A Terrific Tube Preamplifier From Korea, And A - Ultra High Fidelity ...

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Free Free Feedback Advice Advice Get UHF on your desktop anywhere in the world! Imagine getting an issue of UHF anywhere you live for C$4.30 including all taxes. Imagine subscribing for as little as C$21.50. Anywhere! www.magzee.com 12 ULTRA HIGH FIDELITY Magazine We agree with that completely, <strong>And</strong>ré. Some cable manufacturers, and therefore their dealers, believe in using cables as crude (and very expensive) tone controls. We don’t. More generally, nor do we believe in using cables or any other peripheral upgrade as some sort of miracle pill which will somehow make the pain go away. A good cable can enhance the resolution of a good system and make it even better. If it merely masks the flaws (and, generally, musical detail along with it), it isn’t worth the high cost. Your system is a nicely-balanced one, with no obvious weak spots. You could certainly improve it with speakers such as the Harbeths or Spendors. The Sonus Faber and Vienna Acoustics models are especially attractive choices too, but then you’re drifting beyond the comfort zone of your YBA Intégré amplifier. That amplifier is very good, and was arguably the first true high end integrated amp on the North American market, especially on the strength of its refined preamp section, but it has limited muscle, even in its DT (double transformer) version. You may in fact look to a replacement for it first. We have reviewed several Van den Hul cables we have liked, though not the Wind. We strongly disagree with the idea of using the WBT nextgen connectors without sleeves. True, the gold sleeve will add a third metal to the already diverse copper-silver mix, but using the connector screws to clamp bare strands in place will result in an incomplete and inconsistent termination. It’s easy to see that some strands will be clamped, but most will not. Each of the connections will have different characteristics. We don’t know what the final result will sound like, but it’s not what we would look forward to hearing. I recently purchased a Krell S-300i integrated amplifier. I should have listened to it first, but I wanted an affordable Krell because of the name. Well, to make a long story short, I would like to know if buying a warmer-sounding CD would improve the clinical quality the Krell lends to the music. Even if this does not improve the overall effect, I need to upgrade my old Denon. I am leaning towards two players: the Arcam FMJ CD37, because it will play SACD and I would like to hear if there is really a substantial improvement over CDs, and the Simaudio Nova. I have not had an opportunity to hear either, because I live in New Mexico and the stores in this area are all mass-market. I have read conflicting Internet forums concerning the musical character of these players. I will eventually want to upgrade my speakers also. I currently have B&W DM600 series and saw some B&W 703’s at a neighbor’s house, and they sound very good. I would not mind your opinion concerning the kinds of speakers as well. I primarily play rock and electronica, but I have a varied taste in music. I am interested in getting richness and warmth and nothing overly fatiguing to listen to. I am afraid I made the wrong choice with the Krell, but if there is a way to compensate for its shortcomings I would greatly appreciate the advice. Leslie Ambrose NEW MEXICO
Leslie, it’s painful to realize that an expensive purchase (and even in its basic models Krell is not in the bargain business) has turned out to be a mistake, but of course the last thing you want to do is compound the error by a second wrong choice. Take a deep breath, and look at the possibilities. You have the disadvantage of being far from real hi-fi stores, but you do have a neighbor who has a pair of speakers that pleased you. Would he let you bring your Krell over and see how it sounds with his system? You might want to offer to wash his car or something! Bring along some of the recordings that disappointed you at home, and see whether they also disappoint you at your neighbor’s place, but especially whether they disappoint you in the same way. That can tell you a lot about the possible remedies, though you need to remember that the source, cables and acoustics are also different. You will not be the first to complain that Krell amplifiers have a clinical sound, but before we leap to conclusions remember that older digital players are often described in the same way, and the Krell may simply be making your Denon’s already sterile character all the more evident. Offer to wax your neighbor’s kitchen floor, and perhaps he’ll bring his player over to your place for a comparison. Just a suggestion. We really don’t recommend changing your CD player until you can resolve your misgivings over the Krell, either by determining that it is not the primary cause of your unhappiness, or by cutting your losses and moving on. That’s for the same reason that if your roof leaks you don’t start by changing the windows, however much they may need it. In the longer term you may want to look at a new CD player, of course. SACD may be a feature to look for if there is a significant choice in your favored music (there are only a few SACD titles in mainstream rock, and hardly any in electronica). We should add that we are now being cautious in recommending one-box players with no digital inputs. Many of our readers have moved their digital music onto a hard drive, and they then discover that their players have expensive digital-toanalog converters they can’t get at. Not Exclusive North American Distribution EUROPRODUCTS Celebrating 12 years serving Canadian music lovers www.europroducts-canada.com 604-522-6168 everyone wants to do that, at least not yet, but it’s a good idea to provide for the future. Congratulations on a wonderful publication! I can now really appreciate the importance of having a reference system, as I’m currently searching for a new CD player. Of course I am able to listen to the players I’m interested in, but the three I’ve short-listed are sold at different stores in different cities. Not only can I not hear them in my own room with my own system, but I can’t even listen to them in the same room with the same associated equipment. I’m considering the Bryston BCD-1, the Rega Saturn, and the Simaudio CD3.3. I’ve read your favourable reviews of the Bryston and the Simaudio CD-1, but are you familiar with the CD3.3 or the Saturn? Care to compare the three? I know the Simaudio has an optional digital input, but I already have one (four, ULTRA HIGH FIDELITY Magazine 13 Free Free Feedback Advice Advice
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A Terrific Tube Preamplifier From Korea, And A - Ultra High Fidelity ...

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