Torpedo

Had you the chance, try the Merlin TSM-xx they're very nice monitors. They produce one of the best mid-bass range I know of on any speaker, which extends to a rather natural midrange. Treble is smooth, nicely extended and blends well with the midrange. They're not resolution or detail monsters, but as most monitors, they image quite well once you use adequate stands and spend some time to place them well into the room. They're IMHO above the candidates you're considering, but perhaps for the Harbeths, which have their own set of properties. I find voices more natural in the TSM than in the Harbeths, which to my ears have a slight nasal tonality in the midrange. However this could be for room issues, I didn't try them in my own room. The TSMs have the advantage of being a closed enclosure design, their bass rolls off more smoothly than on ported ones, so subjectively, seem to get lower than they really do, but not causing much troubles in smallish to midsized room. Their 40Hz is quite audible, but where they shine is in the 80-200Hz range, you'll be amazed for the timbre they can reproduce for acoustic basses, guitars, male voices.... They love "neutral" tubes, but I guess they'll sing quite well with your CA amp.

I don't think GPH meant to say that 95% of experienced reviewers share his preferences, just that when you try to write about some headphones performance keeping observations objective, then impresions get much closer. One thing is what you hear assessing "sounds" which allow you to be quite objective, and another very different one is what you think about those sounds placed together reproducing music, and how you feel about them.

Come on guys, depending on the comparison terms, up to certain extent I can agree with Deepak. I find the HD600 properly amped more balanced and interesting than the 650, which for their enhanced bass always sound to me kind of "average", perhaps not mediocre, but not much more than that. Definitely not "world class" to my ears.

Not for what Tim told me when I contacted him asking that and some more questions. His own words were: "if you want an amplifier to drive balanced headphones, look elsewhere" Not a very friendly guy, however his stuff sounds great IMO.

The hum doesn't come from the "TV frequency" just from the dialing circuits. I ignore the reason, but this is a common problem when plugging receivers, no matter how expensive, into serious audio systems. Sometimes removing the TV antenna connection the hum gets better or disappears, but looks like tkam tried that already.

I'm afraid that despite all your efforts, the receiver will keep humming. Most of those devices using TV reception circuits hum like mad, and IMHO they should stay away from a serious audio system.

I agree with Ken, wait a few days more and let Mike to check it.

Let me know when you're ready, "we" could build the ultimate cost no object balanced β-22 hehehe. Again, Vicki, you lucky... Despite the amp not being yours, you have to post some comments.

Very nice Vicki, you lucky squirrel I asked for one of those 230v capable, but looks like it will never be produced, unless your name is Krmathis Let us know how it handles the R10, I'm specially interested in that combo, and your thoughts compared to your tube amps, which I suppose are optimized for them.

Have a good one!

CJ, you're receiving good advice mate, specially considering you're new to the tubes world. What you're feeling is a problem that needs some manufacturer's fixing, could just be normal issues which you just would need to accept as a trade off for the source you're using, or for some old/underperforming tubes. Just give it a think

jp, knowing how you're using your setup, and being as sure as you are that you can go preamp less, I'd take the EVS and place it on the amp. Then, with the computer's volume at maximum set a top level on the EVS which is safe for your speakers. From there, if you don't find any degradation by using iTunes volume, you can still be using it to set your ideal volume level, but you'd be safe not to burn them in the case you forgot to set a proper volume level on iTunes. That's cheap, quite practical and probably one of the simplest signal paths apart from no preamp at all.

JP#s, if you want to know if your system is "passive preamp capable" I'd advise you to get a used Placette remote, which is frequently available at Agon, and also easy to resell either in case it won't work, or that you decided you need the 3 inputs unit. The other option, but you'd probably need to get them new, since they're quite scarce on the second hand market, are the EVS attenuators Not extremely handy, but an affordable and useful tool to know about your system capabilities, and sometimes to "tame" high output sources when you need lower volumes than your preamp allows.

Sounds delicious. Enjoy it!

What are your "favorite dishes" if I may ask? Just kidding, have a great day mate!

Two hours of a lawyer's time Please don't ask

Wow! Have a great one mate. Very Happy Birthday

Congratulations! If that sounds as nice as it looks, it must be a joy to listen to

This is a tough question and I've been considering it for a few days, since I wasn't sure. I've decided that my favorite guitar tone is Wes Montgomery's. Not only for being very personal and easily recognizable, but for being spot on for the music he makes. After all it was the first time I heard Wes Montgomery when I was about 8 years all, on my aunt's Hifi, that I decided that I needed to learn to play guitar and that I needed to investigate that jazz thing.

Yet another Happy B-day Aura

Yep, about 1.5 hours flight from Madrid...

Holly shit!!!

Any experience with Spanish wines? They used to be a great bang for the buck. However once we joined the EU, prices started to climb, but still at 12-20 euros (here) you can find great wines. Some brands and areas are quite consistent across different vintage years, others not that much and you need to know the good years to get the best ones. Some regions like La Rioja have a very recognizable and personal flavor due to the type of grapes used, which is mostly the "tempranillo" variety, with some "garnacha". Have a look at the La Rioja wine website, they have a promotion running on: Vibrant Rioja Were you able to find some Rioja Alta (the area) crianza (the most affordable vintage) from 2001, 2004 or 2005, or even if the price were right for you reserva or gran reserva of any brand, you'd get an idea of its taste and if it appeals to you. I can specially recommend the Muga Crianza 2004. It should be into your price range and it's a good wine to try the Rioja taste.

Happy day to all you americans. Here it's not a holiday, looks like we don't need to thank for anything