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TNT Stubby stands
Scott,
have you had any problem with the wood in the stands warping? I live in Houston and I am afraid that the humidity would cause that size piece of hardwood to warp. Either way, I like the design and I think it will be one of my weekend projects in the near future...right after I get around to that TNT Sandblaster iso platform and some of the DIY wire and cable projects...
Thanks,
Brooks Harris - E-mail: bharris (at) capro.com

SF
Hi Brooks,
I assume you have an air conditioned home, so I wouldn't worry about them warping. I realize that Houston is an extremely humid climate but unless you are going to use them outside, I doubt they will warp. Just make sure that the Oak you purchase is nice and dry.
Also, use a three point support on the bottom of the stand (rather than four). This will help minimize the effects if the boards do happen to warp someday.
Happy Building,
Scott Faller

Dynaudio 42s
Hi Scott,
I have just read your review of the Dynaudio Audience 42s, and the Njoe Tjoeb. I bought Dynaudio 42s 50 days ago coupled to the Roksan Kandy CD and amp (Nordost Solar wind i/c, QED SS Anniversary cabling and CDi Blue statmat), and I agree with your findings.... except with dub reggae: it really does sound odd played on my system. Your comment on live performances being the reference for hi-fi really is the correct perspective, and plain common sense, wisely repeated.

More important, I like your humour! Thanks for the reviews. I see you like BVSC: I have lived in L America and one album I reckon sounds happier and more magical than the one you have is el Septeto Habanero 75 años después Corasón COCD126. I got this one in México DF. I may just write to you again in the future about the music system you have.
Keep well,
Michael - E-mail: mtcf (at) bigfoot.com

SF
Hi Michael,
Thanks for the kind words. It's good to know that what I hear is similar to what you guys hear. Otherwise, I'd start to wonder why I was writing :-) As for my humor, I'm glad to see that you "get it". In an industry that takes itself so seriously, somebody out there has to poke (the occasional) fun at it :-)
Thanks for the tip on album. I'm always looking for good music to listen to, especially Latin Jazz.
Best Regards,
Scott Faller

TNT Stubby Speaker Stands
The website is really a great resource for an aspiring, young hi-fi guy like myself as it does not only focus on the extreme end of the audio product spectrum.
I'm in college and was looking to build myself some cheap speaker stands to compliment my first forray into the fairly expensive speakers (for me) with my new B&W's. I was so happy to see my design idea justified when I saw your PVC pipe based stand. I built almost the same stand, except I used closet flanges on either end of the pipe--fitting snugly into each end and then could screw a base and top directly to the flange.
Filled with sand and painted these things are great. Still want to put some feet on them, but for my first pair of stands they do a great job. These next to my TNT Flexy rack comprise some great pieces on the cheap. Thanks a lot for all of the work done on TNT-Audio, it's greatly appricated.
I enclosed a picture if that's ok. Only 100k.
Zach Stanley - E-mail: stanleyz (at) bc.edu

SF
Hi Zach,
glad to see you like our humble website :-) You're right, we try to get the point across that high end audio doesn't have to cost huge bucks.

As for the Stubby Speaker Stands, these are a modern variation of a pair that I built back in the late 1970's. I built mine the same way you built yours. Some 2" carbon steel pipe (threaded on both ends) and a pair of threaded floor flanges.
These supported a pair of really big box, hi efficiency speakers I built back then (12" driver and an Altec horn). They made a tremendous difference, even though they were kind of tipsy :-)
Best Regards,
Scott Faller

More Upgraditus from Down Under in New Zealand
Dear Lucio,
Oh what a generous wife I have!
For Christmas I got a NAD C320BEE Amp. (She had already brought me Wharfedale Pacific 40's, for a birthday, plus a NAD 541i for Christmas along with a NAD 320BEE Amp!).
Now I used to use a NAD 3240 PE amp, and was extremely dissappointed with the new NAD 320BEE. It had the power, but was lacking something. One thing was the Bass.

Now, I took my NAD 320BEE to our dealer and he tried it beside an C320BEE out of the box, we both could hear that this 320 had better bass than mine and he graciously swapped!!
I took it home and this one also didn't seem to live up to the Hype of Print Magazines. I was disappointed, but mostly happy with the sound.
Imagine my surprise today then when she rang and said, the Dealer will take the C320BEE back and give us a FULL refund!! Then my wife said, by the way, I upgraded the amp to a new NAD 370 for you! I was excited and connected up the NAD 370, and oh Vive la Differance!!
It is wonderful!!!! I am estatic! The 370 has bass applenty. Open sweet mids, and beautiful highs.
Now its some DIY project to make the sound even better.
Lucio, what do you recommend?
Kind Regards,
PS. Thanks for your wonderful site!
Colin R Hopper - E-mail: colnmary (at) ihug.co.nz

LC
Dear Colin,
first of all, congrats on a very nice and clever wife :-)
Secondly, let the new NAD settle in for a while before tweaking it. It may take months before you are able to fully appreciate its sound. Then you can start with a better mains cord, coupling or decoupling devices (spikes or soft feet, respectively) and - possibly - better interconnects or speaker cables (of the DIY kind).
Lucio Cadeddu

Say no to 5.1 rubbish
Dear Lucio,
up to now I've built two of TNT's DIY ptojects: the Aria and the FleXy Table. Both of them give amazing results, to the point that I can't see any sense in spending small fortunes on commercial products like the Seismic Sink.
So this is to congratulate you all for your excellent webzine, and to wish you all go on with your philosophy. In times when commercial hype and spending fortunes on 5.1, Dts and other BS seem to take over, it is good to be able to browse through TNT-Audio - a real oasis of sanity ;-)
So, thank you all.
Manuel Macedo - E-mail: m_macedo (at) hotmail.com

LC
Dear Manuel,
thanks for your kind words of encouragement, we all need those :-)
As for going on with our philosophy, you can be sure nothing will change at our end.
Stay tuned,
Lucio Cadeddu

Congratulations & apologizes
Good evening,
First I would like to congratulate you and all your team for this web site. I have found it out quite soon, and I really like your listening tests which combine both sharp technical and listening points of view.
But, if I can just have a suggestion, it would be "we want more" more reviews and more up-to-date articles.

Well, I'm writing because I've hesitated for few weeks on 3 cd-players: Atoll CD-50 / Micromega Cd Minium / Rotel RDC-02, and they're not there (!)
Only old Rotels and Atoll 100 - which is seems to be excellent but a bit expensive to me - that's good but you can do more don't you?
And you know how difficult it is to choose a good and valuable hifi sound. By the way, apologize my criticism and my english - I'm french - and thanks before everything else. Warm regards.
PS: if you could help me in my choice of cd-player, I've got a Kora Explorer 90 SI with J.M. Reynaud XO20 - yes I know it's fully french, so why what else otherwise the Micromega ??
Ivan - E-mail: idormenval (at) yahoo.fr

LC
Dear Ivan,
I know you "want more" but we can't do better than we are already doing. Perhaps it is not enough for you, for sure it is ENOUGH for us, if you consider - for a moment - that this is a fully 100% non-profit enterprise, managed during our spare time.
Briefly, it's 100% free, so you can't honestly ask for more :-)

As for your choice of a new CD player, let me suggest you to test listen to the NAD C521 (reviewed here) or to the C541, these are both easy to find and good value CD players. Also, don't count those old players out too easily too quickly. Some good old digital gear may be GOOD for today's standards.
Lucio Cadeddu

Air-force one interconnect
Lucio,
DIY interlink with hollow braided conductors: to all die hard tweakers.
I'd like to share with you my enthusiasm over a recently developed interlink concept combining several interesting features. These features are: air dielectric (only incidental contact with Teflon sleeve) -> low skin-effect.
Hollow braided conductor -> Low electromagnetic interference.
Airtight design -> no or low oxidation of the conductors.
Shielding not used for signal transport (semi-balanced) -> low EMI.
Full description of this DIY interlink available at: www.audiotweaks.com/diy2/guus_interlink/page01.htm
The summary of the article "getting airborne" is rather self-reflecting and at the time of writing I was not fully convinced if the sound improvement was real or if it was "wishful thinking". After 5 months and several times switching interlinks I am convinced of the magnificent performance of this design.
You are welcome to comment on my full article.
Regards,
Guus Das - E-mail: ghcdas (at) hetnet.nl

LC
Dear Guus,
thanks for the tip! A recommendation to all tweakers/DIYers: always COMPARE your DIY stuff with _good_ commercial alternatives. It is quite easy to improve the performance of your setup if you're still using the stock 1$ cables which are originally supplied with the 100% of HiFi components. It is harder to improve good commercial products.
Finally, one has to be HUMBLE. Never (I repeat, NEVER) make loud statements like the "magnificient performance of my design". It sounds even worse than the worst commercial hype.
Eventually, let others judge the stuff you make. We don't claim our DIY designs are the "best in the World" or so. Thousands of satisfied audiophiles who have built our designs on their own can say that.
Similarly, we don't claim our mag is the "best in the World" (sadly, many others say that for the rubbish :-) they write)...we'll let our readers decide.
Lucio Cadeddu

Listening to the Garrard 100 Zero
Dear L.C.,
Thanks for yours' and other TNT's expert writers articles that has converted me from a remote controll zombie-potato couch, to an ethusiastic (audio) relic hunter. My forays into Jakarta's flea market finally brought result when I bought a Garrard 100 Zero for appr. US$40 (maybe a C, as it has protrusion next to the arm's weight). It was in relatively excellent condition, no buildup of rust, minimal arm "free play" and smooth platter revolution (just like your advice).
The only thing broken is the wiring terminal, from the tone arm to the RCA outlet. But that's OK, with a quick soldering I changed the supplied interconnector with a SONICA (from Taiwan? wouldn't you believe it?) OFC gold plated cabling. I also hooked the power outlet to a voltage regulator. The head used what looked like the original one, with Shure 55e(?) stylus.

The sound is as sweet as you have described in the above, only more so. My Zero 100, perhaps being from the Disco crazed 1980s era, has a tight and sinuous bass lines, AND lucid, detailed, and richly "timbral" highs (you could almost visualize the color of the cymbals; no metallic clang here).
The color of the highs depend on the "tweak" I put in; if it is a fiber board eggcrate under the plinth, clarity and transparance comes out, however 10cm single ply stryrofoam produces a well rounded imaging, that placed the percussion brass in front of you. Very refined and cultured highs, in my opinion. That is quite amazing, considering that my system is pretty generic; Kenwood KRF-V7030D, with mission M74, and Kenwood phase reversed subwoofer.

My testament comes from around a cumulative of 50 hours (so far...) of listening to acoustic (save for a couple of fusion types) jazz, small groups, as well as big band (piano from Cedar Walton, Horace Parlan, George Shearing, Tete Montoliu, guitar from Joe Pass, George Benson, big band and orchestration from Count Basie, Don Sebesky, Chico Hamilton, MongoSantamaria, to name a few). All I have to say to my Sony DVD audio, "...it's not that I love you less, it's just that I love my Garrard more. Ciao, baby".
My next campaign would be directed at finding suitable McIntosh's. Wish me luck.
Many thanks,
Asoka - E-mail: abb (at) cbn.net.id

LC
Dear Asoka,
thanks for your note. To make your Garrard really sing you may need a better cart (Grado, Shure again ...) and a good audiophile-oriented amplifier. Since you're hunting for McIntosh...I won't comment any further. Only, I wish you good luck with S/H deals!
Lucio Cadeddu

Cryogenic tweaking :-)
Yesterday I put my ac-powercord in the refrigerator. This morning I pulled it out, let it dry for 5 minutes. Then I used cleaning-fluid (foam) you can buy for a couple of euros in any computer-shop to clean you p.c.
This stuff is very cheap and is anti-static at the same time. I cleaned the cable with some of this cleaning foam. Then I attached it to my power-amp.
The difference was AMAZING!! Much more 3-D. Much more stability, no wavering image anymore. More detail.
Bottom line: This hifi-thing is a strange thing. And it costs almost next to nothing.
Kees - E-mail: woerden (at) wanadoo.nl

LC
Dear Kees,
welcome to the crazy world of tweaking! I could promise you I will try this one at home...but I'm not 100% sure my wife will let me do that :-) She is already TOO PATIENT with all the HiFi components and cables that LIVE between us :-)
Anyway, thanks for the weird tip!
Lucio Cadeddu

Dynaudio Audience 42 review
Hi Scott,
If you still have the 42's around you should try them with the AMC 2030 run with mono adapters-60 watts-class A,I've seen them for 700 USD on the net plus a couple of hundred dollars for two mono adapters.Their is a less expensive alternative in the AMC 2100 stereo tube amp which puts out 80 WPC which I've seen on the net under a grand.
This one was reviewed by the Malayasian E- zine,"The Star"-Just hit the site map on the front page and go t audiofile under the extras section.There is a review there.
Your's is a good review and I enjoyed the artwork. The star's web address is www.thestar.my
Alan Norberg - E-mail: alan (at) warwick.net

SF
Hi Alan,
Thanks for the kind words about the review. I was a little tepid about including the pics. I wasn't sure how they would go over. In an industry that is as staunch and stuffy as this one is, some people (invariably) will get offended if someone (me) pokes fun at our hobby. I'm glad to see you "get it" :-)

Funny you mention the AMC's. Literally, yesterday I was on their website looking around at the gear they offer. I'm always interested in reviewing affordable gear. Fortunately the 42's are going to be around for a while. With some luck (and a bit more time), I'll be able to secure an AMC amp for review, maybe next fall. Till then, my plate is heaping over with speakers and ultra expensive cables :-)
Best Regards,
Scott Faller

Help on speakers
Dear Geoff Husband
Wonderful reviews and information. Truly excellent.
I barely got out alive from the 50th floor of the World Trade Center, was without a job for a year, and since I have a wife and 12-year-old son, I am slowly rebuilding my life. Bottom line: I can't afford more than a few hundred dollars for a pair of speakers.

Would you be kind enough to suggest something? Floor speakers if possible. I like jazz, 70s, 80s, classical, my wife musicals, my son--well, whatever is loud and sounds like it came from a ghetto. I know, probably nothing is worth it from your perspective at this low price level, but if anything comes close, would you please let me know?
Keep up the good work and kind regards,
Alexander "Sandy" Treutler - E-mail: Alexander.Treutler (at) mizuhocbus.com

GH
Hi Sandy, and of course family :-)
Oh it's so easy to become lost in the high-end and forget that there's lot's of good sounding stuff around. Personally I'm a fan of second hand, generally speakers cost less that 1/2 their new cost even if a few months old. With the exception of foam surrounds they don't deteriorate and are pretty simple things which makes them especially safe buys.
BUT there are a million models out there and it has to be a questions of listening to lots before you start bidding on Ebay or visiting the local emporium. The one advantage of second hand is that if you don't like them you can always put them on ebay and get your money back :-)
As for advice over which to buy the single biggest variable is your room, followed by your taste and lastly your system. So excuse me if I duck the question, but if pressed try to stick to home grown speakers - as they'll be better value than imports, and to fairly big names or speakers that use standard units from major driver manufacturers e.g. seas, morel, dynaudio, scanspeak, kef, etc etc etc.
But your son would like the Big Fun Box design on the www.tnt-audio.com DIY site :-)
Cheers
Geoff Husband

Tube amps
Nels
Hello, I read your review of the Jolida 502b.
I am looking at tube amplifiers for the first time and know little about them, from what I gather the Jolida is a good place to start. Have you ever heard any of the products made by Ideal Innovations from Canada?
I came across their web site but can find little about them, as far as how they sound.
You can find them at___ www.idealinnovations.biz
Let me know if you have heard anything about them Thankyou
Brian O'Neill - E-mail: mbkpao (at) yahoo.com

NF
Hi Brian,
Thanks for your letter. I am sorry it has taken me so long to reply.  I've been swamped.
I am not familiar with this company.  Obviously they are upstarts.  Not that there is a problem with this, Frank McIntosh started somewhere.  When dealing with upstarts in high end audio, especially with the current economic situation, factory support can be a crapshoot; they may or may not be there to help if you need them.
  On the other hand, there really isn't much to tube amp repair if you have a qualified technician, or understand the circuitry yourself.  Of course, I DO NOT recommend you attempt to repair a tube amp yourself if you aren't familiar with them.  High voltages inside the amp can be lethal.
I hope this is of assistance.
Nels Ferré

RB600/Expressimo Heavy Weight Application
Nels:
Regarding your review of the Express Machining (Expressimo) Heavy Weight, you tested this upgrade on a Rega RB250 arm. Would you surmise the same positive effect on a RB600 arm mounted in the Rega P25 table?
I appreciate and value you opinion.
Thanks.
Charles A. Scasserra - E-mail: casvette (at) earthlink.net

NF
Hi Charles,
Thanks for your letter. With your RB-600, I would not expect as great a difference as I experienced with the Heavyweight on my RB-250. My reasoning is that a stock RB-250 is fitted with a plastic end stub (the part behind the pivot that supports the counterweight). When using the Heavyweight with the RB-250, the plastic end stub is replaced with metal; the RB-600 already has a metal end stub.
I hope this is of assistance.
Nels Ferré

Naimology
Hey Lucio,
haven't written in for ages, partly because my course has been VERY hectic recently, plus doing a lot of stuff both to the house AND the hifi. Wanted to suggest you guys look at the idea of doing a review (or many!) on some Naim stuff - have just changed my system (well a couple months ago) to the following:

• Naim CD 3.5
• Hicap
• Naim NAC 102 (Hicap + NAPSC) preamp
• Naim NAP 180 AND NAP 250 power amps (feeding treble / mid and bass respectively)
• Epos ES22 floorstanders

Thankfully the music is again the important thing and my CD collection (previously only a measly 450CDs) has almost doubled in the last couple months as I again got interested in listening to all these different fantastic sounds! Only problem is - I don't get anything done!

Ah well, keep up the good work - although I've not written in for ages, I'm still keeping up with your exploits. Also wanted to ask you with regards to the Triple-T - how do you terminate it when the ends of the Cat5 are WAY too big to fit in the little banana plugs? Any suggestions?
Kind regards,
Nick Short - E-mail: nlas1 (at) le.ac.uk

LC
Dear Nick,
as announced several months ago :-) I'm preparing a couple of articles on older Naim gear (early preamps, power amps and integrateds). Congrats on a really good system! Just one minor caveat: DO NOT USE our TNT Triple T speakers cable on your Naim amps. Use Naim NACA 5 only as these have been designed to offer the appropriate LOAD to the power stages of Naim amps.
Triple T (even FFRC or similar designed cables) offer a high capacity, NOT welcomed by Naim amplifiers. So, disconnect the Triple T's before it's too late :-)
As for interconnects, use just the black SNAIC ones.
Reviews of newer Naim gear? Why not. It does not depend on us.
Stay tuned,
Lucio Cadeddu

Silly manufacturers
Dear Lucio,
Just one thought prompted by your January editorial on the question of recalcitrant manufacturers. I strongly suspect that some of them are worried about having equipment reviewed by an organ that does not rely on advertising revenue.
This is because you do not have to worry about making adverse comments (where appropriate) and losing advertising revenue as a consequence. Hence, the manufacturer has no leverage to influence your review. In contrast, it is well known to those with an ear to the ground that most of the uk hi-fi press is, if you will pardon the extension of the usual analogy, in bed and having frequent sex with certain manufcturers.

On a completely different tack, can I suggest a piece of equipment for review. I've heard on the grapevine that the UK hi fi designer Tom Evans is about to bring out a valve power amp that is, by all accounts (ie not just him saying so), very special indeed and may well set a new standard. It would be great to read a truly independant review of this new product, so get on the phone TNT!
Regards,
Ian Reid - E-mail: iansr (at) hotmail.com

LC
Dear Ian,
thanks God our palatial TNT-Audio headquarters :-) are filled up with HiFi components waiting to be reviewed. We are not angry because certain manufacturers don't send us their tests samples to review...actually it's their problem, not ours - as they HAVE to sell to survive, we don't ;-)
The REAL problem is manufacturers who PROMISE to send samples, force us to find a blank slot into our busy schedules and then SEND NOTHING. This causes, as you can easily guess, an embarassing problem since it may happen certain reviews got delayed because of this stupid attitude.

As for Tom Evans's new design...we have two reviewers in the UK (Steve and Julian). I'm pretty sure they'll be mostly happy to test listen this new tube design. If Tom is reading this (or if you can make him know :-)) please contact Steve or Julian at your earliest convenience.
Thanks for the precious feedback,
Lucio Cadeddu

Mission speakers
Hi gang,
Once again I really hope you can help me. I am thinking of buying a pair of mission 770 speakers (used). I don't know a lot about them all I know is they sound really good and provide room filling bass and a seemingly smooth tonal response. My question to you is well are they any good, how old are they and what are they worth (they are in like new condition). Any advice you could give would be, as always greatly appreciated.
Thanks again
Michael Pelley - E-mail: mpelley (at) roadrunner.nf.net

LC
Dear Michael,
if I remind well, the 770's are a model by Mission from the early '80s, so it is pretty old stuff. Hence, their commercial value is pretty low nowadays - almost nihil - considering drivers get old quickly (especially those with foam surrounds). The bottom line is: if you like them, keep them and enjoy your Music till the speakers last. Otherwise, if you are planning to buy a pair of 770's, try to pay as little as possible.
Regards,
Lucio Cadeddu

Speaker Stands I
Scott,
I was just wondering if you knew how much the TNT Stubby stand ended up weighing after you filled it with sand? I just purchased a pair of Dynaudio 1.3mkII's and I am looking for a good SOLID stand that won't break the bank.
That obviously doesn't exist in the audio world. So I was wondering just how solid they were...

I came across your stands and thought they looked like a pretty good idea. I also thought about using two 3" (or 4") PVC pillars on each stand instead of one (one in front of the other). Do you think these would be solid enough to give me the best "bang for my buck" and do my Dynaudio's justice? Any thoughts, tips, or ideas would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks, Troy Rathge - E-mail: troy_rathge (at) juno.com

SF
Hi Troy,
The Stubby's ended up weighing about 17 pounds as a finished stand. Increasing the size of the PVC pipe to 4", 5" or even 6" would add a fair amount of weight. I think the sonic improvements would be worth it. Just make sure to tamp the sand well, so that it compacts prior to installing the top piece of wood.

I think you'll really like how they turn out. Right now I've got a pair of Dynaudio 42's sitting on top of my Stubby's. They really so make a difference in the overall sound.
Happy Building,
Scott Faller

Speaker Stands II
Hi Scott, do you sell any of these as kits so one could stain them and fill them with their own sand? Just curious.
Thanks,
John - E-mail: RadioManJH (at) aol.com

SF
Hiya RadioMan,
Why yes, I do offer these in kit form. They are One Million dollars (each). They come in your choice of finishes. Gold or Platinum. And for those who don't care for the sound of Gold or Platinum, I offer Cryo-dipped Rhodium for the ultimate in your sonic delights.

Seriously, we don't offer any of our DIY projects for sale or in kit form. That's the great thing about our humble little site. It gives the weekend warrior something to do, and the best part is, it's ALL free.

Tell you what though, Home Depot or Lowes will gladly cut the wood and the PVC for you. Then all you have ot do is stain it and paint the risers. You will need a hand drill and the few drill bits I mentioned. You will also need a hack saw to cut the All Thread rod. After that you are home free.

Trust me, build it yourself. It's a fun and easy little project. And I promise, you won't loose any digits (if you have someone else do the cutting :-)
Best Regards,
Scott Faller

Audio Note CD players
Dear Geoff,
Stumbled across your review (Audionote cdt/dac1.1/). Just wondered whether you've heard the integrated 2.1 or 3.1 players?
Do you think either would compliment the Michell Argo hr preamp and DPA 200s poweramps (x2 monoblock or biamp'able).
Don't know whether your familiar with this kit? argo =clean clear open slightly dry sound. 200s open detailed nice mid but slightly bright sound.
Thanks for any advice.
Yours sincerely
Jez West - E-mail: jez (at) west9825.fsnet.co.uk

GH
Hi
Thanks for the mail - I've not heard the players you mention but I'd assume (would hope...) that they follow a family sound. In which case they will be open fast and full of energy (when new they sound very dull though). That said they're not the smoothest thing on the planet and if the rest of your system is a bit bright then they might not be the ideal match.
Fram my limited experience of CD players I'd suggest the Roksan Caspian might be a better, more even match.
Keep me posted,
Geoff Husband

Balanced and active gear
Mr. M. L. Gneier,
I have choose send you this E-mail for your send amiable in your bio.
I visited all weeks tnt-audio and, the more important thing for me is your independence, this is the reason for suggesting this.
Have some time that I think that the hifi is a wrong road, and the prices are not justified.
I think that the unbalanced circuits and the passive loudspeakers, have very close limits.

The balanced circuits discriminate among noise and signal, the unbalanced not. The passive loudspeakers, with the passive crossovers, cannot be made with the precision of the actives and, moreover, problems as the louspeakers cables are automatically eliminated.

I supposed that the unbalanced and passive sistems are developed have many years for the high cost of a balanced and active sistem, 20 or 30 years ago, but, in this time, is possible buy some very good professional stuff for less money than the hifi stuff.
As example the Holfi Integra 88 SE, reviewed in the last issue of tnt-audio. More that 3.000 Euros seems excessive for this stuff.
I have in mind this:

• CD player: Rotel RCD-991
• Preamp: Bryston BP-20
• Speakers: Mackie HR-824

When I can afford the prices of the components of the system that I have proposed to you, I think that buying the unbalanced and passive sistems doesn't have much sense.
Well, this is the idea, if you consider it good, please, make the reviews. I think that other people can be interested.
I hope I haven't bored you. Thanks.
Sorry for my English.
Juan Raúl Couto Domínguez (Spain) - E-mail: coutodominguez (at) yahoo.es

ML
Dear Señor Couto Domínguez
Thank you for your kind email. Your English is very good, surely far better than my español, believe me! Your interest in active loudspeakers is shared by me. In fact, I have been trying to get some speakers from KRK Systems (www.krksys.com/) to review for quite some time.

The Mackie speakers that you mention look interesting as well. No doubt, active systems will continue to become more common for the reasons that you mention and some that you don't. We must bear in mind that even an active system has distinct limitations, and the fact that we are "stuck" with the amplifier/speaker interface might well leave us with a sense that the active speaker might well be improved with the use of another amplifier.
This sense, of course, is what drives the high end mentality...a reckoning that only through the use of our ears and our good taste can a truly musical system be assembled.

If I were to advise you I might suggest that you forego the cost of the Bryston preamp and increase your budget for a CD player. This would allow you the funds to acquire a CD player with variable output. CD direct to a pair of active loudspeakers would truly be the last word in a simple system of high quality and dynamic capability.
Further, it would allow you to eliminate the single-ended output of a less expensive (though still high quality) CD player like a Rotel and create a true balanced-diffential system.

In the end, I do share your concern that much of the high end gear in the market today is a poor value when compared to virtually all other consumer electronics. This is a subject that I have written about over the past 10 years. All we can do is try to choose wisely and trust our own ears above all others.

Please email me again and let me know if I may be of further assistance. I do look forward to hearing back from you!
Best regards,
M. L. Gneier