View Profile: Jim Smith - AudioShark Forums

Today, 10:17 AM

Jim Smith replied to a thread Anyone play around with Duelund wire? in Cables

I have been using Duelund cables for a number of years. IMO, the best sound is neither spade nor bananas, but the raw 12 ga. wire, with the strands twisted together smoothly & wrapped around the terminal, which is then screwed down tightly on the...

22 replies | 8399 view(s)

Yesterday, 11:36 PM

Mike replied to a thread How much quality is on a master tape? in General Audio Discussion

What Is a Master Tape? Acoustic Sounds’ Chad Kassem Explains Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

30 replies | 610 view(s)

Yesterday, 11:10 PM

Mike replied to a thread What are you listening to tonight ? in Music Forum

The vinyl is exceptional, but damn, the SACD is also superb. Home run. If you have an SACD player, I highly recommend it. Nina Simone-Little Girl Blue-Hybrid Stereo SACD|Acoustic Sounds Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

9356 replies | 572014 view(s)

Yesterday, 10:46 PM

Mike replied to a thread What was your first high-end component ever? in General Audio Discussion

Used? IMF speakers New? Perraux amp and preamp But truthfully, it was the 1970’s and everything is now a blur! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

43 replies | 3678 view(s)

Yesterday, 10:38 PM

Mike started a thread Esoteric E-02 Phonostage Review in Esoteric

Esoteric E-02 Phono Preamplifier | 10 Audio Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

1 replies | 62 view(s)

Yesterday, 10:01 PM

Mike replied to a thread Salutions from the snowy Bear River Range in Introduce Yourself

Welcome! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

2 replies | 42 view(s)

Yesterday, 11:24 AM

Mike replied to a thread Esoteric XD Series in Esoteric

This will sound like a PC answer, but truly in between. If pressed, I would say closer to the K1X. In years past, the K-03 versions were quite close to the K-01 versions. With XD, that’s not the case. K-01XD is really a nice step up. HOWEVER,...

215 replies | 16281 view(s)

Yesterday, 10:35 AM

Mike replied to a thread New amp incoming in Headphones & Earbuds

Congrats Randy! SimAudio builds a terrific piece of kit.

16 replies | 368 view(s)

Yesterday, 07:58 AM

Jim Smith replied to a thread How much quality is on a master tape? in General Audio Discussion

Dan is a great guy. IMO, he is underappreciated in the audio industry

30 replies | 610 view(s)

Yesterday, 01:11 AM

Mike replied to a thread What are you listening to tonight ? in Music Forum

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

9356 replies | 572014 view(s)

January 23, 2021, 09:18 PM

Mike replied to a thread Harbeth 30.2 in a new room. in Harbeth Loudspeakers

My favorite Harbeth’s! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

8 replies | 224 view(s)

January 23, 2021, 04:41 PM

Mike replied to a thread How much quality is on a master tape? in General Audio Discussion

Yup, two different approaches for recording. A820 is the real deal for recording which tape machines were designed for back then. Today, the focus is more playback for most. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

30 replies | 610 view(s)

January 23, 2021, 04:18 PM

Mike replied to a thread How much quality is on a master tape? in General Audio Discussion

If you’re into audio by the pound, yes that would matter. The weight of the A820 comes from it’s stand, sheer size and other structures internally as you have mentioned. The A810 was designed purposely as a portable unit, so areas for size and...

30 replies | 610 view(s)

January 23, 2021, 01:27 PM

Mike replied to a thread How much quality is on a master tape? in General Audio Discussion

Mike, you’re off. The 810 and 820 have the exact same playback mechanism. It’s all in the recording side the differences. And for playback only, the 1500 Technics is excellent, especially rebuilt by J Corder. From Ki Choi: “both share all...

30 replies | 610 view(s)

January 23, 2021, 01:01 PM

Mike replied to a thread Meitner MA-3 DAC in emm Labs/Meitner Products

True. A little bit of a work around, but doable. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

39 replies | 2638 view(s)

January 23, 2021, 12:55 PM

Mike replied to a thread How much quality is on a master tape? in General Audio Discussion

George, the hiss of tape is there with digital (from tapes) as well, but excessive hiss on R2R playback can come from many sources: bad caps, caps going bad, dirty tape heads, bad tape heads, etc. With a copy of the master tape, you are closer...

30 replies | 610 view(s)

January 23, 2021, 12:19 PM

Mike replied to a thread How much quality is on a master tape? in General Audio Discussion

The A820 Vs A810 is almost identical, the only difference being in the recording side. If it’s playback only, it’s identical. Most 810’s can be had for $10-15k fully refurbished, wired with external outputs, flux heads, etc. I own two. There...

30 replies | 610 view(s)

January 23, 2021, 11:53 AM

Jim Smith replied to a thread How much quality is on a master tape? in General Audio Discussion

Great!!! I hadn't seen this before.

30 replies | 610 view(s)

January 23, 2021, 10:54 AM

Mike replied to a thread Meitner MA-3 DAC in emm Labs/Meitner Products

It all depends on whether you want Roon or not. The LinQ doesn’t do Roon, only HQ Player. I frankly think the Aqua La Scala v2 is incredibly engaging and musical. The MA3 sounds smooth and musical, takes longer than most DAC’s to break in and...

39 replies | 2638 view(s)

January 23, 2021, 06:49 AM

Jim Smith replied to a thread How much quality is on a master tape? in General Audio Discussion

Back when I was doing recordings for National Public Radio & others, I had a Levinson ML-5 which was a Studer A80 transport with Levinson electronics. Mark still owned the company then. A bit later, I also acquired two 30 IPS Stellavox TD-88s,...

30 replies | 610 view(s)

January 22, 2021, 09:47 PM

Mike replied to a thread How much quality is on a master tape? in General Audio Discussion

It’s highly unlikely anyone has a dynamic recording they listen to which wouldn’t work with tape. Also, it’s unlikely someone can hear 20khz, so who cares if you can record above that. I will happily put my tape up against any other format and...

30 replies | 610 view(s)

January 22, 2021, 09:34 AM

Mike replied to a thread What Vinyl Do You Have On The Table? in Music Forum

B side, album 1. CRANK IT!

5603 replies | 389615 view(s)

January 21, 2021, 08:29 PM

Mike replied to a thread What Vinyl Do You Have On The Table? in Music Forum

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

5603 replies | 389615 view(s)

January 21, 2021, 07:57 PM

Mike replied to a thread What Vinyl Do You Have On The Table? in Music Forum

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

5603 replies | 389615 view(s)

January 21, 2021, 04:52 PM

Mike replied to a thread Another Fyne Deal from Mike - F502SPs are ordered in Fyne Audio

Looks awesome Brian! Love that finish. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

45 replies | 1679 view(s)

January 21, 2021, 03:25 PM

Jim Smith replied to a thread Elliot's List goes International and its still FREE in General Audio Discussion

Fantastic! Do you have any old tracks/albums on the list that are not available any more? If so, how did you get them on your Qobuz list?

4 replies | 305 view(s)

January 21, 2021, 03:20 PM

Jim Smith replied to a thread point-to-point, hand-wired tube amps in Amplifiers

I have known Mike Sanders (Quicksilver Audio) since I replaced him as National Sales Manager at Magnepan. He wanted to start up his company way back then, and he did. I have two pairs of his monoblock amps. Are they the best tube amps that...

33 replies | 871 view(s)

January 21, 2021, 12:21 PM

Mike replied to a thread Another Fyne Deal from Mike - F502SPs are ordered in Fyne Audio

Delivered!! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

45 replies | 1679 view(s)

January 21, 2021, 09:25 AM

Mike replied to a thread Another Fyne Deal from Mike - F502SPs are ordered in Fyne Audio

These shipping companies are a nightmare. A daily nightmare. Fingers crossed things work out today. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

45 replies | 1679 view(s)

January 20, 2021, 01:31 PM

Mike replied to a thread MBL 101 E MK II install advice in MBL

Make sure you don’t tilt the speakers beyond a few degrees. The omni’s could damage. Try to keep the speaker as upright as possible. Be very careful of the midrange and tweeter. No touch. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

17 replies | 461 view(s)

January 20, 2021, 12:49 PM

Mike replied to a thread MBL 101 E MK II install advice in MBL

I’m an expert in asking: who’s your dealer on this? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

17 replies | 461 view(s)

January 20, 2021, 08:40 AM

Mike replied to a thread Hello from San Francisco in Introduce Yourself

Congrats Patrick. MBL is certainly a dream system! I sure love mine. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

10 replies | 232 view(s)

January 20, 2021, 12:27 AM

Mike replied to a thread Suncoast Audio....Service is INSANE! Thanks Mike in General Audio Discussion

Thank you Bruce. We have a great team and I’ll be sure to pass along your message. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

3 replies | 398 view(s)

January 18, 2021, 11:06 AM

Mike replied to a thread Bad quality of CMS Soto Voce in Critical Mass Systems

We have four Sotto Voce’s in the store, we’ve taken them to shows and bounced them around and they’ve always been great. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

15 replies | 456 view(s)

January 17, 2021, 10:42 PM

Mike replied to a thread Today’s Magico Install in Magico

No, no, let’s chalk it up to room and positioning. All good. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

39 replies | 1636 view(s)

January 17, 2021, 09:48 PM

Mike replied to a thread Today’s Magico Install in Magico

The Magico’s are so nice to work with during setup. We had limitations due to WAF (a hard line of 18 inches out into the room) and had to work with the heat from the fire place on the left side. We also had to ensure the TV wasn’t blocked from any...

39 replies | 1636 view(s)

January 17, 2021, 03:33 PM

Mike replied to a thread Something new from Esoteric? in Esoteric

Nope. Waiting like everyone else. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

6 replies | 639 view(s)

January 17, 2021, 02:13 PM

Mike replied to a thread N30 Review in Aurender

ACS10 is ripper, backup, storage, etc. it’s a purposely built music content server designed to replace the computer (for ripping) and NAS (for backup and storage). The N30 will be limited to whatever the largest size SSD drive is (8TB at...

17 replies | 655 view(s)

January 17, 2021, 12:22 PM

Mike replied to a thread N30 Review in Aurender

I haven’t heard whether they will or not or how long the stock umbilical cord is. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

17 replies | 655 view(s)

January 17, 2021, 11:31 AM

Mike replied to a thread N30 Review in Aurender

This will be an interesting shoot out! I can’t wait to get our N30. The W20SE however remains unique in that it operates on battery power. That’s a huge advantage. But a separate power supply might be right there with it. We shall see. I...

17 replies | 655 view(s)

January 17, 2021, 09:29 AM

Mike replied to a thread Today’s Magico Install in Magico

They do. Customer wanted us to leave them in the box.

39 replies | 1636 view(s)

January 16, 2021, 10:36 PM

Mike replied to a thread MSB Select II in MSB

Where are you located? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

121 replies | 17771 view(s)

January 16, 2021, 08:59 PM

Mike started a thread How Force Cancelling Driver Technology Eliminates Cabinet Vibrations in Speakers

How Force-Canceling Drivers Stop Speaker-Cabinet Vibrations - SoundStage! Shorts (January 2021) - YouTube

2 replies | 204 view(s)

January 16, 2021, 08:27 PM

Mike replied to a thread Magico A1 & Boulder 866 - Studer A807 MK2 R2R #01 in Amplifiers

WOW! I have to post some videos of my Studer(s) in action. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

1 replies | 172 view(s)

January 16, 2021, 08:25 PM

Mike replied to a thread Today’s Magico Install in Magico

Thanks Calvin. We have an M6 install coming up in Miami in about 6-8 weeks. That will be a fun day! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

39 replies | 1636 view(s)

January 16, 2021, 08:22 PM

Mike replied to a thread New MSB S500 and M500 Amplifiers in MSB

The monos gave a great sense of ease and seemed ready to pounce dynamically at a moments notice. Soundstage was also bigger with the monos. I tried to detect whether the stereo might have a different tonal presentation, but really couldn’t detect...

85 replies | 13076 view(s)

January 16, 2021, 08:02 PM

Mike replied to a thread Today’s Magico Install in Magico

Not really, you have to take into account how important colors are for so many people (Alon, nudge nudge, wink, wink!). Black is fine, but really and truly the S series holds a lot of value for many people, not only sonically, but in the ability to...

39 replies | 1636 view(s)

Jim Smith
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