Fred Manteghian Blog

Three shows, “Invasion,” “Threshold,” and “Surface” all made a big splash with their hyped-up summer ad campaigns. I bit. Before the first episode aired, I had moved them to my Tivo’s “Season Pass” list, meaning each episode would be recorded, non-fail, each week. After eight or so episodes, here’s the prognosis.

I need to get this off my chest. The Bryston amp is hurting a bit. As is the ARC preamp. The SP-14 preamp won’t go <i>out</i> of “bypass” mode into “normal” mode anymore. If you flip the “bypass” switch to “normal” you get nothing. No sound whatsoever. Never mind that I never listen to it in normal mode. I always use bypass, so, for me, it still works. There’s just the angst of knowing it doesn’t work in a mode that, frankly, I would never use. And what does “bypass” actually bypass? Well, the balance control for one, and the mode switch. If you’re in bypass mode, forget about reversing the left and right channels. I never did understand the need for that feature. Now, an absolute polarity switch – there’s a two-channel hot button topic that could easily fill a Rosetta stone. But alas, that’s not to be had either, even when “normal” worked, well, normally.

When we added the addition that contains the office to our house in 1990, I had the wherewithal to run speaker wires from the built-in nook in the office to the opposite wall. The idea was to put the stereo in the alcove and not have wires showing. I knew enough to use Radio Shack’s finest 16-gauge copper. Of course, I never actually <i>used </i>the wires or the nook. There was always some interesting high-end cable being proffered, and I’m only human. Besides, the speakers and equipment were out on display in the reviewing room, not meant to be hidden in an alcove.