8th-note

Responses from 8th-note

Combination streamer and music server…without DAC
Before you spend a few grand on a streamer/server I have a suggestion. For reference, I'm using an ASUS gaming laptop, PSA PerfectWave MkII DAC, PSA PerfectWave transport, Krell preamp and amp, and Thiel CS6 speakers. I have hooked up my laptop to... 
Do your speakers bite??
I had a recording studio in my house for 10 years and I recorded a fair bit of acoustic music including guitar, accordion, violin, brass, drums, taiko drums, and various percussion instruments. I can tell you from personal experience that acoustic... 
What Gear Has Disappointed You?
PS Audio PerfectWave Transport. This thing retailed for $4k and I'm on my third CD drive. PSA used the cheapest computer rot-gut drive they could find. The fact that they would put a cheapo $10.00 drive in a $4000 transport has galled me to no en... 
Turntable question; Does Audio Technica make any good turntables?
I inherited a bunch of lacquer 78 records and i needed a turntable that would play 78 rpm. I picked up an AT 120USBX and an AT mono cartridge (it comes with a stereo cartridge). Even though it has a built in phono preamp I also got a phono preamp ... 
Are advances in technology making speakers better?
For me, the best therapy for Audiophilia Nervosa is to attend an audio show. I've been to two of them pre-covid (AXPONA & Tampa) and the Pacific Audio Fest (PAF) in July. This is where you can get a broad overview of new stuff and how it sound... 
Large Advents (1974) woofer pops with deep bass.
I had a pair of Large Advents of the same vintage and the woofers required repair about 20 years ago.. I'm surprised your woofers lasted this long. Send both woofers in for repair and you will be fine. If you want to keep them until you die the S... 
At this level of high(er) end audio why not offer balanced connections?
Unless you are going to reach out to the marketing and engineering department of every high end audio manufacturer that doesn’t offer balanced connections every answer you get is a speculation. The reason is going to be somewhat different for each... 
Dedicated circuits
Excellent discussion and very informative. I am in the early stages of building a house and I've been researching the electrical options for my dedicated listening room. I'm certainly no expert but here are a few things that I think I've learned a... 
A Question About Time Alignment
Thanks to bdp24 for a patient, thorough explanation. I would add a couple of related points (For the record, I have a pair of Thiel CS6 speakers that were designed to be time and phase coherent). At the PNW Audio Fest I attended a talk by Andrew ... 
Everything matter in the audio chain. Tests prove it!
Thanks for the Alpha Audio link. Will require further study but I've wondered why this hasn't been done before.  
Streaming
I'll add to brunomarcs suggestion. I was going to say something similar but he beat me to it. First, check to see if your CD player has a digital input for accessing the DAC. It is most likely an RCA (coax) digital input or a optical input called... 
BluSound Node and Node 2
Thanks to the OP for the post. I had been considering a Node but based on the information in this thread I'll probably go another direction. Regarding the high rating on Amazon, I take that with a grain of salt because most people leave their rat... 
Reminder: how to tell current from an amp's specs?
You are correct but my point still stands. Krell amps are better than pretty much anything on the market when it comes to supplying current to low impedance loads and the increase in distortion is negligible at lower impedances. Krell and other b... 
Reminder: how to tell current from an amp's specs?
This is an interesting exchange that addresses one of the most important aspects of high end audio: how amplifiers and speakers interact. So I'm going to keep going at the risk of being "outgunned," In my world facts and evidence are more importan... 
Reminder: how to tell current from an amp's specs?
@invalid First, when I took in my Krell for rebuild I hooked up a few integrated amps and receivers that I had on hand just to see how they would sound. It was unmistakable that these amps produced a different frequency response than my Krell. Spe...