Tardcore

noticed this today and thought it was interesting enough to share: Amazon/Music Direct are selling the Marantz PM6004 for $450 (vs $600) which makes it the same price as the PM5004. Maybe we'll see a significant discount on the PM8004 soon? amazon Music Direct

Thanks for the link. Looks like it would cost $100 to get an official certification.

yeah...I bought a second copy =) It technically came with a "certificate of authenticity" but it's not very official looking. Basically ink-jet printed document signed by Arturo Vega which is sort of cool too.

Just looking for some opinions/info on Autographed records. Has anybody had an autograph authenticated by a 3rd party? Is it worth doing? I have had this signed copy of the Ramones S/T for about 10 years. I bought it in an auction run by Arturo Vega (RIP) who was running the official Ramones website at the time. No real plans to sell it, just wondering what factors go into setting value on a signed record.

ohh Dream Receiver, I believe you can get me through the niiiiiiiiiight

you can get one as low as $185 from Amazon warehouse if you are patient. Not sure how it compares to the PM6004 quality wise...but as far as power goes...the volume knob never goes over 50% with my reasonably efficient speakers in a smallish room. Personally, if I was going to upgrade from where I am now, I would skip the PM6004 and look at the made in Japan PM8004.

The ion should be fine. Plug it into the phono input on your amp and see if you get a similar issue. At that point you can at least eliminate your turntable as the problem.

can you beg/borrow/steal another turntable or phono-preamp to test with?

I was mostly kidding. (mostly). but it actually is a a direct upgrade from my stock 2m red.

Well, that is a strong endorsement. Do you happen to know what type of speakers he uses with his 8004? Does he use the baked in DAC/Phono Pre?

any experience/opinions on the DAC section in the Marantz SA8004? Recent career developments may allow me to allocate ~$5k to upgrades in the next year or two. One possible upgrade path I am considering is going with a PM8004/SA8004 set up.

I have similar needs to the OP and am interested in hearing some more DAC recommendations. I have been using one of these (mostly because I got it for half price). The udac2 is good for what it is--a portable, USB powered, headphone amp/DAC. It sounds fine to me but the fact that it does not have a line-level output is obnoxious. It is just not ideal for a stationary PC/receiver setup. The Cambridge Audio DAC seems to come up frequently as a "go-to" product. What are some others?

is it safe to say that the Leatherface LPs are gone?

gotcha. that makes way more sense. I was mostly interested where the place would be in relation to the blue line.

Last year, I booked a hotel right across from Grant park for pretty cheap. This year I am debating between looking in that area again or just getting something near O'Hare if I cannot get a good deal. Hotels near Wicker park/Humboldt park seem to be nearly non-existent.

Sweet. Thanks for the info. I haven't booked hotel yet and this will help me choose.

Interesting...do you happen to have the address?

just noticed a Bandsintown announcement for Dillinger Four at the SubT on 9/14. That's either an aftershow or a disastrous booking decision. I saw D4 at their D4th of July festival in Minneapolis earlier this month and it was pretty epic. Not sure that a Chicago show can compare with D4 headlining their own festival, on a nationalistic holiday, in their home town.

on the bright side, he's suing the 19 year old kid who chucked the bottle at his head for $21 million. I'm sure that will work out well for him.

Riotfest said that they did drop off. Apparently Toots is not in good shape.

Nice. I am considering picking up the Epic 2s in cherry.

The weak Friday lineup was actually a huge relief to me for exactly that reason. I had some work stuff come up which is probably going to impact my ability to leave for Chicago until at least early Saturday morning.

according to the specs the minimum distance to the wall is the same accross all 3 Epic models (10 cm or 4" from the wall). Size does not seem to be vastly different. Epic 2 is 4.2" taller x 1.1" wider x1.3" deeper. So, the footprint is similar.

Chicago daily schedule is up.

I think it is ok because the acrylic material is similar to vinyl (ie not as hard as metal)?