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In Reply to: Re: Replace B&W 603 posted by rrsands on April 24, 2002 at 05:04:52:
Thanks for the advice.
My system:
Creek 5350SE
Basis 1400 - Clearaudio Aurum Beta cartridge
marantz 67SEI rent, so I move fairly often. My big concern with the shearwaters is placement. I have read that placement with these speaker is fairly critical and they work better in a large room.
For this reason alone, bookshelf speakers may work better for me right now.
Follow Ups:
Hmm, don't know about the placement issue, maybe a search here would help you out. Smaller? Try the Kestral HRs; nice, compact floorstander sharing many of the characteristics of the Shearwater. A little less bass wouldn't hurt in an apt, either. Excellent speakers, especially for $1700. Might give 'em a spin, don't believe they'd disappoint either. High foot-tapping quotient.JMR Trente's might be a possibility as well.
How do you like the Basis, btw? Considering vinyl, so trying to get some opinions on some different setups. Thanks!
I like the Basis table. I am not sure I will ever use the upgrade path to Basis’s high end tables, but knowing it is there is nice. I was comparing it mainly to the Rega P25. To be honest I did not hear a big difference between them, but thought the Basis was a bit tighter and clearer.The Clearaudio Aurum Beta cartridge is ok, but the highs seem a bit compressed to me. The shelter 501 has gotten great reviews on this site, but I have never heard it. At some point in the future I am going to try and find someone with it so I can audition it.
I have listened to the kestrels. They were really nice, but the Shearwaters sounded a lot better to me. I may just get Kestrels though. I have heard that they are much easier to place and less dependent on the room.
John;
Thanks for the thoughts on the TT/cart. You might check the Vinyl board, there's a thread on the Beta vs. Beta S carts that might be of interest (if you haven't seen it yet).I am still rassling with the thought of going into vinyl. Set a $2k budget for that or upgrading my digital source. No software (LPs), so that would have to include a BIG slug o'cash for records. Big investment, still unsure if it will be worth it. If you were starting over, would you do vinyl again?
As re the Kestrals, at 1/2 the price, can't expect them to match the Shearwaters. But a great little speaker in it's own right. Think about the JMR Trente, check out www.soundsrightaudio.com. Mike, the owner is a great guy and will answer any questions you might have. Bought JMR Twins from him (also a great speaker), and he was extremely helpful.
Thanks again!
I started out in vinyl slowly. I originally bought a $120 Denon table with cartridge and built in phono stage. It sounded horrible, but I used it for a few years and only upgraded to the Basis about a year ago.The Denon table allowed me to get started in vinyl cheaply and by the time I upgraded to the Basis, I already owned a lot of records. The majority of the albums I own are used rock albums from the 60’s and early 70’s and do not sound great, but for one or two dollars each, I can buy a lot more of them than new cds or records.
I do own a few new records. To be honest, even with the Basis table and new records, I am not convinced that records sound better than cds. Some albums do sound better (Nick Drake’s ‘Pink Moon’ for example), some do not. It is a different sound.
To end the rambling – I like inexpensive used vinyl, most of which sounds decently on my current setup. The majority of new stuff that I buy is still on cd. If I had it to do over again, I would still buy the turntable. The money that I have saved buying used vinyl vs new cds has already easily made the investment worthwhile. I am sure that this is audiophile heresy :)
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