Torpedo

If I were to use a balanced XLR output to use RCA wires to feed a SE amp-preamp input, I'd get one of these Very affordable and keeping one of the advantages of balanced operation which is keeping common noise rejected. However if you're looking for XLR wires, good and affordable, then my suggestion would be a pair of Van den Hul D102 balanced. Nice wires for the money. Moreover I have a contact in Holland who can sell them at very good prices.

We try to buy at US and Japan online stores which usually have better prices, specially now that USD and Yen aren't very strong against euro. I care about music and I like thinking that the money I spend in a CD helps the artist to keep his/her work, but I hate the idea of feeding the big music companies that much. I avoid buying discs at 16-20 euros (average price of new releases in most department stores, which have been shrinking their music sections more and more in the last three years) if I haven't heard them before and I know for sure they're worth every penny. I think people are downloading most of their music for free. In Spain any HDD, memory card, CD-R, DVD-R, DAP... whatever physical media to hold data -hence music-, and the devices to burn it, pays a fee -they call it "canon"- to the Spanish equivalent of RIAA, named SGAE. They take as fact you'll be using it to hold pirate films and music Here it's not a punishable guilt the fact of downloading music using P2P, or making your copies, unless you're making a profit from it. But as far as they blame it for the music sales drop, they charge everybody with that damn fee to support the SGAE and the bastards ruling it. Funnily enough the proceedings from that fee are shared among the artists considering their sales, so probably the ones being more downloaded, who should get more compensation, aren't being more paid... IMHO the sales drop is related to free downloads for a big part, but also for people caring less and less for music as in albums, and being more prone to get individual songs that they like. It's amazing that ringtones are selling a lot.

LOL, boys you crack me up hahahaha

Wow, I bet you haven't met many Spaniards then hehehe

So you need to open the PS and change the bias for the Koss or for the Stax depending on which ones you prefer to use... not very handy, but better than not having selectable bias nonetheless.

OMG I had better kept my fingers still on the KB hahaha

Does his BH feed different bias to the Koss than for the Stax?

Hahahaha, good joke. I haven't done anything worth of that award. Not even to deserve a custom title, so go figure

Since I haven't been in HC for the whole 2008 I resign to any rights I might have to propose nominees or voting for the current ones. However I want to congratulate active HC members for making this site one of the worthiest to be part of.

Listening a few tracks online at [url=http://www.myspace.com/manuelcomesana]Manuel Comesa

Laika Fatien - Misery, a tribute to Billie Holiday [2008]

Great work mate!!!! I wonder how would that sound into open cups or aluminium ones...

Congrats, I hope you love it. Now start looking for some decent NOS tubes for that output hehehehe

Are they the current production T50RP (whatever V or mk they are)?

I hope you liked it. Now listening to a terrific album which is among my favorite jazz releases in the past year. However I'm afraid critics won't think it's cute nor original Eliane Elias - Eliane Elias sings & plays Bill Evans

I should have recalled this yesterday. However maybe you find it equally enjoyable on day later. Happy birthday (again)

What a pity you sold them. Check that site I posted above if you're looking for another pair, from time to time some JR149 arise. I check the site for my friend who eventually would buy a back up pair.

So you still keep them? Smart move

A friend of mine owns a pair of JR 149. They have an annoying system to connect the wires in the bottom, having to remove the base, which makes swapping cables or speakers in the system more laborious. I've listened to them with different amps, from a 25wpc tube integrated to a beefy vintage SS Luxman. They sound good whatever you throw at them, their midrange is captivating. They lack some of the resolution and maybe airiness of more modern LS3/5 implementations, but keep that tight and right timbre-wise midbass texture of good closed speakers. Considering their age and size they're amazing speakers, but if you want them to sound aloud in a mid sized room, you need quite some power to drive them. I've been seeing units for sale from time to time at the Audiophile Candy's free ads site in the UK.

I hope the system isn't playing some tricks and it's true it's your day. Have a great one

Brad Mehldau Trio - Live (at the Village Vanguard) [2008]

No worries, if the price you paid isn't a screaming bargain it's the real thing for sure. That's the other detail helping to spot fakes, the prices are always too good to be true. Moreover it'd be a new strategy of those scammers selling the gear directly from the destination country and not from China or any other far East country. I didn't want to make you concerned, just kidding a bit. The picture showing such mint unit brought the idea into my mind, but I don't think those chinese copiers have gone this far yet.

I'm very afraid they are. I saw on Ebay one of those stores based in China selling "Audio Research-like" cases for electronics projects. The damn case was as a perfect reply of an AR as it can be, but for the AR brand prints. I guess that making the whole thing won't cost them very much and there's a lot of profit in it for them Hopefully yours is the real deal, I don't think they'd go as far as faking the serial number plate, using as good quality connectors as your pics show, and having all the bolts perfectly flat and minty. I guess you can catch the fakes on those details.

It could well be the effect of the Gilmore on the L3000. In my system the L3000 (SE stock cable) show righter bass with the Gilmore Balanced Ref (as far as I know a GS-X with boutique parts, external PS, but not dramatically different) than with the Rudi. It's easily and quickly noticeable.

Richard Strauss - Daphne (ft.Renee Fleming)