Recent content by ronniebear

Very true. Kenwood and JVC exited the home audio component business about 15 years ago. Under Samsung ownership, the Harman/Kardon brand does not offer any hi-fi receivers or amps. Technics disappeared from the home audio scene for a few years, and its current reincarnation as a high-end...

Looking at the R-S202BL product description at Accessories4Less, I noticed this bold and prominent disclaimer, presumably to deter product returns from consumers.

Current paid subscriptions to Qobuz and Spotify, free subscription to Idagio, and free trial to Pandora Premium. (Pandora Premium sounds a bit better than Pandora Free but sound quality isn't competitive). Much of my listening is using a Windows desktop PC. The Qobuz for Windows app performs...

Among the devices I use for music playback, in our kitchen as well as when I'm working outdoors, is this currently-manufactured Sony CFD-S70 micro boombox. It plays the following formats: Red Book Compact Discs, cassette tapes, AM and FM radio, and via its Aux input streaming music via a...

Although this is a very lengthy 173-page discussion thread, and I have only read a small portion of the content, I am glad that analog vinyl records have re-established acceptance with the general public. At the same time, I personally have less and less interest in playing vinyl albums...

Sales statistics for physical media -- vinyl records, compact discs, even cassettes - are measured based on either the number of NEW PRODUCT units sold or dollar volume. There are no meaningful sales statistics documenting the enormous secondary market for pre-owned media. In that regard...

On a free trial month, I'm coming to love Qobuz. Being unsure how to ultimately get a high-quality dedicated DAC, and not wanting to use my current Motorola smartphone, I've used my old Samsung Galaxy 5 to run the Qobuz app. However, I have two concerns about the 7-year-old Galaxy 5 compared...

Here's a review and discussion thread of a classic late-20th-century stereo preamplifier. There's no need to cram as much functionality into a future Fosi Audio control preamplifier, but please incorporate an excellent subsonic (infrasonic) filter into the phono stage RIAA equalization curve to...

The terminology and usage of the noun preamplifier seems to be a sticking point. For many decades, audio consumers have understood this to be a control center for one's audio system, a component which accepts multiple audio inputs and outputs, allows switching between those inputs and outputs...

Thank you for submitting the playlist. I'm enjoying the selections immensely.

I attended PAF during the day, but unfortunately missed out on the live swing band due to a previously-scheduled appointment. Today, I attended Benno Baun Melgaard's presentation on speaker design and speaker set-up, which I found very interesting and thought-provoking. I also attended an...

Terminology wise, I think you are referring to an Integrated Amplifier, which combines a power amplifier with a control amplifier ("preamplifier"). You're looking for a contemporary version of an Integrated Amplifier. Integrated Amplifiers typically had multiple inputs and outputs. RCA inputs...

I'll be attending Friday morning and then back on Saturday. Let's send each other messages so we can link up.

As a newbie to ASR, I concur with your remarks. Personally, I'm going through a phase of focusing more intently than before on the music itself and less on the equipment. My equipment at this time is laughably modest compared to what many here are using, and trivially cheap and cheerful...

With the very widespread adoption of music streaming, few non-audiophiles are buying or listening to CDs. Why not give the "niche market" of CD buyers the full, undiluted dynamic spectrum and frequency which the 16/44 Red Book format is capable of reproducing? Leave the adulteration to the...