kkerley33

Any interest here?

Been a really long time since I posted, but with a baby on the way and having to baby proof, the two channel tube system needs to find a new home. Though I am incorporating the La Scala's into our home theatre system, I have an Anthem Pre 2L with remote for sale. I am not sure what set of tubes is currently installed. I still have all of the original packaging. This little pre has brought me great enjoyment over the years and letting it go is going to be tough. Asking $600 but am open to reasonable offers. That seems to be in line with recent EBay and A-gon pricing, when they become available.

Since I have the extra the la scala, I may try it at first...time will tell if it looks to bulky.

Might have to turn home theatre into home office due to job change and move HT to living room and could use some speaker suggestions for Center Channel. Plasma would be mounted above Fireplace. Onkyo TX-SR876 will power system. Front Channel Pre-outs will be directed to Anthem Pre 2L and onto Amp 1 (I love the HT pass through on the Pre 2l). Other 5 channels will be powered from SR-876. La Scala's Front Left and Right. Paradigm APD370's Surround L/R and Paradigm Mini Monitors Rear Left and Right. PS-1200 Sub. What I have available to use for centers are one La Scala, One CC 370 and one set of Monitor 7's. Problem is room set-up does not allow any of those and I would prefer to go to an In-wall solution that I could put on both sides of the flat panel. Am open to in-wall solutions for surround and rears as well but that would have to be down the road. What you would guys suggest I do?

My wife is a remote hacker too. Given that, I would purchase a Logitech Harmony 550 remote. They are fairly cheap ($75 or less on ebay) and are all but fool-proof. There is a caveat to the fool proofnes. YOU have to set the remote up correctly. Simply put, their is an LCD screen which will say things like "Watch TV" "Listen to CD" "Watch Movie" Listen to Ipod" or whatever you want it to say. Once you or your wife clicks one of those corresponding keys, the remote switches every single component to the correct Input for that function. So for instance if you were watching Cable, it would put the TV to the HDMI input that cable is plugged into and switch the stage one to the Input that you have Cable box plugged into for sound. And if something is not working, there is a help button the remote that asks questions of the user. It will say is TV turned to HDMI 1 or is Stage One Turned to TV/DBS etc. If you say no, it applies the fix. Again, I think you are better off splitting vs using the TV as a switch. My Panny has Digital Pass through, but it downgrades it to 2.0 and using a Stage One, you are going to want to get the best possible Sound Connections you can. Otherwise there is no reason to drop the price that stage ones are still going for. If it gets to a point where you are still concerned...take a look at the Onkyo Integra 9.9 DTC. I have seen a few go for $700 to $800 lately and it has all the new soundfields and HDMI switching...and for what its worth, I think they sound Darn good as well...of course your choice of AMPS is going to have a big impact on your final sound as well.

Thats a good deal. They did have the 806 for 599.00 as well.

Saw your other post on the old Stage One thread. If you can avoid it, don't use the TV for video pass throuh. Here is a recommendation from an old hack.... Buy the stage one...you will be pleased. If you need an outboard Amp in addition (ie you dont already have one), look at Emotiva.com . They have a great midpriced 7 channel amp for around $600 and have great sound. Otherwise, plan on spending $1500 to $2000 to get some good amps to run your speakers. As for the Audio side of things...Run your Cable Box SPDIF out to the Stage one via an optical digital cable and run the HDMI calbe to the TV for video (effectively using it as a monitor). Do similar with your DVD player until you upgrade to BR. Then, either buy a blu-ray player with discreet 7.1 audio output or purchase this item to handle changing the LPCM sound to analogue http://www.ambery.com/2hddodtsdihd.html . I am tossing around the idea of getting one of these to try with my PS3 and older non HDMI reciever. By going this route, you are only effectively losing the new Dolby Pro Logic and DTS NEO soundfields that came out after the Stage one was produced. The BR player will output the 7.1 Sounds via LPCM. Technically it is not Dolby True HD or DTS Master, but it is very similar (ie splitting hairs). The Stage One will come with a phillips pronto remote that will automatically make sure the right components are on and switch the the right inputs anyways. If they don't sell you the pronto remote, don't pay more than $700.00. You can easity pick up a logitech harmony remote off ebay though, that will do te same thing for under $75.00.

Someone correct me if I am wrong, but the Stage One has a discrete 7.1 inputs on it. I think it might reuire a special cable that MSB Technology sells. And for thise with BR players that lack 7.1 Discrete Outputs, there are a number of DAC's on the market now that will pass through a video feed from an HDMI cable while converting the Bitstreem 7.1 Sound to Analog so you can input it into your 7.1 discreet connections. I do not know the sound quality of these DACS, but I have seen them floating for sub $200. This is similar to what I was talking about http://www.ambery.com/2hddodtsdihd.html . I beleive this only does LPCM to Analogue, but still gets you 7.1 sound. Using a BR player with internal decoding and 7.1 outputs though effectively keeps all "older" pre-amps relevant if they have the proper 7.1 discreet inputs and infact, they may be better positioned should the next great thing not be an HDMI cable...I mean why else would all of the mfg's be hedging their bets by still keeping 7.1 discreet imputs on all of their pre-amps if the technology is outdated.

I have used H/K, yamaha, Anthem, Sony and Marantz through the years. Both of my H/K's have had problems after everday use while my Yamaha's and Anthem products are still going strong. As far as sound goes though, H/K is comparable with Yamaha and I feel they just might be a little cleaner. Just don't expect to get more than 5 years shelf life out of the receiver (Based on personal experience). The H/K models that would be comparable are the AVR 347 which is the year old model and the AVR 2600. I have always felt Marantz to be decent equipment, but I would buy a Yamaha before I would be a Marantz of H/K product if all other things were equal. Another direction you might want to look is Onkyo. I too am doing a new search (because my AVR 240 died) and am seriously looking at the Onkyo TX-sr706 which can be found for under $450 or the TX-sr806 which Newegg is selling new right now for $599 shipped. The 806 was $1199 MSRP I believe when they first released it and might be the best bang for the buck right now in the market since the 707 and 807 replacements do not have a lot of changes outside of upgrading from ProLogic IIX to ProLogic IIz and adding a second subwoofer output. I am sure there are other small changes, but those are the two I can recognize without digging to deep. The best advice I can give is this...Make a list of features that you have to have...IE Number of HDMI inputs, Wattage Requirements, HD Radio, Satelitte, Ipod, ease of use, and then that should narrow our selection down to two or three units. Then just see which one sounds the best.

Need to purchase a new receiver for my living room. I had been running an H/K AVR for years. The DD processor went out about 4 years ago and I had been using an external marantz processor (based off the HKDD301) for the work. I use a yamaha dsp-a3090 in my other system (a real workhorse for sure) Time to finally upgrade, but the budget is a little limited so looking for some pros and cons... Been looking at the H/K AVR 354, Onkyo TX-706 or Onkyo TX-607 or Yamaha rx-v863 or rx-v765. All can be had for under $500.00 which is really the budget limit. Seems like they all have their pluses and weaknesses. I have seemed to have bad luck with HK but they have great sound for Music. I have never used Onkyo before but it seems like a lot of people like them and Yamaha is always a reliable stand-bye, but seems like the lack some of better components for the same price range (lower level DACS, proprietary Video Upconversion, no THX cert, lower number of HDMI inputs. Need something with at least 4 HDMI Inputs and Video Upconversion along with onboard 7.1 sound processing for use with BR player. For what it is worth, 90% of my music listening is done on a dedicated Anthem Tube set-up with La Scala speakers. Thanks...

Harry, I know this is delay but I just wanted to give you a public thanks for getting me a wonderful quad of tubes for my amp in less than 18 hrs. It really helped as I could drown out the in-laws over the thanksgiving holiday. Without those tubes, I would have been left listening via my headphones and that just is not as fun...when the La Scala's got loud enough...they left and went shopping. KAK

So I am chiming in here very late, but when everyone speaks of studio support, you must remember that Toshiba and Microsoft paid Paramount $150 million in subsidies for that support. Until that time, Paramount/Dreamworks supported both formats. Toshiba/Microsoft were counting on a coup by limiting two very popular titles to their format. Those titles are Transformers and Shrek the Third. While the short term may have given a boost in sales, the clock is ticking on the 18 month deal and it didn't cost $150 million for Sony/Panasonic to get their Studio Support. Another argument that is going to arise is retail chain support. Everyone is making a big deal that K-mart is only carrying HD-DVD. Well that can be countered by the fact that Target is only carrying Blu-Ray....and who shops at K-mart anymore anyways. For any real impact to be made, Wal-Mart would have to make an exclusivity deal...and that won't happen because they don't want to lose the ability to sell Panasonic, Sony and Samsung televisions in their store and not compete with Best Buy and Circuit City. The only other headache that HD-DVD has is the fact that Blockbuster doesn't have the titles on its shelves. Rental availability will have a signifigant impact in the short term because as stated earlier...no one wants to pay $30 for either format. If Blu-Ray cuts its cost to a sub $250 level...it would put serious strain on HD-DVD...but either way...Toshiba still wins as Toshiba manufacturers the Blu Lazers for Sony anyways. KAK

Check out this youtube video. Maybe this guy could go work for Bose....LOL KAK

I have been making my own using Audio Quest Bulk HD6-3 Shielded cable. You can find it for about $4/foot. Its 6.1% silver and I think is comparable to the AQ Copperhead or Diamondbacks. But what do I know, I don't have ears of gold. LOL. It is easy cable to work with and if you use the ITC-18 connectors, you don't even need to know how to solder (though I recommend using some silver RCA's and soldering). Needless to say, you can IC your whole rack for pretty inexpensive and cut the cables to length. KAK

Well, I found this review online and after reading it and hearing what others had to say, I have it narrowed down to the Cambridge or a used X-LPS. Most people who have emailed me said if I could find a used X-LPS it would make me happier in the long run and while the Parasound was a decent amp, the Amazing warranty (10 yrs parts, 5 years labor) didn't outweigh the sound difference between it and the Cambridge. Here is a review that confirms the above. Sorry about the highlights, it was from a cached page from TNT-Audio INTRODUCTION The Graham Slee Fanfare is a dedicated Moving Coil RIAA phono stage. Contrary to the more common practice of making switchable MM/MC stages, Graham Slee has always had a very strong opinion against phono stages being built to provide more than one level of gain, and generally have recommended using a step-up transformer to load a MC cartridge into a MM phono stage. The Fanfare is their first forray into a MC stage, but still true to their original philosophy this device only has one gain setting (61.5db), and is not suited to accomodate MM cartridges (more specifically anything with an output greater than 4.4mV). The Parasound Zphono is an op-amp based unit that is designed to be used with MM and MC cartridges. Significant to note is the commendable 10 year parts and 5 years labour warranty. The Cambridge Audio 640P is also designed to be used with MM and MC cartridges, and includes a subsonic filter. It features single-ended 'Class A' gain stages and discrete transistors. LISTENING In general, the differences were quite small. A magnitude I would roughly characterize as a bit greater than what you would expect to find between digital gear, but smaller than differences between loudspeakers. The one difference that is not small at all is that of background noise; (at a medium-high volume setting and no signal) the noise from the Parasound was 4-5db greater than the Graham Slee, which in turn was only 2-3 db higher than the Cambridge Audio unit. Ironically, the Parasound is the only unit in this review that has a AC polarity switch to help eliminate hum but yet has the worst result in that aspect; the switch made no noticable difference. The ~7db difference in noise between the Parasound and the Cambridge Audio unit made an unavoidably noticable impact when listening to music, especially on quieter passages. "Tea in the Sahara" (The Police; Synchronicity; A&M; SP-3735) Compared to the Parasound, the Graham Slee eaked out just an ounce more of depth and slam on the electric bass, but in absolute terms the differences were very small indeed. "Still crazy after all these years" (Paul Simon; Greatest Hits; Columbia; JC35032;) In direct comparison the Parasound sounded a bit weak and thin on vocals, whereas the Graham Slee's presentation was considerably richer and fuller. "All blues" (Miles Davis; Kind of blue; Columbia; wpc-3163) I use this track to dissect the HF and LF regions, as represented by the piano and the double-bass respectively. I'd have to call the comparitive performances a photo finish at lower volumes, at higher ones the Graham Slee had a slightly leaner presentation with a slight bent towards the HF region while the Cambridge Audio seemed to have a bit more depth in the nether regions and a slightly warmer presentaion in the treble. I wouldn't prefer one over the other at this point. The Parasound was obviously noisier and also a bit lesser in detail at either end of the spectrum, when compared to the Cambridge Audio unit. "Rag Hemant" (Ali Akbar Khan; Indian Architexture; Water Lily Acoustics; WLA-ES-30) I use this track to examine the upper mid-range and treble regions, represented by the tanpura and the sarod respectively. Again, comparisons of the Cambridge Audio and the Graham Slee were within a hair of each other. At times the Graham Slee seemed more detailed and open in presentation, with better dynamics and seperation between instruments and notes, and at times it was the Cambridge Audio. At this point I have to throw out any conclusions I thought I may have arrived at, especially since I am doing this in realistic (i.e. less than laboratory) conditions. I will have to call it a draw between the two units. Consistent with the findings on the previous track, the Cambridge Audio unit had a lot less noise and a fair amount more detail in the upper-mid and high frequencies, in comparison to the Parasound. The Cambridge Audio also had a more open-sounding presentation than the Parasound, allowing a better seperation of each unit of sound. "One way out" (Sonny Boy Williamson; The Real Folk Blues; MCA-Chess; CH-9272) At higher volumes the differences between the two amps were a bit more apparent, the Graham Slee seemed a bit more detailed in the mid to highs and the Cambridge Audio seemed to emphasize a bit more on the bottom end. The net effect was that the at moments the Graham Slee seemed a bit more open and cleaner (and preferable to me). Also at high levels the Graham Slee did seem to handle transients with a bit more grace than the Cambridge Audio. But again, my attempts at matching output levels is not beyond reproach and when results are this close I have to call it a draw. Differences between the Parasound and Cambridge Audio units were not easily discernible on this track at lower volume levels. I intially tested the three units via the Cayin integrated and Dynaudio monitors and was not satisfied with not being able to hear differences reliably between the Graham Slee and Cambridge Audio units. I next repeated the tests feeding the Cayin into the Practial Devices/Sennheiser headphone combo, same results. I finally resorted to driving the headphone rig directly from the phono stages and bypassing the Cayin, again the same results. There may indeed be a performance difference between the Graham Slee and the Cambridge Audio units - but it would take some degree and combination of better ears, testing protocol and playback gear to discern that. I am satisfied for all practical intents and purposes that the differences were null. CONCLUSION Although it comes with the best warranty and the lowest price point, I cannot recommend the Parasound unit due to the high level of background noise and relative performance. Especially with the Cambridge Audio being in the same price neighbourhood and performing significantly better. In terms of sonic performance, I would call it a draw between the Cambridge Audio and the Graham Slee. The Cambridge Audio definitely draws out ahead on a lower noise floor and a much lower price point. The latter may be due to no more than the fact that the Cambridge Audio is produced in China and the Graham Slee in the U.K.. But that does not change the fact that the Cambridge Audio unit tied for best performance and hence delivered by far the best value of the three contenders here. It gets my vote and I am buying one for myself.

While I won't agree that Vinyl is the Nail in CD's coffin, I do have to agree that I am happy most don't see it as a viable format. I love the fact that my wife seems to come home with boxes of LP's that she bought for the artwork for usually $.25 to $1.00 an album. I can't buy one song for that price on I-Tunes. I am not by an means saying I am a vinyl lover, by my previous posts, you can see I am just getting into it, but each medium has its advantages and disadvantages and I have them all now..Vinyl, CD, SACD, DVD-A and digital stored media. To each their own, but enjoy them all. KAK

Synth, I actually pulled the Cartridge from one of my fathers turntables. The cartridge has about 5 hrs use on it so I am not to concerned about the stylus. The DJ actually sold me the 1200 without a cartridge. He originally didn't give me a headshell either because he wanted to sell them to people still DJing, but he at least gave me one of those. I know the cartridge isn't best in the world nor is the turntable, but my goal was "budget minded". I will see if I can find a cambridge locally in a high fi shop and if they will give me an in home trial. There is a parasound dealer that will let me try the zphono for 30 days.

Looking to please the wife and let her spin her vinyl. Picked up a Technics SL-1200 Mk2 from a friend who was getting out of the DJ business for a fair price. Nothing fancy but it will do the job. Since this is my first foray into vinyl, I am not looking to spend a lot. I am hoping to get some advice on the following. Cambridge Azur P640 (new) Parasound Zphono (new) Musical Fidelity X-LPS (used) McCormack Micro Phone (used). All of the above are in my price range of less than $250.00. I am open to any other suggestions as well. System consists of Anthem Pre 2L, Anthem Amp 1, La Scala's (al4), Pioneer Elite DV-47 and the above mentioned Turntable. (currently has an AT440ML cartridge). Thanks, KAK

Shep, Even though I love my PS3, it doesn't meet all of Marksdads needs. He needs a terrabyte of storage and he wants to put it into raid array incase a drive craps out on him. The only way to do that is build a stand-a-lone file/media server or a new PC to handle it. Also, unless you are using an HDMI connection, the Analogue outs on the PS3 are crap...and they use a pretty low quality internal DAC according to what I have been told. Anyways, good to see you on here again. Hope to see your new place soon. KAK

JBSL, In theory it should work. In the past, I have used the disable function in Hardware manager but it has still caused conflicts. It all has to do with the port connections and the interrupts. I have a degree in Information Systems Management and I still don't understand how Microsoft can continue to make simple things so difficult. Regardless, there is always another way...If that doesn't work, I am sure there is either a way to to disable it in the BIOS (meaning the OS won't even see it as installed) or reset some jumpers on the MB to take it out of the circuit. The problem that arrises with using the Hardware Device Manager is the OS has to initialize the string for the Hardware Divice before it shuts it off...if the two Soundcards share any of the same INI string...it may disable both of them...while if you leave both of them enabled...it could cause port interrupt failures. I am not saying this is going to happen, just something that might...and I don't want you to get discouraged if it does, because as I said above, there are other ways to work around it. KAK

JBSL, You may have to do some PC configuring with the External SB 24 Live. Your PC is going to read that it has two soundcards and sometimes it does not like that. If you have a PCI soundcard, your best bet might be to just remove it. If your current soundcard is Motherboard based, you might have to play with some jumpers on the mainboard or disable it in the BIOS. It all depends on how they set-up their board layout. The easiest motherboards to work with I think are MSI as most settings can be done in bios...If you have an store bought PC, especially from Dell or HP, you might have a tougher time. They don't like people making upgrades and make it a pain to do so. Just some forewarning that this might be more than your typical plug and play solution. Good luck and let me know the results. KAK

First off $900 is pretty reasonable for any La Scala's. I have seen some pretty dinged up ones go for that much. Second...Age is relative...These speakers will last a lifetime. Third...listen to them for awhile before you start making changes. That was some great advice I got from quite a few board members. In all reality, it just slowed down the inevitable, but it was still great advice. And last but not least....If you are married...Buy the wife something nice, because when she sees how big they are...she probably will assume they cost a lot of money and will make a lot of noise (she is right on both accounts) and you will need to make her happy before she listens to them and realizes what a great purchase they were. KAK

JBSL, Thanks for that info and the link. I had been looking at a Adcom GCD-750 (as it has a SPDIF INPUT so it can act as a DAC) and either an Anthem Pre 2L or Sonic Frontiers Line 1. This is looking like a very viable alternative paired with an MSB Digital Director. BTW JBSL, instead of going with a USB to SPDIF Converter, I would look at the following... http://www.linksys.com/servlet/Satellite?c=L_Product_C2&childpagename=US%2FLayout&cid=1137451822026&pagename=Linksys%2FCommon%2FVisitorWrapper&lid=2202640536B01 It is a linksys wireless music bridge (can be had at office depot for $50 on sale). It has an optical and coax digital output. I use one, but I have it hardwired. It will allow you to not have to have your PC sitting right next to your soundsystem or your DAC. If you do want a converter thought, the SB Live 24 that Paul recommends seems like a good option at $50 as well. KAK

JBSL. I have been looking for a Tube DAC as an alternative to going with a Pre-Amp. What did you end up getting? I have looked at the Musical Fidelity X-DAC v8....which has a USB input, but it is fixed output and I need something that is variable. KAK

Anarchist, I agree that Raid will not save you from a virus...but it will save you from a hard drive going to crap on you....which I am finding is happening much more the larger these drives get. Like I said above, a networkable UPnP drive might be a good idea. I simply just use a External USB drive for my music. Of course my company uses hot-swap SCSI drives that do daily back-ups that we pull and put into to a fire-proof safe...but that is a different story. We still raid all of our servers to increase performance and have an almost immediate solution if one of the HD's goes bad. Marksdad, if you have any more questions, shoot me an email. There are probably 1000 different directions you can go with this. There is even an Integra NVS for sale right now on ebay that I bet will go for only a couple of hundred dollars. You could easily replace the HD in that to a much larger (maybe 500GB) drive and put external USB drives or a network drive for back-up. If you are into building things, you could probably build something close to what was posted earlier. You will have about $150 in "rack" size HTPC case with quiet fans and if your only use is music you could go with a pretty inexpensive Motherboard and slower processor. That would probably run you about $200. Your only other needs would be a good sound card with Coaxial Digital Output and your hard drives. I recommend going with SATA drives and as Anarchist said, running a good Anti-Virus program. That said, here is the link the Integra Solution that is on ebay right now... I was looking at this model for my den awhile back, but I bought a PS3 instead. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=180161164517&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=008 KAK