whell

As is quite often the case, good things come in small packages!

Here are some user reviews.

I ran the Creek OBM-8 directly into the Trends tonight. I really does seem that the Carver is "heating up" the high end just a bit. The sound seems to smooth out and warm up just a bit. I liked it, but I still need the Carver to do my source switching for me.

I haven't, but now that you mention it, I really should. I listen to mostly vinyl on this system, so I'll either plug the phono pre in directly, or plug the Phillips in directly, and see what happens. I'll let you know what happens. Thanks for the suggestion!

Since the original thread on this topic was "hi-jakced" on this forum, I wrote a review of the amp and posted it here: http://audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=112168

Hmmm...post has now been removed from Craigslist.

Well hells bells, all this tech talk is truly fascinating, but I'm listening to the little Trends again tonight, and I'm still thinking it sounds pretty darn great. I've got the Honky Chataeu SACD playing, and it certainly has the RF-7's singing sweetly. FYI, if any of you are thinking about springing for one of these, the Audiomagus.com site is saying the the manufacturer is raising the prices on these after May 31.

So, mine is not the most high - end, resolving system in the world, but I decided to give it a whirl and hook up a little Trend in my set up and see what happened. I found a guy selling one used on A'gon, and got it delivered for $100. It arrived today, and after opening the box, I had the little guy connected and making music in less than 5 minutes. So, preamp is a Carver CT-17 pre-tuner, sources are a Phillips DVD 963SA with the power supply cap upgrade, a Technics 1210M5G with an Ortofon X5-MC, and a 2nd turntable - a old Pioneer PL-600 with an Ortofon OM20 Super (what I'm listening to as I type this). Speakers are RF-7's, unmodded. I dropped Alan Parsons "Turn of a Friendly Card" album on the Pioneer, dropped the needle, and....um....Wow! The comments about bass in earlier threads, they are for real. This little midget amp can get the RF-7's thumping, and the bass is clean, not muddy or boomy. Pretty amazing for such a little box. The little Trend has a non-euphonic, articulate midrange. Not the most forward amp I've heard, but it is smooth in its own way, wihout being veiled or unnatural. I've had amps in my system that have the RF-7's cooking on high - much to high - in the treble. While the highs are certainly pronounced, they are not fatiguing. I am starting to now wonder what a Dean G mod might really do to my RF-7's. Ugh, more $$! I've got more listening to do, but I really, really like what I'm hearing so far!

I don't see why it wouldn't work. In your scenario, each amp is fed the output of a single channel, and the amp's right / left channels respectively would be connected to the top / bottom sets of binding posts for each speaker? Sounds like a fun experiment. Post your results, as I'll be interested in the outcome.

Many of the "S" shaped tonearms where based on the Stevenson alignment method. You can download a free alignment protractor that should get you in the ballpark of correctly aligning your cartridge on the Marantz. Click on the link below, and scroll down the page to find the Stevenson alignment gauge. http://www.vinylengine.com/manuals_tonearm_protractors.shtml

OK, you guys convinced me. I just plunked down some cash and have a Trend on the way. Should be here middle of next week.

No offense intended here, but it sounds like a money pit. The 299, and potentially the 310C, will each need work to sound their best. Unless you're familiar with this type of work and can do it safely yourself, be prepared to spend lots of extra money to get those units back up to snuff. Then again, if you truly are interested in having restored vintage gear, it might be work it. But, I thought this thread started with a desire to get into vinyl for under $200?? Speaking of vinyl, the 1229 is an idler wheel design. Usually these need some maintenance of the drive mechanism, and the parts are not always readily available. Again, be prepared to spend some $$ to get the table back to operating condition, if it has not been recently worked on or maintained.

If I could get a local Dual 505 for $40, and I'd never owned a record or put needle to vinyl before in my life, I'd go the 505 route first before spending much on anything else. Curious about the stylus comment, but you can always upgrade that and stay under $200 for the whole deal in the process. I'm assuming you have a preamp, integrated, or receiver that has a dedicated phono section. Then, play some records. Find out whether you're going to love the sound of records, or whether you can't stand the inconvenience of spinning vinyl. Once you decide to get in or get out of collecting vinyl and playing records, then you can worry about what direction your vinyl rig and associated equipment will take later on.

I envy you. I just can't seem to catch a break lately. We've had a couple of nice weather weekends in a row, but at least one daughter has been sick for the past week and a half. Next weekend, one of the twins goes back into the hosptial for a procedure and some tests. So, I'm hoping I get some free time to listen to music, or do whatever, sometime in mid 2009!! [:'(] ...and one of these days I still want to get over and check out your Scalas!

All of these are either SACD or Hybrids: WES MONTGOMERY - INCREDIBLE JAZZ GUITAR WES MONTGOMERY - THE WES MONTGOMERY TRIO A DYNAMIC NEW SOUND MILT JACKSON - WES MONTGOMERY - BAGS MEETS WES

VRD's sounding solid state? I guess it depends on what characteristic of SS you're referring to. I've had the chance to listen to Craig's amps on 3 occasions: 2 at the AK fest, and once at Audio Flynn's for a more extended period. I don't know that I'd characterize them as SS. Maybe fully "tube-ish", with a low end capability that is reminiscent of some of the better SS amps. I arrived at the Fest late on Sunday, which was the earliest I could get away. I wanted to see as many rooms as I could in the short period of time that I had, but I did get to Craigs room a couple of times, and things were pretty consistent with the other experiences that I had. Some of the SS gear that I'm used to hearing, including some of my own unfortunately, can impart some "brittleness" to the highs. I hear none of this with the VRD's.

Well, the easiest thing to do in any football loss is blame the quarterback. Trust me on this one, I'm a Detroit Lions fan, and we've been blaming the quarterback for about 40 years. What I saw yesterday, though, was a team loss. Sure, Grossman will never be a hall of fame QB. But the vaunted Chicago Bears defense couldn't get Payton and company off the field. There was almost a full quarter of the game - the last 1/2 of the 2nd quarter and the 1st half of the 3rd quarter - that the Chicago offense never got onto the field. The Chicago running game was also stuffed throughout the game: a running game which has kept the Bears from losing more games this season. I'll never be a Rex Grossman fan, but there should be about 40 more guys in Bears uniforms who share equally in that loss.

Interesting replies so far, particularly the exhaustive list of Audiogon items. Thanks!

Looking for a phono pre, and I'm open to used. I'd like to find something south of $200, and solid state. Ideally, it will have facilites for two turntable inputs, like the NAD PP-2, through this is not a deal breaker. An output level control would be ideal as well. Support for MC is not required. Suggestions?

Here's something a bit out of left field, but I picked this up about a year ago, and I can't say enough about it. Amp 3300R I've had to hooked up to both my RF-3's and my RF-7's, and it really makes them sing. The amp has absolute control over the speakers for bass reproduction, has a bit of a warm, forward presentation, and a detailed high end with a very nice finish. The distribution channel on the C.E.C. line of amps is a bit limited, unlike their more popular and well respected CD's/transports. For what you get with this little gem, the price is right. Retailers in the US that I'm aware of are: http://www.venushifi.com/ http://www.soundmindaudio.com/

When listening to my car radio, I'll usually signal for a left turn before swtiching over the the NPR station.

I've heard of this before, but its been anecdotal. Check out post #10 here: http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?postid=159970 And here: http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?t=44220

My system, to some, would absolutely suck. To others, who have a clock radio as a reference point, it would be a revelation. Such is the diversity of life.

Not a thing. Updating your profile is different than creating/updating your forum signature. A "signature" is the text that automatically popualtes the end of your forum message.

Buy 'em ASAP. If you don't care for them, you can resell them for a tidy profit.