Recent content by W9TR

I am looking at these tables as an upgrade path to my Rega P3. Any one here have personal experience with these tables or the brand? Thanks Tom

It’s in great shape. I’ve decided to buy a bunch of records for now and eventually get a different turntable. Even if I throw a bunch of cash at it, it will still be a Planar 3. That’s not a bad thing, but I’m ready for something different.

In order for bookshelf speakers to sound their best they need pretty good high mass stands, so factor that into the price. Once you stand mount the bookshelf speaks they will take up as much floor space as a floor mounted speaker. You may find floorstanders have enough low end extension for you...

Thanks - you bring up some great points. Even if I upgrade the ‘table it will still be a Planar 3, just slightly better. The first upgrade I could make is a new motor. The kit is about $250 and reports are that it is a big improvement in stability and drive. I may try it as I think I can...

I have a Rega Planar 3 / RB 300 circa 1995, so 30 years old now. I use it in our lake house so it is not my main spinner. It does get used for 3 months in the summer. I have a Dynavector Karat 17D3 MC cart on it It is all original, so it runs a little fast, and I’m wondering if upgrading the...

I like one of the final authors comments: “In short, audiophile products should be judged on what they can prove.” The entire high end industry is based on qualitative claims and ‘trust your ears’ as opposed to measuring some quantitative differences. Even if quantitative differences are...

Usually in a buyout situation key employees are offered ‘Pay to Stay’ packages allowing for a smooth transfer of leadership. I suspect that’s the case here.

The latest news is that Charlie Randall is leaving in November. https://myemail.constantcontact.com/A-Message-From-Charlie-Randall.html?soid=1104107397248&aid=75CbPWmoubI

You wanted thoughts on the looks of that speaker. I think it would be very challenging to fit that into the decor of any of our rooms, which range from soft modern to transitional. The materials themselves appear to be top notch and beautiful. But the combination of light natural woods and...

Cables need to be stereo 1/8” or you get no meter illumination. The ‘ring’ terminal is used for meter illumination, tip for power control. If you are using stereo 1/8” cable then I don’t know what’s going on. :)

A lot of folks have moved away from a dedicated CD player ripping and storing their media on hard drives in a computer or separate network attached storage (NAS). If you are not interested in streaming then you would like the JRiver software suite for ripping, storing, and playing your CD’s...

Mike - if you get no response here I would try the McIntosh forum on Audiokarma. If that doesn’t work there is a cadre of tech folks on the AVScience forum that may be able to help. There are resources for power supply rebuilds and other refurbishment options out there. If you plan on using the...

My personal example is the speaker reviews John Atkinson did for Stereophile. A combination of subjective impressions and objective measurements gave me a baseline I could use to evaluate a speaker before arranging g to audition it. JA really likes the big Wilson’s and I sure don’t, but his...

You’ll be looking for an amp with minimal iron and heatsink weight. That means a Class AB design (since you haven’t heard a class D amp you’ve liked) with a switch mode power supply. A bridged class AB amp may be the ticket. 4x the power off the same supply rails. There are a bunch of them out...

Masimo bought Sound United for $1.05 Bn in 2022. Sold it to Harmon for $350 M in 2025. That’s the way to make millions in audio manufacturing. Not. :) Was it a bargain at $350M? Dunno. Sometimes after buying a bargain you find you are catching a falling knife.