blocks with GREAT results. I have a matched quad of JJ's in both my Scott 299D as well as in my Dynaco ST70 and I love the sound. They are reasonable in terms of price and they perform well for me. I'm a big fan of JJ valves/tubes. I have not had good luck with Russians though. Just my two centavos.

This is the type of advice and opinions I'm looking for,.... Thanks, Anyone else? Regards,

This is my bad dream. See, I don't want to worry about ANY recovery because my life is so full right now I don't have time to have to worry about being burned in the first place! THAT is why I have passed up more deals on items to be shipped than I can recall. I just don't want to deal with the bologna in the first place. When I shipped my McInotsh C11 pre to Craig at NOS Valves I packed the thing so that it could go through a war zone and survive. (Craig mentioned it to me!) Craig is also the only one in my recent memory that I've bought something from that needed to be shipped. He packed my "New" Scott LT110B tuner so well it made it with no problems, but I thought about it every day from the time I bought it until the day it arrived. I'm so sorry that you're having to deal with this kind of thing,.... Good luck my friend,

I have a chance to get rid of some of my surplus audio gear to a local higher end HiFi shop that specializes in lots on used gear. He has the following CD players available and it looks like I could make a decent deal on one them. I really appreciate your input. Cal Audio DX-2 CD player $195 Monarchy DT-40A CD/LD player $375 NEW Music Hall MMF CD-25 (stock no upgrades) $495 G & D UCD-1 CD Player $695. I realize my price range is limited but if anyone thinks one of these CD players is really worth having I'd like to know. As always thanks, Regards,

No doubt my minty LaScalas are my favorite, period. But even at the risk of being labeled a traitor Klipsch are not the only speakers in the world to enjoy. For the money they are tops, (In my opinion) but if a fella is willing to keep a eye out and have a little coin in hand when a great deal is found, there are some GREAT speakers out there to be listened to. Most of my audio gear has been a passing fancy but recently I found a pair of "As New" Audio Physic Yaras, and they are FANTASTIC speakers. When I take into consideration how little I paid for them I MIGHT like them better than my LaScalas! Bottom line, when one thinks about price, performance, and design, Klipsch is my favorite audio company. (I love the fact that they are American and can compete on a level field with anyone in the world) Regards,

First and formost I have said a prayer for your little girl. I'm a MRI Technologist and have been in the field for many years. I worked for General Electric Medical Systems for several years teaching MRI in general and specifically cardiac MRI. I do all of the cardiac MRI at the large hospital where I work which also has a fairly large childrens hospital connected with it. Any cardiac surgery is no walk in the park so to speak but not many people know how routine many of the cardiac defects children have repaired have become. I don't know your little girl's specific issue as you have not mentioned it, but VSD's, (Ventricular Septal Defects) are most common. They can be corrected to the point where a child can live a completely normal life post op. There are many others as well, and the greatest chances are that your little girl is going to be just fine. God bless you and your family,

I went to McCurdy Mission, ("Mission" as it was called then) A Methodist boarding school which also had day students in Northern New Mexico. I was a boarding student and I can say without a doubt that the Methodist Church saved my life. It was and still is a small school where it's cool to play sports and the McCurdy Bobcats have always been pretty good. We were the New Mexico State Champions in Football my Sophomore year and I was a four year letterman in Football and Track. The lessions in life and morality the missionarys taught us have stayed with myself and all of my friends for the past twenty seven years since I left Santa Cruz, New Mexico. I know friends of mine who went to large schools in big citys and many of them have very bad memories of High School, memories that have stayed with them. But, High School's mouse race is over and we have all moved on to the real rat race of life. A good and bad side to everything I suppose. Regards, Bill Woodward Portland, OR.

Yes indeed! I constructed my last set of cables out of Canare Star Quad 4S11 and they work quite well. If you are lucky enough to have a true electronics/electrical supply store near you as I am you will find that Belden also has some great cable for most any application you can come up with. Constructing your own cables, both speaker as well as interconnects is fun and a great way to save huge money. The high point of my construction career came at a local high end HiFi shop where NO ONE at the shop could tell the difference between that pair of interconnects I made and a $500.00 pair between an amp and pre amp as well as between a CD cource and a pre! Regards,

I've got no dog in this fight so to speak, (in terms of a point to make about a specific amp., pre-amp., or CD player) but I will say this; The products the Chinese are marketing on the world stage right now might not be up to world class but they represent a stage in their audio engineering development and there is NO DOUBT in my mind that they are no longer building just cheap knock offs. I'm sure they are going to reach the point where their gear will compete head to head in every price range with the world's best. The Chinese are for real and they are here to stay. Flame away,..

Yes Craig is tops. He went through my McIntosh C11 pre, (Finally tried it after witing almost six months since his work) and although a Juicy may be better I can see no reason to get rid of it. As far as amps., I own a Scott 299D that was recently gone through and I can't imagine how much money you would have to spend to get the same quality sound from something more "Modern." Suffice to say the 299D would be the last thing I'd sell. Regards,

What Seti is talking about is a Belden 13 amp 125v grey Hospital grade plug. (they will have a green dot on the male end,...the end that pulgs into the wall) Will it sound different? No doubt this power cord will not sound different than the cord supplied with your gear,...but it also will not sound any different than the cord some poor ignorant soul paid a grand for! (See the thread on speaker wire) Perhaps the only greater scam there is in audio than megabuck speaker wire and interconnects is in power cords. With speaker wire and interconnects there are a few guidelines to follow for a given application, but for power cords the only guideline is to have one that is not damaged and look for 13amp/125volt. (which it will say on the new packaging of a Belden Hospital grade power cord) If the cord is not new just look for the "Green Dot" which is "Hospital grade." Going to the Belden Hospital Grade power cord is strictly for durability and I have bought six or eight foot Belden Hospital grade cords for between 12 and 15 dollars new! They are VERY heavy duty and are sure to outlast most anything you can throw at it. Regards,