Preferred
cable brands?
June
26, 2019
Hi
Marc.
I
have a very general question. Overall, any particular cable brands you prefer?
Sheldon
Simon
There
are some cable makers whose products I use and recommend habitually, including Nordost,
Shunyata Research, AudioQuest and now Allnic. These various makers represent a wide
cross-section of the market in terms of price. Probably most important, however, is
assembling a full set of cables, including power cords, from any of these manufacturers'
lines, instead of mixing and matching. This will ensure consistency of performance from AC
outlet to speaker drivers. -Marc Mickelson
New CD player
June
14, 2019
Marc,
It's
me, a voice from the deep. I have resurfaced to ask your advice for a good friend in need
of a CD player. What can you recommend in the $1000 range?
Mike
Silverton
New CD players are uncommon these days, due to the prevalence of file playback. Neodio
makes a wonderful-sounding CD player, but it costs much more than $1000.
All
is not lost, however, because there are lots of disc players available on the used market,
and some are now screaming bargains. My recommendation would be the Pioneer Elite DV-79AVi, a DVD player that also plays CDs, SACDs and
DVD-As. It cost $1000 when new, but you can find it used for around $150, although you
will pay more on eBay. While I won't say this is the best-sounding used player available
for $1000, it is very good, having a detailed, precise sound that's also a touch lean to
my ears. It's very good -- among the best -- at displaying the difference in sound between
CDs and SACDs of the same material. It's built to last, having a heavy chassis with copper
shielding. And if your friend gets one that breaks down, he can just buy another one
instead of trying to find someone to service what is unfortunately an antiquated product
at this point. -Marc Mickelson
"Please
add me"
June
1, 2019
Marc,
Please
add me to your distribution mailing. Thank you.
Martyn
Lucas
I've
added you to the TAB reader e-mail list. To join and find out about new articles
first, send e-mail to rl@theaudiobeat.com.
-Marc Mickelson
