January2010Issue-ML-79549-ML-

In the Jan issue Eric Lichte does a followup on the Totem Forest. In Mfg comments Mr. Vince Bruzzese unloads on Eric for what he sees as a poor review.

First of all, the day I have to "modify" a $3500 speaker to sound right is the day I am not a customer. I know...you saved some freight in having the coustomer mass-load your cabinets with playground sand.

Hello everyone, my first post here.

Having being without an audio system for the past twenty five years, I've spent the last few months auditioning as much equipment as possible. After seriously considered a number of alternatives - including Naim and its power supplies and powerlines and fraims and multitudes of boxes - my path led to an audition of a Boulder 865 integrated amp, Sonus Faber Elipsa speakers, and an Esoteric X-05 source. It was pretty nice, I think I could live with that.

I was set to get an Ayre AX-7e integrated but recently I have been hearing good things about the Krell s-300i. (Which is also almost 1K less in price.) I have heard the Ayre but I have not heard the Krell. Does anyone have any experience with the Krell? How does it sound compared to the Ayre? Is the Ayre worth the extra cash? I will be using this integrated amp with PSB Synchrony One tower speakers.

Thanks!

Carl

I am currently in the market to start out my system.
My audio source is a computer (flac files from CD). I have a EMU-0202 as a sound card but also have optical output. I hesitate between two paths.

While I haven't choosen my speakers yet, I really liked the Kef iQ90 and the PSB Image T60.

"One of the nice things about being an Audio columnist is that I can not only strongly encourage but also grant full diplomatic immunity to any reader of this magazine who suddently lunges forward and violently karate-kicks the next audiocreep who repeats that age-old hi-fi lie about how only people who regularly attend live music events can accurately judge the sound of audio gear.

From the article found on the front page of the web site entitled Grabbing the Crystal by the Ball. Great read, much of it oddly prescient, but I especially liked these gems:

"Stereo Review magazine will publish an article offering conclusive proof, supported by irrefutable statistical evidence, that under carefully controlled conditions it is impossible to distinguish an oboe from an English horn. It will assert that people who believe they are playing an English horn are deluding themselves, and are actually playing an oboe."

I have had the same system for the last ten years. I have only upgraded speakers and amp. Currentlly I have A NAD Amp driving Thiel speakers. As time has gone by all my music has been migrated to an itunes libray. My current MAC is an 27 inch IMAC. I run all my music through the Aux input of the BEO 9000. My problem is that I have to have the BEO repaired again and I feel it is time to replace this as it will be the third or fourth time under the knife and it is acting as though the power supply is bad.

Hi all,

I am looking at getting some equipment for my dad. He wants to have a digital source; he said something like a portable music player with uncompressed music, but I'm wondering if there is any easier or cheaper way to accomplish this. If it matters, he has an old British Fidelity A100 amplifier and two DCM TF500 speakers. I myself am pretty new to the audiophile scene and welcome any suggestions you may have.