recstar24

I'm still looking around. I opted out of the richard gray stuff, apparently they are just really big inductors in parallel with the AC line. The literature says they actually can store energy and divert current back into the AC line thus helping your gear perform better, which is probably BS. I think the calculations work out that the inductor probably can store maybe 0.01VA (joules) of energy. They claim that the inductor acts as a "mechanical flywheel" that helps your gear perform more to ideal conditions, and states that this brings the power transformer from outside closer to your home. Yup. I have just took notice of powervar. They appear to just be huge isolating transformers with some surge protection and HF AC filter as well. THey can be had for cheap even though some audiophiles are starting to dress them up and put cyro'd outlets on them and sell on audiogon. But I may pick up a used one on ebay, as they get dumped from hospitals consistently and sold there. I read somewhere that Kevin uses a 4kva isolating transformer, the one I am looking at is slightly under 2000 volts but can handle 16 amps of current which should be more than plenty. THe popular version appears to handle 12 amps of current and I believe the voltage rating was 1440.

I could understand two seperate volume pots for the reason Mike stated above. A lot of people can hear louder/better in one ear, so if I had two pots I would just play a mono record or something and match the channels until it was dead on center to my ears. Also a lot of cans have a slight channel imbalance as well, and would agree the senns are one of the more consistent and balanced in that regard. I am not sure what the studies show but in America I think most americans have a slight more hearing loss in the left ear as a result of driving on that side of the car and wind noise in the left ear when you drive with your window down. And yes postjack I agree with your assertion that if your cans/hearing is so imbalanced that you will need one whole step on a SA to balance it (if that is even possible) you have more pressing issues.

Just wondering who out there has owned them or messed with them. Am starting to read up on power conditioners because I believe the power feeding my rig could possibly have a detrimental effect on the sound based on experience. Certain times during the day the rig can sound different, so I would like to keep it consistent, if not noticeably better.

Hello crew, I am completely ignorant to the whole laptop/computer as source thing, so could use your help. I am looking for something to play music from my laptop wirelessly through my Zana. The Zana has 3 inputs with one being sourced from the Meridian, so I figured I could use another source. I am pretty much on my laptop all the time, would be nice to source some music from here as well. Nothing too crazy or expensive, just sound decent enough, the cheaper the better, so no modwrighted or APL modded transporters and what not. Also, I could probably get some ideas for software programs that can play music where I can bypass the volume control on my laptop, that could play various files like FLAC. Thanks

I'm with the jackmeister on this one, pet sounds vs. rubber soul would be a pretty standard and conservative route to go, you would have plenty to work with.

For the bigger stuff I usually go fedex. Something about their distribution and shipping process appears to be more "privatized" for lack of a better word, my only issue with fedex has been not bothering to check that I am home and delivering the package when I am clearly there. USPS is awesome they really handle stuff very well but their tracking is terrible. I only use UPS for smaller light stuff that requires tracking for example a pair of cables or IC's, smaller packages go through a different processing area at the hub and are handled by hand on a nice small little conveyor belt, the big stuff is a different story.

Good one, I never heard that one before. I'll use that next time.

Happy Bday Nate - your a class act! May you have many more to come.

That's a perfect way of describing it. The amp is meant to impress over a long period of time, to get better with age. I like your term "musical glue" which explains very well the type of balance and cohesiveness the amp possesses that make it enjoyable for long term listening.

Nope I believe Craig was able to source them, I believe he is still planning and accepting deposits for the next run.

Hey Mike, Good to hear from you again. Well, I just recently got a Zana, absolutely love it. Sounds killer with the 650's, I think I may be a convert. I do still have the vintage RS-1's and those keep me sane when I start having crazy senn thoughts. Hoep everything is well.

The output caps are custom paper, polypropylene, and soybean oil, its a weird combo which I guess you could classify as a film cap NOT an electrolytic (albeit a pretty good sized film cap). The original ones for the Moth Xana were 250 uF 7.5 pound behemoths, these ones are same conductor and dialectric but obviously not as big. Craig claims the dissipation factor of the zana coupling caps is 0.004 - that is comparable to a very good electrolytic at .07, or a good film cap at .007.

Damn, talk about breaking it down to the simplest level, couldn't have said it better myself. Very eloquent oh kind sir

He has a nice way of articulating such a subjective thing. I really enjoyed reading Carlo's posts and reviews. I know he rubbed people the wrong way but I just felt he was so right on with a lot of his impressions, I liked his directness and clear cut No BS way of presenting things.

Don;t forget the THD numbers as well/

http://buy.audiogon.com/cgia/cls.pl?dgtlplay&1205944610 Paging postjack or any others who have heard the modwright stuff. Have always been curious about it, tube cdp's appeal to me too.

Are you referring to tkam's APL philips SACD1000? I could have sworn he sold that thing a long time ago, maybe next time i see him online we will have a little chat

Do you mean arcam? I cannot find a brand called "acam", I don;t know maybe its swedish or something...

Haven't heard back from the simaudio guy, nor the person that wanted to pick up my Meridian, so still open to any other recs you guys have.

Email sent - I have read many good things about simaudio and their cdp's. Solid engineering, i asked someone about their nova in the past and how it compared with the meridian. He felt it offered the same type of soundstage and depth and analog quality but with prat and bolder dynamics. We will see.

Nope, CD is just fine. USB/digital inputs are not a priority, just straight up solid CD performance.

Just wanted to throw out there that I may possibly want to move away from the Meridian sound that I have been listening to for the past year or so, and try out something else. Budget is around $1500 +/-, the more below that the better. Used is just fine, in fact I would prefer used because that means it is probably a $2000+ unit and we all know that the more expensive something costs the better it sounds What I have liked and enjoyed about the Meridian sound: Great soundstage - to hear actual soundstage depth that is cohesive and captures all of the spatial information on a recording, probably the best Meridian trait. All of my headphones and amps that I have run through my meridians have usually had such a nice, big, enveloping soundstage, whether it was a grado or senn. Smooth, non-fatiguing sound - can almost convince myself I am listening to vinyl, not quite but one of the best analog sounding cdp's out there IMO bass quality - meridians have very taut, linear bass. The 508.24 offers a bolder, more round bass sound than the G08 but the bass is very nice for my tastes. Detail without sounding harsh - the meridians have tons of microdetail and really capture the true timbre of an instrument or voice. But it does not force it down your throat. Some areas that I may be missing out on with the meridian sound... boogie factor - meridians really don't make you jump. I wouldn't go as far and say that I think they are dull or boring, at times it seems like the Meridians, in their aim to go for their very refined, air in the nose british sound, almost makes me feel like I am trying to do you know what with the hottest girl in the world, but she is too stuck up to want to get nasty and really into it. It would be nice if she tossed the hair, jumped crazy, called me all sorts of dirty names, but it just ain't happening with her. slightly laid back presentation - meridians sort of place you in the middle towards the back of the hall. This lends well to one of my favorite traits about the meridian, the soundstage depth portrayal, but maybe I am looking for something that places me a couple of rows up. I still hear this laid back quality even with my Grado RS-1's, so I am pretty sure the Meridian is the part that is influencing this sound aspect the most. Amp will be my soon to be Zana Deux. Grado RS-1's and HD650's (pending Boomana's future sale). Computer/USB not really an option at the moment. I guess DACS are okay but I have no idea what to use for a transport and I would rather devote my source budget all towards an all in one. Thanks for the help.

Well, I would imagine if you really wanted to hear how your amp actually sounds like, that would be the way to go...the HP-2's are neutral and transparent enough to actually hear what your gear sounds like without the room imposing its sound signature on your rig. So I would imagine pretty damn f'ing good.

I have not heard it personally, but I have a friend from headfi who is local who has a vintage pair and a new button-less set as well. He told me recently he enjoys the new one as much as the old. Apparently to his ears the new one is warm and not bright, smooth with good mids and bass with flats. I trust his ears as I have been over his house and listened to his rig, and the fact that he owns a grado museum (original owner of HP-1, HP-2, HP3, SR-200, HPA-1, vintage RS-1, PS-1, etc.).

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