christopherf

We went to University Audio. we auditioned the Paradigm Persona 5A which have a suggested retail of $17,000; they were backed by a McIntosh preamp and a Bryston 4B cubed amplifier, Rega Saturn-R CD player and Audioquest Oak speaker cable; in short a great deal of firepower dollar wise. At first I found the speakers lacking in the jump factor that the Triangle loudspeakers that we auditioned in NYC had but then realized they are a great deal morelinear. The dealer then swapped out the McIntosh preamp and added a Bryston preamp which I thought would make things worse and remarkably the entiresoundstage became a great deal more expansive. ='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"futura> ='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"futura> The Paradigm’s are really well made with molded surrounds because as you know rubber surrounds wither over time. I had very high expectations for these speakers. Nevertheless the sound was not engaging; it simply was not the presentation we were lookingfor; we felt that the ML 13A even backed by an Arcam A49 integrated and ArcamUniversal 411 player with mid range AQ cables sounded better. ='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"futura> ='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"futura> We opted to go with and ordered the Marantz Reference pieces; especially refined.='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"futura> After the audition I contacted University Audio to let them know that we were going in a different direction and asked if he would set up the Project and I would pay his hourly rate. He said no; only for tables he sells such as Rega.

Thank you; Madison, WI; good guess we did order through Best Buy Magnolia and to their credit admitted that they do not possess the tools I was hoping they might such as the Denneson or Pro-Ject alignment protractor or stylus gauge. Apropos the place on Monroe St. I believe you are speaking about Paragon. I called them and over the phono he said he was unfamiliar with the table, wanted me to bring it in so he could look it over to see if he could do it and charge me $100 for looking it over which would be applied to the set up should I decide to go forward; that conversation did not inspire confidence in me not the least because he did not sound confident. I was recently referred to a dealer who agreed to service the table. Your observation that Magnolia would be on the hook if they break something is exactly what my wife said but we want to avoid that possibility. Thanks again.

My wife and I purchased a Pro-Ject Xtension10 turntable with Super Pak (Sumiko Blackbird HO) at a big box store and realize that the personnel are not experienced enough to perform the set up which requires swapping out the stock tonearm cable; not so easy because the arm must be removed according to Sumiko so as to be done properly and avoid damage. Thank you in advance; will pay hourly fee Looking for someone in Madison or close by.