calvinandhobbes
Responses from calvinandhobbes
| 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... | |
| A Better Bluesound AC Cable? @williewonka Also - what type of improvements were you listening for...- better defined bass- faster Dynamics- improved clarity- larger, more well defined image and performer focus -------------------------------------------100%, that’s exactly w... | |
| A Better Bluesound AC Cable? FWIW, a Synergistic Research UEF blue consistently sounds smoother to me than other power cords I’ve tried (including a $15 Tripp-Lite Heavy Gauge Power Cord) when used on both a Denafrips Ares II DAC & a Pathos integrated amplifiers. My guess... | |
| What is the average life expectancy of a DAC? The answer is that DACs will last as long as you are satisfied with what you have (and it is still working). That could be 1 month or 30 years. YMMV. | |
| What is the average life expectancy of a DAC? larshepping Ok, no reason to buy an external DAC at all if they all sound the same. Just use the DAC built into your computer or phone. End of discussion. | |
| The beginning of my stereo set up I don't think it's backwards to start with an amplifier. It's the synergy of amplifier and speakers that matter & different amplifiers (as well as source components) can dramatically change how a particular pair of speakers sound. | |
| How loud are you typically listening? Quieter for me would be 64-69 dB. Louder would be 69-75 dB.One factor that I've just experienced in the last several years is that a acoustically "quieter" room allows for lower actual listening volumes for the same perceived sound level. |