I'm guessing I'm not alone when I say that in the current economic climate, I'll take my good omens wherever I can get them

Hi, I'm having a hard time choosing between these two SACD players. Has anyone heard them together?

Assuming I'm using a neutral sounding amp and speakers, what are the different sound characteristics of the C5xeMP and the X-05 in terms of soundstaging, timbre, immediacy, imaging, resolution, depth of bass, tonal color, timing etc? Which one would give a greater sense of musical realism?

Reason I'm asking is the 2 products are sold by different dealers where I live which means I have no way of auditioning them head-to-head using the same amp and speakers.

The Keith Howard Stereophile article from Jan 2004 hinted that there may be more (upcoming) Red Book CDs, engineered by Faulkner, that use his "Law-of-Averages" technique.

Does anyone know which Red Book CDs use this technique?

Here is an incomplete disography of Tony Faulkner-engineered recordings. There are no details on recording specifics. Do other more-complete disographies exist?

http://www.lessloss.com/page.html?id=60

http://www.lessloss.com/page.html?id=65

.........It is not mysticism. It is science, and is systematic. In the application of audio gear sound quality, it performs very profoundly..............

Giuseppe Scardamaglia

I'm looking for a first pressing of this album. Anybody know the catalog number I should be looking for?

damnit. just saw him live about a month and a half ago

http://newsroom.mtv.com/2009/12/28/vic-chesnutt-death/

In my continued hunt for audio equipment that is dirt cheap but worth owning, I ran across the following amp.

Anyone using one?

mini-watt tube amplifier

My rich fantasy life has this hooked up with my ASL pre-amp, feeding some wonderful, cheap speaker - maybe the Polks I've been saving, maybe a set of JohnBlue 3s I set aside, maybe the new passive Audio Engines. (They WILL get reviewed soon, I trust.)

s.

Worth a read by climate change skeptics:

http://journals.democraticunderground.com/CrisisPapers/230

John Atkinson
Editor, Stereophile