Musical Fidelity KW
500?
August 26, 2004
Hi Wes,
I was wondering if you have any plans to review the
marvelous Musical Fidelity KW 500 integrated amp.
Tom (a delighted owner)
Sounds like you just gave it a big thumbs up. I hadn't
planned on reviewing the KW 500, but you (and Mikey Fremer) make it sound like a lot of
fun. What I want to review is the new X-Ray CD player, which has so much wow factor I
can't stand it.
But I'll need to connect it to something, won't I?
Hmmm....
Power to the Piegas
August 24, 2004
Hi Wes,
I Have Piega C10 Limited speakers, which need a lot of
power to push the ribbons. My present amps put out 300W into the 4-ohm Piegas. I have to
push the amps loud to get the Piegas to open up into the 3D soundstage and produce bass I
want. The dealer who sold me the equipment is raving about these Perreaux 750 monos (750
into 8 ohms, 1400 into 4 ohms), and he will be willing to take my AVMs in trade. Do you
think Perreaux would be a much better match for the power-hungry Piegas? I'm not sure if
you know these brands. Any suggestions?
Mike
I knew the Piegas needed a lot of juice, but I would
have thought that 300Wpc would have been sufficient. I guess not.
On the other hand, some loudspeakers (usually sealed-box
enclosures) need to be really goosed in order to open up, so it could be that the Piegas
fall into that category.
On the third hand (I'm feeling a bit like Kali today), I
have been playing around with the Perreaux 750 monos lately and they really are slamming,
brawny-as-heck amps, capable of driving an air conditioner, much less a loudspeaker. If
you even suspect that power is an issue, you should check those muthas out (and check out
my review, which will be coming shortly).
New speakers for new integrated amp
August 19, 2004
Hi Wes,
Thanks to Krell's upgrade program
(which expires at the end of August), I will be able to trade my H/K AR100 for a Krell
KAV-400xi integrated amp (at 25% off, in case you're interested). I've always read good reviews of Krell products, but
their prices have always prohibited ownership. I am using Polk RT-15 speakers and a
Velodyne CT10 sub. I want to upgrade to floorstanding speakers (full-range) and get rid of
the bookshelf/sub combo. Can you point me to the right speaker companies that offer
something in the $1500-2000 price range that will sound good with the Krell? I just
recently purchased a Jolida JD100 CD player, and I listen to blues and rock. Any advice
will be appreciated.
David
Because you already are
familiar with Polk, I'd look at their Lsi15s, which are both full-range and
great-sounding. See my
review.
Tube-amp lifespan
August 17, 2004
Wes,
I have recently been able to
acquire a set of EAR 519 amps to go along with my EAR 864 preamp. The combination has put
out some fantastic sound. The 519s were owned by a person whom you mentioned as being a
friend of yours in a recent issue of Stereophile.
The amps are approximately ten
years old but are in excellent condition. My question is what can I expect as far as the
use life for these amps? (Not the tubes themselves. Does the sound quality of
components deteriorate over time?
Al
Yes, I remember those amps
well. I bought a Marantz 8B from their owner, and I wish I still owned it. That Marantz
amp was at least 20 years old when I bought it, and it's probably making somebody
extremely happy today. Of course, it had its ancient capacitors changed by Harry Kolbe
when he modded it. The EAR amps have much more recent caps and shouldn't require updating,
but I can see no reason why it wouldn't last just as long as the Marantz.
The only conceivable problem I
foresee (and it wouldn't deter me, I'd just prepare for it) is that -- as far as I can
recall -- the EL509 is a fairly exotic output tube that can be a trifle hard to track
down. They can be sort of pricey, too -- about $120/pair, if memory serves. OTOH, I don't
think I ever heard Quads sound better than with that amp in a nice big space.
Click, click, click...
August 12, 2004
Wes,
This evening I was lucky to get an
old Columbia mono pressing [33 CX 1256] that turned out to have one regular click per
revolution during the first eight minutes of the record. The clicks were, as I heard them,
rather noisy, at least noisy enough that I became nervous as to eventual stylus or
suspension wear caused by them. The record has been cleaned. My Ortofon Jubilée cartridge
tracks at 2.3 grams.
Will those clicks cause any stylus
wear or suspension wear? The cartridge is almost new. I have 2000 LPs of classical music,
and I care very much about them.
Andreas
Because I haven't heard the
clicks or examined the record in question, I cannot tell you definitively that they won't
damage your stylus, but they probably pose relatively little actual danger to your stylus.
I suppose that it is possible to blow a driver reproducing those clicks at high SPLs, but
why would you want to listen to them a high volume?
If the gouges are really deep
and your tonearm actually jumps up in the air when traversing them, I suppose you might
have a valid concern, but I suspect you examined the disc before purchasing it and we're
not talking about anything that extreme.
At any rate, that disc of
Geiseking playing Brahms shouldn't be terribly expensive (I've seen it offered around New
York for about $10), so I'm sure you can replace it fairly easily -- and I'm sure you
don't actually enjoy listening to those clicks.
Sennheiser replacement cable
August 10, 2004
Hi Wes,
I read your wonderful
review of Sennheiser HD 650 headphones. Great article!
I must admit that I was one of
those people who spent tons of time listening to my hi-fi with speakers, but never with
headphones. That is, until recently. I just bought
HD 650s and a DIY clone amp. I absolutely love them! I now realize what I have been
missing.
What would you recommend to be a
good replacement cable for the already excellent HD 650s? I listen mainly to jazz, soft
rock, and vocals.
Den
I really like the Stefan
AudioArt Equinox cable a great deal -- and James Serdechny has improved it since I
last auditioned it.
Audio Note replacement
August 6, 2004
Wes,
I love the fast, dynamic, musical
sound of the Audio Note E-series speakers and also the fact that they can go so close to
the front wall. Sadly, my wife feels they are a bit lacking in visual appeal. Can
you suggest any other speakers that offer similar performance, ease of drive (I have a
300B-based power amp), high WAF and will be equally happy close to the front wall? If
power is an issue, I would (reluctantly) change my amp.
David
If you dig that 300B sound, I
don't think I'll recommend you go to a different amp. See if you can find a pair of
Infinity's Intermezzo 2.6 loudspeakers. The powered subwoofer will free up your 300B to do
what it does best -- drive the midrange and tweeters with great suavity.
You might also check out
Naim's loudspeakers. Your amp might not like their sensitivity (88-89dB/W/m) as much as
the Intermezzo's, but they're a 6-ohm load and go back against the wall quite nicely.
Voiding the warranty?
August 4, 2004
Wes,
The logo lamp is on my Accuphase
DP-90 transport is out. Is this something I should DIY, or will I void the warranty if I
remove the top cover?
Marv
I guess it all depends on how
handy you are with a soldering iron, but I suspect that the fact that you're asking means
that you have some doubts. By popping the lid, you're probably voiding the warranty, which
is probably worth a lot more than such a minor repair will cost – and if it isn't a
minor repair, you'll want an authorized Accuphase service center to root around inside
your transport anyway.
On the other hand, if you're
fearless and you have no warranty protection (or local Accuphase service), I don't imagine
that replacing the LED is exactly rocket science. However, some audiophiles would pay to
have someone disable the logo lamp.
Headphone amp for HD 650s
August 2, 2004
Wes,
I read your review of the
Sennheiser HD 650 headphones and thought it was very educational and entertaining. You
are a very good writer.
I have a B&K 507 integrated amplifier, and I am
thinking about getting the '650s. Do I need a headphone amp with the B&K?
Thanks for your help.
Jim
I haven't heard the B&K 507's headphone
output, but as much as I respect B&K, I doubt that it is up to the task of driving the
'650s. I tried downloading the .pdf of the 507's manual to see if it offered any info on
the subject, but the link seems broken.
Most A/V receivers don't drive the headphone jack
from the amplifier section, but use a fairly low-output op-amp to drive 'phones. It's more
"efficient" that way, but it isn't a recipe for high-rez sound -- which is what
you want from a reference transducer like the HD 650s.
You won't damage the '650s driving 'em from the
headphone jack, but you won't hear what they're capable of either....Wes Phillips
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