[prepress]

This was odd.

I turned on the system to watch a DVD earlier this week, and . . . the hum was back. A bit louder than before, I think. Well, I thought, perhaps I should plug the LS3 in the way the 2300 was plugged in, so I moved it from the Furman Elite to the Furman SPR. Still got hum. So I lifted the ground with one of my Conntek adapters (those things are so cool); no hum.

When both preamps were plugged in there was no hum (the 2300 didn't have its ground lifted), so I don't get why there should be hum if the only difference in the setup was the removal of the 2300. It does change the lay of the power cords, maybe that has something to do with it; I don't know. Plus, the LS3 has a captive cord and the 2300 had a WW Aurora on it. But the hum is gone, at least for now.

Anyway, I later played two DVDs, Green Lantern: The Animated Series and one of my reference discs (Yes Live at Montreaux), and noted that, again, with the Yes disc the sound favored the upper end to the point of seeming somewhat harsh (I didn't notice on the GL disc). But with that came more detail and articulation than I remember previously. There is a difference: before I used AQ Black Mamba II on my BD player, whereas I'm now using Kimber Hero. And again, the LS3 lay dormant for over three months; could it need to break in some more? Could it be that the Kimber/2300 combo is a nicer balance of sound? Maybe.

No hum interfered while playing discs, so that was good.

UPDATE: I swapped in AQ King Cobra in place of the Kimber Hero on my BD player this afternoon, and did a quickie test sample. Preliminary conclusion is the KC has more bottom and is a bit less bright/hard on the LS3. Before I go and spend for what is an unnecessary purchase in absolute terms (3 more pairs of KC) I might want to hear/watch other discs, and run the KC with the 2300 when it gets back.