To go balance or not

[tonepub]

Im not being overly sensitive, I'm just tired of the people that sit by the sidelines and complain about everything.

I really hate to take a shot at PFO, because I know those guys but please....

Everything they write about is the most amazing thing they've ever heard and they are always writing about some modded obscure this or that that "blows away, kills, destroys, etc. etc" this established piece of gear or that piece of gear.

But that is their perspective and they are welcome to it. I don't have any bones to pick with them. They are a different channel on the cable box, as are we.

I am curious though, what would give all of our reviews "the teeth" that we are missing?

Please don't tell me something really silly like product shootouts or blind testing, etc. etc.

 

[nsgarch]

I'm not being overly sensitive, I'm just tired of the people that sit by the sidelines and complain about everything.
I don't want to complain without offering a remedy, so let me say that I like TONE just the way it is. It seems to be on top of the latest products, even those from obscure companies, and I consider that a real service that is not provided to the same degree anywhere else. No publication can be all things . . . without watering everything down. (Stereophile anyone?) If anything, I'd like to see even more stuff in TONE, such as new accessories of interest (no Brilliant Pebbles, or another set of cones please) No need to review them, just let us know they're out there.

I really hate to take a shot at PFO, because I know those guys but please....Everything they write about is the most amazing thing they've ever heard and they are always writing about some modded obscure this or that that "blows away, kills, destroys, etc. etc" this established piece of gear or that piece of gear.
But that's exactly why I read PFO! I have a brain and can separate the wheat from the chaff. As I mentioned, they won't review something new if it doesn't blow them away -- read their mission statement if you haven't, it's really quite interesting.

But that is their perspective and they are welcome to it. I don't have any bones to pick with them. They are a different channel on the cable box, as are we.
Exactly! And my advice is to keep it that way -- don't think you can also do what they do, only better, or cleaner, or less biased! You risk losing the strength and direction of TONE, which is it's broad product coverage. Maybe expand the music coverage (not just reviews, but for instance, list all the month's latest releases on vinyl or HDCD, hard to find right now without digging) and entertaining interviews (when you can find terrific people to do them, like Fong-Torres.) Ornery-but-entertaining reviewers we can (still) find elsewhere.

I am curious though, what would give all of our reviews "the teeth" that we are missing?
As I just indicated, I'm not suggesting you even do that. Done properly (like PFO, sorry) it must arouse controversy, which I think is incompatible with TONE's contribution to audio. I was simply decrying the lack of lively critique we used to have in audio. Perhaps web-publishing will permit more of that at low cost, as time goes on.

And, from all the basic questions people ask over and over again on all the forums, (and the uninformed responses they often receive!) a complete "How To"/"Whys and Wherefores" online publication compiled by seasoned audiophiles is what's needed these days I think to help people head off all the usual stupid mistakes , make their own informed product choices and assemble good systems; without the spectre of advertiser influence hanging over it.

Please don't tell me something really silly like product shootouts or blind testing, etc.
Heaven forfend!

 

[Brad225]

I received my Shunyata Altair XLRs yesterday afternoon. Before I removed the Altair RCA I played a few tracks from a couple of discs to have a fresh idea of what the my system sounded like.

I turned off my Krell Standard and ARC LS-25 and swapped the cables and flipped the balanced selector switch and power on both And...........

When Madeleine Peyroux returned she was much louder than I expected even though I had the volume down from 12-1 o'clock to 9-10 o'clock on the LS-25.

The second thing to address was the increase in bass notes from lower mid-range through very low end of my 2 Vandersteen 2W's. I lowered the sensitivity of both subs but I will have to play with the settings for a while to have them blend to my liking again.

That finished I sat back to just listen to the Madeleine sing. Again I was surprised ( and that may not be a strong enough description) at the difference in the sound at the volume level I normally listen which if someone came in the room you could talk loudly over the music.

Her voice although not quite as wide in the sound image as before was much more focused as though it was now standing by itself. The width of the sound stage still ran from outside each CLS but all of the instruments also had space of their own and more depth than before but their were no dead spots in the image with their new found imaging. I don't know if this is what I have read people refer to as "the sound was blacker or lower floor noise". But it was as though all the voices and instruments images had been leaking over into each others space taking away a bit of distinctive clarity. If that makes any sense.

Even with this new found placement of sounds they still over lapped each other with percussion or a horn coming from behind another image when it was to be the predominant sound.

This not to say in any way I was unhappy with the sound of my Altair RCA's. I was only trying XLRs to see how they would sound with a new (to me) CDP I was also waiting to receive to compare it to the Krell Standard and keep the one I liked more.

That being said, the right CDP I had been looking for sense I purchased the Krell in the beginning of the year also arrived yesterday.

It is a Sony SCD-1 with mods by Vacuum State. It currently has level 4 mods and if I like it more than the Krell I will have the up to date level 6 installed.

I opened both the Sony and Shunyata boxes and thought " Oh just try the XLR's with the Krell to see if you can hear any difference and then hook up the Sony".

Well SCD-1 is still setting on top of the box it came in with out being listened to yet.

The change in sound is so dramatic it is as though I changed the CDP or another piece of gear not just changing the way the signal path flows through the same equipment.

I was immedatly over come ( as all of you know the feeling ) with the need to listen to more of my music again with the balanced connections to see how good the Krell can sound.

I guess it comes down to the difference not being the Shunyata cable but I am hearing a whole new CDP and Preamp because of the balanced circuitry.

Thanks for all of your input. I will post on the Sony once it has a chance to enter the system.

 

[Audioseduction]

My system is balanced from CD player to preamp to power amp using Nordost cables. I can't comment on whether single ended sounds better/worse in my system because each component is optmised for balanced operation. What I can say is that I experience a completely noise free sound - no hiss, buzz nor hum. I guess based on my experience, a fully balanced system is a good option.

I experiance the same results. I perfer fully balance over single ended. As you can see, I'm a man of many words.

 

[jfm]

i've been running balanced from cdp -> preamp -> amp. i concur with those who reported that arc preamps run well in balanced mode.

yesterday i got single ended to xlr adaptors for my phono stage so i can run my analog in balanced mode as well.

though it's not totally balanced since the phono stage is not itself balanced, i like the extra oomph and possibly noise reduction. i can now try to see if the sound improves if i lower the gain settings on my phono stage, as minute adjustments are available.