Equipment Reviews

Below is my opinion on stereo equipment that I have owned or currently own.

Amps

Bel Canto EVO - my first digital amp - unbelievable. I never thought I would love an amp as much as the Citation 7.1, however this amp
just blows me away. The sound is very fast giving a real sense of live music. Great midrange, bass and treble - just pure ear candy.

Acurus A200x3 - my second Acurus, loved the first, so got this to drive centers and surrounds, very clean with good sound across the
bandwidth. A very nice amp.

Harmon Kardon Signature 2.1 - 5 channels - I used this amp in a number of configurations powering
mains, center, surrounds. Robust amp very musical.

Arcam Alpha A75 - 2 channel integrated amp - 50 watts per channel. Superb integrated amp, fabulous sound, very warm midrange.

Cambridge AZUR 540A - 2 channel integrated amp - 40 watts per channel - beautiful to look at as well as listen to - pure analog, no digital inputs. Amp powers my NHT Classic 3's with very little effort.

NAD C270 - 2 channels - 120 watts per channel. A good amp, however it never really satisfied me with its sound.

Rotel RB 976 - 6 channels - 60 watts per channel. This was my first multi-channel amp, very versatile,
you can bridge it or bi-amp with it. A great little amp, very musical, do not let the 60 watts fool you. This amp powered everything with a sweet midrange and good bass.

Rotel RB 985 - 5 channels - My second Rotel, good amp, however not as musical as the RB-976.

Acurus A-100 - 3 channels - 100 watts per channel. I bought this to power my Magnepan speakers. One of
the best amps I owned. I sold it when I sold the maggies, not sure why.

Krell KAV-500 - 5 channel amp - I think I had the 3 channel version. I was never happy with the sound of
this amp, just sounded industrial, great bass, but very gritty midrange. My big disappointment.

Madrigal-Citation 7.1 (Harman Kardon) - 4 channels - 150 watts per channel. What an amp, I used this amp to power my surrounds when I had the Krell, what a waste. When I sold the Krell and bought the Vandersteen speakers, was when I really began to appreciate this amp. Very musical, with great bass, treble and midrange, never runs out of power. Absolutely, the best amp I have ever owned. You can find these on ebay sometimes, great buy - normally go for around $750.

Parasound HCA - 1206 - 6 channels - 135 watts per channel. John Curl design, very nice amp, very musical. I use it bridged for the center and the other 4 channels for the surrounds.

Receiver/Preamp/Processor

Denon AVR 2803 7.1 channels - great receiver, superb sound, never gave out when driven. I traded this in, when I decided to go completely with different components. If shopping for a receiver, you cannot go wrong with a Denon.

Outlaw Audio 970 Processor - This is a great preamp/processor for the money. Did everything the Krell does, just without the finesse. Adds a little grit to the sound.

Krell - Showcase Processor - 7.1 - This is such a great preamp/processor. Worthy of the Krell name, great flexiblity in set up and configuration. This processor does not have HDMI, if you are like me, I do not use the processor for HDMI switching as my TV has multiple HDMI inputs. For music, cannot be beat, great internal DAC's and coloration of sound. Because of the lack of HDMI, this processor which retailed for around $2800 can be had on Ebay for about $700.

Acurus RL-11 - Preamp - Very nice 2 channel preamp, I liked it a lot, however when I saw an Aragon 18K on ebay had to have it.

Aragon 18K - preamp - superb preamp, adds some boost to the signal and just a little color - highly recommended.

Preeminence Reference Line One - passive preamp - This preamp was in Absolute Sound 2009 (it is vintage) recommended components. I have never owned a passive preamp/line-stage, unbelievable sound - pure and pristine with great looks to boot.

Turntables

Oracle Paris, great turntable, very rare. Came with a Rega RB-300 tonearm. Actually more turntable than I needed, so I sold it.

Dual CS 5000 - nice vintage automatic turntable, nothing to rave about.

Thorens TD 170 - my first new turntable, wetted my appetite, however always left me wanting more. Just ok.

Music Hall MMF 5.1 - A beautiful turntable with glass platter, I love this table and the sound of my old records on this turntable. Actually, like it better than the Oracle Paris - hard to believe.

Speakers

B&W 705's - stand mounted - great speaker, however needs a subwoofer for the added bass punch.

Mirage OM 9 - Great speaker, especially for the money. I used these as my mains for years. Great sound for the money. Highly recommended.

Infinity Intermezzo 2.6 - bookshelf speaker, bass is powered and amp powers the midrange/treble. An amazing sounding speaker, beautiful warm midrange, good extension of bass and treble is not too shrill. Why, I sold these is a great question.

NHT Classic 3 - bookshelf speaker - Highly rated speakers by Stereophile and Absolute Sound. Beautiful to look at with black piano finish and a very nice sound. NHT has gone out of business, however there are dealers who are stuck with these and selling far below the $800 a pair price tag.

Mirage Omni 60 or 50 - bookshelf speakers - these are great sounding speakers, I have used them as surrounds and now use the 60's as a set of mains in a small room. These are really nice speakers, especially for the money.

Magnepan 1.6 - Everything I read, said get a pair of Maggies. Granted these were the entry level of the Magnepan's and they had a nice sound, however when I had them I would switch back and forth between the Mirages and always like the Mirages better. Magnepans require a lot of power.

Vandersteen 2CE - Fabulous speaker, they do everything right. These are Stereophile and Absolute Sound recommended and every time I turn them on, I see why. Just flawless, however they require bi-amping with some power. My Madrigal matches up beautifully.

Morduant Short MS909W - 300 watts powered subwoofer. This is my second subwoofer, my first was a Mirage which I did not like. I saw this new on EBay and decided to take a chance, love it. Plenty of deep bass without being boomy, very musical as well as providing the "oomph" to movies.

IPOD Accessories

I home - IPod dock, pure analog, uses the internal DAC in the IPod, great for hooking up to a sound system or headphone amp.

Wadia - Itransport - the only IPod dock that takes the sound from the IPod in digital format. Does not have built in DAC, strictly pass thru - so you will need an external DAC to take advantage of this dock. Will output analog, however uses the internal DAC on the IPod, so why spend the money for this unit, when a less expensive analog dock will do. However, if you are looking for the best sound from your IPod, this is a must have.

DAC's

Benchmark DAC and combo headphone amp - very highly rated and I agree, beautiful sounding DAC and the headphone amp powers my Sennheisser 650's flawlessly. Sometimes I have to pinch myself that I am really listening to an IPod.

Bel Canto DAC 1 - older DAC from a leader in home audio - beautiful sounding.

Proceed PDP 1 - multi DAC - an older DAC, more musical than the Bel Canto with 3 inputs and switching. A division of Mark Levinson.

Monarchy Audio Model 22 - Dual 20 bit DAC - the most musical of any DAC, I have owned. Very articulate.

Monarchy Audio - DIP - this is an interface between the source and the DAC - smoothes everything out adds bloom - unbelievable piece of gear.

Monarcy Audio 24/96 DIP - ok so I love the original DIP, then read that with the 24/96 coupled with the classic the sound gets even better - unbelievable.

Headphone Amp

Moretto Hap-03 - tube headphone amp, unbelievable sound - right up there with my Stello and was less money on EBay. These are rare, however if you ever see one for sale, grab it. I rolled the original tubes and the sound increased substantially.

Stello HP 100 - I bought this amp because of a great review - I have not been disappointed - great sounding headphone amp and it takes two inputs with switching.

Benchmark DAC/headphone amp - see DAC's.

Ray Samuels Audio - The Hornet - this is a small amp for the IPod that will power just about any headphone. This amp makes music on the IPod sing. I can listen to my HD600's, the AKG's or the Bose 2"s. Does not matter, great sound out of an amp that is about the size of a pack of cigs. Rechargeable battery - only available direct from Ray Samuels Audio. If you listen to the IPod, then do yourself a favor and upgrade to this little amp. I use this amp when I travel.

Headphones

Sennheisser HD600 - I love these cans, warm rich sound, good bass extension and comfortable.

Sennheisser HD650 - slightly better sound than the 600's.

Sennheisser HD800 - the ultimate headphone - they sound so wonderful, that I hardly take them off. Classical, jazz, rock - does not matter - these things are unbelievable. Great soundstage, beautiful highs, midrange and deep bass - the best speaker just on your ears.

AKG 701 - I have owned 3 pair of AKG's. I keep coming back to AKG due to great reviews. However, they are not for me, just too analytical - they lack the warmth of the Sennheissers and cannot take a lot of volume without distorting. Plus, over time, they become uncomfortable.

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Equipment Reviews

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