Alan - Have you heard the Stax through the Woo Audio headphone amps? Unbelievably good.
Best,
E
Best,
E
2017 vs. 1990s - How far we have come
Hi Everyone,
I'm just taking a moment to think about how far we have come in the quality and enjoyment of music over the last 3 decades or so. I'm listening to Jazz.fm at 96kHz/16 via a Squeezebox Touch an NAD D 3020, and custom speakers (free design is available here ) on my desk as I work.
I have to say, the sound is pretty fantastic. We do a lot of comparisons to evaluate the relative merits of any given system, but we choose what we compare to. If we compare what we can get now vs. in the late 1980's/1990's I have to say things are really really good, and we should all take time to think about that now and then.
My total outlay is around $800 in electronics + the speakers.
First, I can pick among almost any radio station in the world. When guests from China show up, I have a station from Beijing playing when they arrive. I have 3 or 4 really good jazz stations on tap. There's Spotify and Tidal (great old school catalog) in addition to my 800 albums or so, some hi rez, mostly Redbook.
Digital amplifiers and DAC's are sooooooo much better than they used to be. Some of the DAC improvements in the low/mid market is outstanding. Especially Redbook. Digital amps, even cheap one's, sound so much better than the initial trials around the 1980s I heard. I mean sooooooo much better.
Don't get me wrong, there's a warm spot in my heart for vinyl and tube amps. But let's not pooh pooh an all digital/Class D solution either. The convenience, price and features are really outstanding now.
There will always be room for a discerning ear however. I don't mean to say all DAC's and all Class D amps and all speakers are now great. They are not. I am saying that for the music lover and audiophile your entry level to really good sound is a lot less expensive than before. Let's celebrate this, and also celebrate that this allows us to share not just shopping experiences but culture as well. The better music transmission is, the easier it is to enjoy and share all sorts of music, and culture. We should delight in that.
Best,
E
I'm just taking a moment to think about how far we have come in the quality and enjoyment of music over the last 3 decades or so. I'm listening to Jazz.fm at 96kHz/16 via a Squeezebox Touch an NAD D 3020, and custom speakers (free design is available here ) on my desk as I work.
I have to say, the sound is pretty fantastic. We do a lot of comparisons to evaluate the relative merits of any given system, but we choose what we compare to. If we compare what we can get now vs. in the late 1980's/1990's I have to say things are really really good, and we should all take time to think about that now and then.
My total outlay is around $800 in electronics + the speakers.
First, I can pick among almost any radio station in the world. When guests from China show up, I have a station from Beijing playing when they arrive. I have 3 or 4 really good jazz stations on tap. There's Spotify and Tidal (great old school catalog) in addition to my 800 albums or so, some hi rez, mostly Redbook.
Digital amplifiers and DAC's are sooooooo much better than they used to be. Some of the DAC improvements in the low/mid market is outstanding. Especially Redbook. Digital amps, even cheap one's, sound so much better than the initial trials around the 1980s I heard. I mean sooooooo much better.
Don't get me wrong, there's a warm spot in my heart for vinyl and tube amps. But let's not pooh pooh an all digital/Class D solution either. The convenience, price and features are really outstanding now.
There will always be room for a discerning ear however. I don't mean to say all DAC's and all Class D amps and all speakers are now great. They are not. I am saying that for the music lover and audiophile your entry level to really good sound is a lot less expensive than before. Let's celebrate this, and also celebrate that this allows us to share not just shopping experiences but culture as well. The better music transmission is, the easier it is to enjoy and share all sorts of music, and culture. We should delight in that.
Best,
E
Showing 13 responses by erik_squires
Everyone should listen and buy whatever they like, but we are running afoul of a self-fulfilling prophecy or tautology. If you see 1960's SET amps and horn speakers as "The Best" then there is no possibility for improvement, in class A/D/H unless they sound exactly like that. Also, sound quality is not the only dimension of change. Size, convenience, cost and variety are all valid ways to think about our hobby as well. So if you like listening to a 5W amp with a giant Polish made tube sitting on top, that's what you should listen to, but I hope that even those who do can see other ways in which our hobby has gotten much better. Best, E |
Found a couple of related links, first this famous Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loudness_war So, instead of getting better, re-releases seem to get worse over time. Also this one with more variety of MJ tracks http://www.mjjcommunity.com/forum/threads/136350-2015-Reissue-Editions?p=4103786&viewfull=1#post... |
What if I had trained myself not to hear those differences in mettallurgy? Would I not be a happier audiophile? If I can train my rain to pick out the subtlest ether’s wafting from my power cords, could I not also train myself not to? This is why I'm a DIY all the way when it comes to cables. Pure silver (not silver/copper) IC's and if I care about the power cords, I make my own. Self-discipline and self-reliance for the win say I! :) Best, E |
I agree, teo. I also wonder how much of this causes us needless mental um... exercises. I mean, let's say it is fully possible to hear the differences in wiring when they use copper mined in Chile vs. Indonesia. Perhaps this is some deep learning we can teach ourselves to do. What good is it? This is why I'm always pushing for audiophiles to focus on the room, and design their own speakers. It would help balance their choices in values to discern in a different light. I think we unconsciously train ourselves to listen to certain minutia while ignoring bigger issues. I see this all the time at shows. Some audiophiles can ignore the room acoustics, and get impressed by speaker X when I just can't. The room acoustics are the life or death of a demo for me. |
Sorry Mitch, I think the Hypex, and ICEPower are very very good, but there are also some hybrids I hear good things about like NuForce, NAD (not sure how broad) and Pascal. Brlindfolded, I cannot hear a difference between ICEPower and Parasound Halo amps (A/AB). I just can't. I've also heard some very expensive pure A amps and also, just don't hear "better." As yo usaid, there are differences, but if we keep our minds open about what "better" really is, I think the Class D's have arrived. Best, E |
I didn't say "best" because that is too subjective, but I did say "most accurate" which is a point a lot of equipment is converging around. Smooth, musical and powerful but without added juiciness, and realistic sound stage. Of course, the very best amps ever built were the CJ Premiere 8s, and Class D sounds nothing like that! But I have no space and no money for their care and feeding. :) Best, E |