Vick's Pit

Take a listen to the Rega Dac. Nice sounding unit. Probably my favorite in my setup.

I played around with three different DAC's on my system this year. I have finally settled on the Rega DAC and Music Hall 25.3 DAC as keepers. I also had the Musical Fidelity M1 DAC hooked up for about a month. My favorite of the DAC's is the Rega. It brought a very full, warmer sounding tone to the music. It just sounds very natural to me and has five selectable user filters to play with that slightly change the sound. Though the Rega is the most expensive and not sure what your budget is. I would def recommend an audition. The Music Hall DAC is the warmest sounding I think because of the tube output, but it also sacrifices a little bit of detail I feel. I have tried a couple different tubes and each changed the sound slightly. I like the customization that you can do because of the tube. I usually use this DAC on lower quality recordings or material that is brighter sounding. The Musical Fidelity M1 DAC was the most detailed and had the most instrument separation. Also has very tight bass I thought. Though it did sound a tad brighter than I liked on some recordings. I just didn't feel it fit into my system synergy as much as the other DAC's. I believe it’s a great DAC, but just not as much in my particular system. I'm also sure the Emotiva and Benchmark DAC's are good performers. Though I have never heard those DAC's. Just thought I'd share my experiences with the DAC's I have. Let us know what you end up with.

I agree with the others. NAD does a great job with music. I have had the NAD M25 amp for a couple years now and it plays the RF-83's with ease. I think the NAD T 955 would be a good buy.

Good point Cornfed. I like that Youth messaged them. It made for a good story, but I still imagine they had to sound terrible that way.

I came across this Craigslist add today. Is there any reason they would have the speakers upside down? Appears that this was the way they were listening to them? I had a little laugh. Also not so sure I would call the condition good. http://chicago.craigslist.org/wcl/ele/2216886108.html

Last year I picked up a Jolida JD 100 CD player for around $400 used. I know it's a tad over your budget but I feel this is a really nice player. It also converts to 24/96. Though I agree with the others that a good DAC is prob the way to go. That is my next purchase.

If you want to dance then I would look at some used Reference speakers. Maybe RF-82 or RF -63. While the WF line is nice looking and sounds decent, I don't think it has near the output or impact in comparison to the reference line. The Reference line is a significant step up in my opinion.

Thanks for some of the imput guys. I am still doing my research and on different brands and models. I wanted to get a longer table, but then we start getting past the budget. Any other imput is welcome. I'll let you know how it turns out.

Can anyone recommend any decent 16' or 18' traditional shuffleboard tables? I live in a high rise condo building that has a huge rec room in the basement. The association was looking for suggestions for stuff to put in there. I had the idea about a table, but don't know any good brands or features to look for. Where are good places to buy them? Online or retail stores? I live in downtown Chicago. The budget is probably around 2-4k. I know a lot of you have big basements with audio equipment, so I figure maybe a couple members have a table? Thanks

I'll chime in as someone who has a decent amount of experience with radar detectors. I currently have an Escort 8500 X50 and love it. Never had a ticket in the six years that I have owned it. Before that I used to have a Bel 855Sti I think it was called for about eight years. Not nearly as good as the Escort, but still saved my hind many of times. One of my best friends has a V1 and yet again has never had a ticket with it. We both drive fast on a regular basis. My story and parting line is "Don't cheap out when buying a radar detector". All the higher end detectors such as V1, Escort 8500/9500 ect.. will significantly decrease your chances of getting a ticket. Each brand has there pluses and minuses, but all the higher end detectors will perform much better than the $69 Wal-Mart radar detector of the week. I not try to put down anyone who has a lower end detector, but saying from my experience and some friends, the top tier detectors will perform much better. Also you have to know how to properly use the detector now matter how expensive or cheap it is. I have had friends buy the latest detector and get a ticket a week later and then ***** about how crappy the detector was. When in fact they didn't know anything about radar vs. laser, constant vs. instant on radar, detector range on hills vs. curves. You get my point. So if you speed, buy a good detector, learn to use it properly and you will probably cut your ticket chances by 75% or more.

Wonder if he has Klipsch Speakers? Funny that this story landed in "Breaking News" http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2010/01/man-cited-for-rocking-out-to-john-denver.html

Were the RT-12 and 10 discontinued? I don't see them anymore on the sub products page. Are there replacement subs in the works?

Maybe check out the NAD M25. I've been very happy with the unit and you should be able to get a new one below 3k. The other suggestions are good also.

The Icon, as long as you get a sub with it. I agree Reference is much better than both.

I would also check all the speaker wire connections. I had a friend who had similar problems and some of the speakers wires from the + /- terminals were touching each other.Though I agree it's probably the amp being taxed with the large amout of power required to run this setup at high spl.