calvinandhobbes
Responses from calvinandhobbes
| MQA is for chumps My impression is also that MQA was developed as a way to sell the public on the idea of compressed files as being "lossless". | |
| What do we hear when we change the direction of a wire? One possible physical reason for directionality of cables is due to the direction in which the wire is drawn and voids and irregularities that result from the drawing process. | |
| Good 2 channel integrated amplifier for 702 s2 under 3k? I've heard the 704 S2. To my ears, they are a very articulate speaker with a "fast" sound. The only downside is a bit of harshness in its high frequency response.The Parasound Halo Hint 6 is a nicely warm sounding integrated amplifier that should ... | |
| Why do some think "music" (not gear, trading, etc.) is the ultimate end? Some people (mostly male when it comes to audio and other mechanical objects) just plain love gear. That gear may have a purpose:Cars: DrivingCameras: Taking picturesAudio: Listening to musicBikes: RidingBut I think it's completely fair that some ... | |
| Connecting a streamer via an Ethernet cable Here’s some reasons why the bits-are-bits argument is wrong from people that should know.tl;dr It’s not about the bits. It’s about the jitter and analog noise that gets mixed in with the bits. Bob Stuart, Meridian Audio"Of course digital bits-are-... | |
| Sound quality of Newer versus Older speakers @spacecadet65 Improvement of metal dome tweeters is one change that I've heard since the 90's. Back then, my impression was that many of them were harsh to the point of being unlistenable. Newer metal dome tweeter designs seem to have provide a le... | |
| Second opinions — how have others (including non-audiophiles) helped you? Unfortunately, my mom lives several states away. My son is across the hall in our house though. He's pretty good with words...at least good enough that I can understand whether what he is hearing fits or doesn't fit with what I'm hearing. | |
| Second opinions — how have others (including non-audiophiles) helped you? I've found that some people inherently have good listening skills for discerning differences. For people around me, I've found that my mother has a particularly sensitive ear. I think my son does as well.Despite not having listened to a whole of h... | |
| Music Server To Only Play FLAC Stored On Portable HDD A Pro-ject Stream Box Ultra S2 is built on a RPi, but with power supplies optimized. I’ve got a 128 Gb flash memory stick attached & it is now a music server.FWIW, it sounds pretty good. Definitely better than a PC (without an Etherregen or ot... | |
| R to r dacs I haven't heard the other DACs on your list, but here's in-depth feedback on the Denafrips Pontus II DAC compared to the Chord Qutest. I had the Denafrips Ares II on loan from a friend in my system for several months as well, so can compare the Po... | |
| Chord DACs .. who has moved across to them from R-2R based DACs ? To respond to @verdantaudio's comment, I've found the Qutest to not necessarily be bright, but definitely not warm. I agree that this can fall on the side of too bright or just right depending on the rest of your system.Ways that I've warmed up ... | |
| How much difference in Sound quality can be expected from different streamers? +1 to what @worldwidewholesales said. I have only started to scratch the surface with streamers and have found that various forms of electromagnetic noise affect sound quality of digital. Benefits that I heard from a cleaner sound are:- More prese... | |
| Chord DACs .. who has moved across to them from R-2R based DACs ? I’ve had a Chord Qutest right now running on a battery in my system for the last two months. The battery reduces the noise floor of the Qutest and makes it sound smoother, but no less dynamic.I just got a Denafrips Pontus II today which is current... | |
| A Better Bluesound AC Cable? @williewonka 100%, also making instruments and voices sound more 3-dimensional versus sounding flat. People like to harp on the cost of cables, but that can have better ROI than purely spending on more expensive equipment. | |
| Best DAC / Budget I think it's difficult to get digital to sound as full as analog. I don't know what your budget would be, but the Qutest running off a battery is pretty satisfying. I've also got a Denafrips Pontus II coming which is supposed to be pretty smooth i... |