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Glisdome's
Dear Lucio,
I am trying to source the Glisdome's you describe in an article I have found on the net.They do not seem to be available in England.Can you suggest a source that might consider supplying them?
Thank you for your time.
Chris - E-mail: cebow@tiscali.co.uk

LC
Dear Chris,
this is a frequently asked question. The real problem is that, as far as I know, the French Company that makes the GlisDome disks doesn't have a website yet. Hence, it is quite difficult to find or get a list of official distributors.
Other Companies make similar stuff, so it shouldn't be impossible to find clones. These devices are used to "move" heavy objects like furniture, desks etc. Hence, you should be able to find these Teflon disks at any furniture or DIY store.
Hope this helped,
Lucio Cadeddu

Triangle Titus 202 review
Dear Lucio,
I have read your review of the Titus for a second time now: once before owning a pair, and again after purchasing and listening to a pair for a month or so.
What an excellent review!
Clearly, you thought carefully before writing and I believe you described the abilities of these speakers exceptionally well.
Please accept my thanks!
PS - Powered by a Cayin TA-30 with Mullard xf2 EL34 output tubes.
Scott - E-mail: SCANNEVANS (at) aol.com

LC
Dear Scott,
I'm glad you've found my review accurate: it is quite difficult to convey emotions and feelings about audio gear into words, especially in a foreign language.
Thanks for the feedback!
Lucio Cadeddu

Sonus Faber Vs. Soliloquy
Dear Mr. Cadeddu,
I've been trying to avoid asking you the following question but I couldn't find any legitimate answers in the past 3 months. I'm about to invest a lot of my little savings in some speakers.
My room is about 7x10 meters; the music I listen to is jazz, opera and classical. I always loved the Sonus Faber Gran Piano and I wanted to buy those; then I read nice things about the Soliloquy 6.2 (now updated to 6.2i) and from some reviews on the internet it looks like they sound better than the Gran Piano. Can you give me some help to decide? Are those speakers in the same league at all?
Thank you so much,
Tatum - E-mail: faciom (at) yahoo.com

LC
Dear Tatum,
unfortunately the Soliloquy's aren't distributed in Italy so I haven't had any chance to listen to them. The list price seems equivalent but consider this refers to the respective Countries. Sonus Faber products are MUCH MORE expensive in the US (and viceversa)! Keep this in mind!
I can just suggest a careful personal listening test to help you decide with your own ears. Your room is very large (70 sqm!!!) and perhaps you should consider bigger and more efficient speakers, unless you have a very powerful amplifier.
Keep me updated,
Lucio Cadeddu

Upgrade path
Sir,
I want to upgrade my Rotel RA02 Integrated Amp and NAD 521BEE CD player. Can you help me what to replace first and how to?
I am not a technical kind of guy.
Thank you.
Arnel - E-mail: apdelrosario (at) gsis.gov.ph

LC
Dear Arnel,
it all depends on your budget and on the kind of speakers you use. In a "source first" environment I'd say that a better CD player should be the way to go. You can't improve a sound that has already been "damaged" by a poor source. That said, the NAD 521 BEE isn't all that bad. It is a remarkable player, indeed.
Anyway, if you feel the urge for an upgrade try replacing this one first. Depending on your budget you can get significantly better performances with CD players like the Linn Genki, NAIM CD5 (or CD5i), Cairn Fog, Cyrus CD6, Audio Analogue Paganini, Rega Planet. Don't forget to use good quality interconnects!
Hope this helped a bit,
Lucio Cadeddu

Different specs (US vs Europe)
Mr Lucio Cadeddu,
Hello from Poland. You are right - specification of US and European models should be very similiar, but it looks like they are not. Please find below TEAC CD P 1250 specification taken from official Teac website www.teac.com and other from German Teac website.
Differences in technical specification are significant.

TEAC CD P 1250 (Teac official website)
Frequency Response: 20 Hz - 18 kHz
Harmonic Distortion: <0.09% (1 kHz) 
Signal-to-Noise Ratio: > 70 dB 
D/A Converter: 16-Bit 
Sampling Frequency: 44.1 kHz 
Digital Filter: 8x oversampling 

German website Teac
CD-P 1250 
CD Player
Plays CD, CD-R/-RW discs . Center-mounted drive mechanism . 2x 1-bit DAC . 
16-bit 2-times oversampling digital filter . Multi-function LCD display . 
Frequency Response: 5Hz - 20kHz,±1dB 
S/N-Ratio: 100dB 
Dynamic Range: 92dB 
THD: 0,03% 
Channel Separation: 85dB 
Digital Output.

LC
Dear Maciej,
many HiFi Companies, especially the big ones, build different products for different markets. For example, there are Teac CD players which are not available in the USA (some VRDS model), but are currently available here in Europe.
That said, it sounds very strange Teac manufactures the very same model with different specs for the US and the European market. Either the two websites are out of sync (one may display old infos, for example) or the European version of the 1250 is better. Only the guys at Teac may clarify this issue.
Anyway, the specs don't tell everything, otherwise choosing a CD player should be way easier that it actually is :-)
Let's put it this way: I doubt the price difference between the US and the European model is relevant. Purchase an European spec'd unit, so that you can sleep between two pillows :-)
Keep me updated,
Lucio Cadeddu

Women, cars and...HiFi
Lucio,
Loved the brief article above, on the TNT site, about Women, Cars and …HiFi. You are absolutely right about kids and Hi-Fi, my now 5 yr old son has been using my CD5 (under supervision) for years, and is a dab hand with a Naim puck!
The LP12, on the other hand went on a wall shelf before he could toddle ;-)
And like your delightful daughter, Lewis is mad about music, of all sorts. In fact he regularly steals the "best" seat in the house, much to his Dad’s frustration!
Regards,
Andy - E-mail: alweekes (at) beeb.net

LC
Dear Andy,
thanks for seconding my opinions on this delicate issue. And yes, even my turntables have been put far from Silvia' reach! :-)
Even under strict supervision, damaging an expensive tonearm or cart is way TOO easy....
Cheers!
Lucio Cadeddu

Radio Shack Digital Sound Level meter
To the staff and management...
I'm writing to thank you for your review of Radio Shack's Digital Sound Level Meter. I manage zoning and development permit applications for a variety of companies whose equipment sometimes makes a bit of noise. It's important to know and demonstrate what the equipment noise levels actually are, as well as what the ambient noise levels are at the sites where the equipment is installed.
Your review pointed me toward Radio Shack's inexpensive meter, which will save me literally thousands of dollars each year, by allowing me to confidently identify locations where sound pressure levels are NOT an issue, as well as those locations where a professional engineering evaluation will be worth the expense.
Thanks again.
David - E.mail: d.minger (at) velocitel.net

LC
Dear David,
glad to hear my review helped your Company saving thousand of dollars each year [WOW!]. Now, if you can share these yearly savings with us you will help our humble site to survive :-) [just kidding!].
Glad to be of service,
Lucio Cadeddu

Teac CD players
Mr. Lucio Cadeddu
Hello from Poland.
Searching the internet for tests of TEAC CD players I came across your very intersting page. Congratulations for such a professional and interesting website.
TEAC products are of special interest to me, since I already own a TEAC AG 790 Stereo Receiver and TEAC W 790 Stereo Cassette Deck. I read your listening test of the TEAC CD P 1100 and I hope that maybe you are familiar with other CD players from TEAC.
Now I am arranging with my brother in New York (better prices!) to bring me one of TEAC CD players. Models now available are: CD P 1250 R (remote ) and CD P 1440 R (remote). Basically both have the same specification with somehow limited ftequency response, S/N and dynamic range figures. The CD P 1440 R has more functions and better display. However they are claimed to posses better musicality than many more expensive models. Finally thay are unexpensive and are available in 120/220 Volts dual voltage version so much important for European use.
My question is simple: have you tested any of those units and if so, what is your opinion and personal recommendation.
I value your professional opinion very much and hope you will find a moment to write back to me.
Sincerely yours,
Maciej - E-mail: mzycinski (at) neostrada.pl

LC
Dear Maciej,
thanks for your kind words. I'd suggest purchasing the 1250R which should be also cheaper. The price difference can be better spent on a set of good interconnects. This would improve the sound noticeably.
By the way, this is a very general advice when dealing with inexpensive entry-level CD players: considering the differences in sound quality are very small, I always suggest to buy the cheaper unit and to spend the price difference in a set of interconnects or anti-vibration feet. For example, a 100$ CD player with a 50$ interconnect cable will sound MUCH better than a 150$ CD player with standard OEM cables.
Hope this helped,
Lucio Cadeddu

Elac FS 108.2
Hello Scott,
I read your review on the Elac Fs 108.2, I love it. However, I would like to seek your advice on the matching of my Nait 3R with this Elac FS 108.2. My current setup is Nait 3R with Monitor Audio PMC 702 bookself speaker.
My favourite music is classical and Jazz, would this amp be a good match for the Elac FS108.2? Thanks in advance for your advice.
Best regards
Winston - E-mail: fucheng (at) singnet.com.sg

SF
Hiya Winston,
You may want to give a quick re-read to my article. Since you are a classical and jazz fan, you may not care for some of the lower end coloration the 108's provide. They do a fine job on rock and roll but acoustic music probably isn't their forte.
But then again, YMMV. If you can find a local dealer, they are well worth an audition. Who knows, you may fully enjoy their sound on acoustic music.
Regards,
Scott Faller

Midwest 2A3
Hi Scott,
I enjoyed your review of the Midwest 2A3 amp. I am going down the same road as you. In my living room I have a B&K high power set up- Pro 10 preamp with a ST 202+ power amp feeding my modest Vandersteen 1B speakers. I must say the B&K amp added another octave of bass to these speakers over the previous amp. I also have a Golden Tube Sep 1 preamp which is generally panned by people reviewers on bbs sites. I disagree, finding it far more transparent than my pro10. I don't have the formers drive since it has a transformer output and it certainly doesn't have the bass of the B&K. I am going to get 2A3 amp from Fi in Brooklyn and use it with some old ESS bookshelves I have lying around the basement.They are supposed to be 93 db at 1 watt. I probably will have the amp wired for 4 ohms to match the speaker.
My area of concern is the speakers crossover. I've posted requests on bbs sites and it seems no one is using any old ones. I've noticed there are a good amount of commercial designs out there now in Europe.
Have you ever tinkered with any ESS speakers over the years? They are still in business in California-website-essspeakers.com
Thanks,
Al - E-mail: alan (at) warwick.net

SF
Hiya Alan,
I've hear good things about the Fi amps. One of our other reviewers (Richard) and Art Dudley use the Fi. The ESS speakers might not have quite the sensitivity you need for a mere 3 watts of amplifier. On the other hand, if you don't listen at high volumes, no doubt you will be very satisfied.
As for the crossovers on the ESS speakers, I really can't be of much help. I haven't had the opportunity to hear them. From conversations I've had with other people, they all seemed pretty impressed by the sound. You may want to consider using an active crossover in your new SET system. Set the XO at around 200 Hz and then drive the bass with an active sub.
That way you can get all of the wonderful midrange and imaging benefits of the 2A3 without any of the drawbacks of only 3 watts (ie, weaker bass, little headroom, etc.).
That's what I do. I'm using those old Goodmans as subs and I'm driving them with a pair of the Antique Sound Labs Wave 8's (8wpc). Simply marvellous sound, though I'm using 100dB efficient speakers for the 2a3.
Sorry I couldn't be more help.
Regards,
Scott Faller