Umm, yeah, I'd agree that you do come off as being weirdly aggressive on this issue. The review I read mentioned those facts and the review seemed very neutral and objective as far as I can tell, so I just reported it here without any intentions. So what's up with telling me to lighten up...

Quote: Originally Posted by The Monkey If the P1u is anything like the original P1, then I think that poor reviewer has something wrong with his ears. According to the review, the P1u runs on much lower voltage than P1, so that may have some kind of a ramification on the effect...

I just read Japan's esteemed audio magazine Stereo Sound (the Fall issue), and the reviewer tested the Luxman P1u with Sennheiser 800 and the new Ultrasone. He claims that Luxman-Sennheiser was a poor match and that Luxman drove the Ultrasone much better.

Stereophile just gave a pretty positive review of this Marantz PM5003 integrated amp with headphone out & phono board: Amazon.com: Marantz PM5003 Intergrated Amplifier: Electronics For the money, they say the phono stage in this integrated is pretty sweet. $450 with free shipping.

Check out this close up of the behemoth tube amp I posted on p.7, which was used for Disney's Fantasia project in the 30's. See the 866 rectifier tubes glowing blue? Mercury-vaporized... holy crap ...

Komuro 212E mono blocks

Quote: Originally Posted by ejmcgee The real issue with e'stats is they can be a difficult load to drive. Since they are a 'capacitor' speaker the impedence can fall very low at higher frequencies, thus the need for a stable amp. Thanks for chiming in, ejmcgee. Yes, this is the...

I mean, it's possible if you really know what you're doing. But electrostatic speakers require a LOT of voltage (few thousand), which most of the tube amps can't supply reliably. If you aren't sure how to match everything carefully, I'd say stay away or get a professional to set up for you, as...

Quote: Originally Posted by emelius don't let the brooms get to it, ghostmusic...

Call me a perverted person, but I want to lick it.

I recommend Jim McShane. Very honest and operates with impeccable integrity & professionalism. Tests all his tubes, and he won't carry tubes if he considers them to have production issues even though there's demand for them (i.e. JJ KT-77 tubes).

As far as I'm concerned, these might possibly be the Emperor Rex of tube amps?: The amp was created for Disney's Fantasia project in the 30's... Jesus, just imagine listening to Stokowski powered by this beast! Top driver amp is the AL4 driving 300B, which then drive the RCA MI9355 push...

Here's a phono stage of my wet dreams, Allnic Audio's H3000, which is an LCR phono stage... price is like $10K, I think... the separate power supply is not photo'd. Allnic has a cult following among the vinyl/SET/horn crowd in Asia...

Quote: Originally Posted by number1sixerfan How does this do with low impedance cans? Mainly, the W5000? I am having the hardest time deciding between this and the Woo 6 SE. sixerfan - Haven't tried with W5000 but the WA2 controls the Denon cans VERY well. I've tried LA7000...

The sound out of a good vinyl system is just different from any digital sound. As for the post re: vinyl sounding bad/inferior, if this is the consensus, then why would so many CDP manufacturers or critics or consumers claim a certain CDP has an 'analog quality,' as though that were the chief...