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Letters To Us
03/02
Dick Olsher,
Hi, I read your review on the ASL Ki-FOX amp and as far as tube amps go...it really is that good? Someone told me not to bother w/ this brand because of unreliability problems. Your input would be appreciated.
Regards,
Tim
Hi Tim,
The ASL Ki-FOX is well built and has worked reliably over the past year. No hint of trouble.
This integrated pushes my buttons on several levels. First, it's a great design that gives the 6C33B output stage full scope to sing. Musically, it is competitive at any price point. I also enjoy a bargain. At its asking price, you'll be laughing all the way to the bank.
Of course, as with any power amp, speaker matching is critical, which is to say that it isn't automatically going to sound its best with just any speaker load. I would recommend an audition with your speakers.
Enjoy the music,
Dick Olsher
03/02
Clark,
Great show report. Sorry for taking so long to tell you. Lots of characters and encounters. I only wish the web site allowed you to print out the whole piece at once for reading at home.
Barry
03/02
Clark,
Thanks for the ink. As always you have the most creative and entertaining writing in the High End.
Ben
03/02
Steve,
Thanks for the webpage :-)
Spencer
02/02
Dear Steve,
Thank you for the in depth coverage of CES. I was able to make it out last year, but unfortunately not this year.
Hope you are well and keep up the good work on Enjoy the Music.com™.
Jeff Rabin
02/02
Your show coverage to say the least is lacking. Very disappointed. Just my two
cents. Don't shot the messenger.
Regards,
Peter
Peter,
While we have the most extensive CES and T.H.E. Expo Pre-Show coverage anywhere in audiophile land, my apologies as our virtually live show report was a bit curtailed due to my time constrains. Hopefully the four new show reports with many thousands of word now online will bring you more joy. Of course we always hope you...
Enjoy the Music,
Steven R. Rochlin
02/02
Doak Wattigney doakw@home.com
Subject: Benz L2 "review" = worthless crap
(note: no comments within Doak's e-mail to Neil)
If we were to sink to sarcasm, perhaps this could be an appropriate comment:
I especially appreciated Doak's detailed analysis of this review's shortcomings. Since he probably has extensive first-hand knowledge of the cartridge, I suspect that he has somewhere written his impressions of its ability to reproduce music after listening to it for two months while playing some 50 or 60 vinyl discs. Perhaps he will share his magical ears' observation with us.
Meanwhile, all the best.
Neil
02/02
Steven,
Your article on corrupt CDs is right on the money. I've been checking out the listings and emailed
Columbia House that if I ever received a copy-protected CD they would get it back for full credit
refund. They replied that they did not copy CDs. Obviously the policy is we don't know anything about it,
duh. I won't buy these corrupt CDs and I buy about 200 per year. I can always go back to vinyl which I've never
left. The future is bleak, though I can see the day when we buy music we never own and it self
destructs after X number of plays. If this was happening to the written word,
i.e., books, the cry would be louder. If this is capitalism, then it has no reason to
continue. Sheer greed is simply dehumanizing. It debases all humanity stands
for. Did 9/11 teach us nothing? I fear the new powers that be are the huge multi-companies whose end results are sheer profits. Is there no check on human greed? A
passionate music lover...
We just want to enjoy the music...
Lloyd Smith
02/02
Mr. Olsher,
Steve Rochlin referred me over to over a question I had about some CD and DVD players. I'm now in the market for a new digital source component, I currently use a Rotel 950 (up until recently only as a transport), which I would now like to upgrade. My list of possible replacements includes:
Cambridge Audio D500SE
Ah Tjoeb 4000
Rotel RCD 971
Pioneer Elite DV 37
Creek CD43mkII
The middle 3 are the most likely. The Cambridge is nice, and inexpensive, but I feel the Rotel already bumped it (extra money would be worth the improvement). The dealer however, felt the Pioneer was even a bit better in the audio department and would kill two birds with one stone in that my DVD player could also use replacing. The Creeks are very nice and I was a little spoiled by the CD53, but that's $1500 or more and way out of my price range.
So my question is focused on how good the Ah Tjoeb is, what it compares to (what it bests in performance/cost) and how it may compare to the Pioneer if you have any experience with those machines.
The rest of my system is:
VPI MkIII & Grado MCX
Rotel 950 (used to use a Audio Alchemy DDE v3.0)
Spectral DMC 5
Conrad Johnson MV75 A1
Snell EIII or Gallo Nucleus Minors (not Micros the new 4" Bose look-a-likes)
(The spectral and CJ were both significantly modified and upgraded in the parts department by Bill Thalmann at Music Technology - who also used to head the technical department at Conrad Johnson).
I've read a lot about the Tjoeb, but mostly from audioreview.com and your column and the Pioneer from mostly
DVD/home theater points of view. I briefly heard the Pioneer however at the time I was short on time and ironically the system literally experienced some fatal problems right there in the store (not the player though).
Any input would be very much appreciated,
Thanks in advance
Jordan Dourmashkin
Hi Jordan,
There is no such thing as a perfect CD player for under a kilobuck. And a final purchase decision is often dictated by the sonics of the associated system - especially the character of the speakers.
For my money, however, I'd shy away from any player under $1K that is tubeless. No, I haven't heard the others on your short list, but I've heard enough inexpensive solid-state players to develop a strong allergic reaction. Basically, my main beef is lack of microdynamics. On the other hand, players such as the Tjoeb 400 and Heart CD 6000 (see January issue) are capable of remarkable emotional intensity. That's a high priority for me.
I hope this helps in some small way.
Enjoy the music,
Dick Olsher
02/02
Gigi,
Absolutely loved your review, comparison, of Pines of Rome, Reiner & Oue. You have a wonderful flavor.
Thank you,
Dennis de Chiara
Dennis,
Thank you. Positive input is always appreciated. I hope to have another article, George Harrison, A Fan Remembers on line now by
clicking here.
Gigi
P.S. For more samples of my work check out www.writingkrop.com
02/02
Hi Steve,
I enjoyed your review of the Bella Luna speakers. I bet my Dark Side of the
Moon German SQ four channel record would be great on these speakers. The record is really good on my Vandersteen 1b's with rear channels being done by the Dynaco surround sound processor that you reviewed. Keep up the good work.
Al Norberg
01/02
Chris,
What a beautiful piece you wrote on the Bose vs. Etymotic headphones: thorough, clear, funny, and very educational in the choice I've been trying to make for several weeks now. Thank you so much for your research efforts and first rate writing.
Cheers,
Benjamin Bidlack
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