cat345
Responses from cat345
| What contributes most to a change in how an amplifier sounds? Peter Walker → straight wire with gain (QUAD) John Farlowe → an amplifier is only as good as it’s power supply (Exposure) Julian Vereker followed their advice! (Naim) | |
| Do I Really Need a Dedicated Streamer? I upgraded from a Squeezebox Duet to Chromecast Audio to Bluesound Node X and to the Auralic G1,1. When streaming from Qobuz, sound quality appear almost as good as when listening to my MD Étude FM tuner. I also use a Chord Qutest and a McIntosh i... | |
| DAC question - is music streamer DAC better than mcintosh DA2? @nathandfwacoustics - I'd say about 100 hours of continuous playing. IMO, you can't go wrong with the McIntosh DA2 dac module. Even if you ever find a better sounding dac, you'd have to add a lot more for decent interconnects from dac to preamp. | |
| DAC question - is music streamer DAC better than mcintosh DA2? I now prefer my MA8950’s dac board over the Chord Qutest. The DA2 started to sound better after a few weeks of playing (burn in?) so I won’t go back to the Qutest. Using a Auralic Aries as a streamer. | |
| Suggestions on improvement scott22, You don't have to spend much for a streamer. The Bluesound NODE Gen 3 which has an integrated dac, a very good software (very important) and a reasonable price would be the one to look at. | |
| Suggestions on improvement @scoot22, because you listen to The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, The Who and some jazz, why dont you get rid of all your beloved but cumbersome audio gear and get yourself a small but powerful Naim Audio Mu-So V2 + a Qobuz subscription. no hearin... | |
| Seeking Honest Opinions: Your Experience with McIntosh Audio Gear All have been said already but for my part, I finally bought a new McIntosh integrated and that, fifty five years after I got my first japanese receiver (Kenwood KR-2120) 😎. Tried about everything since then including tubes, class A, Naim and all... | |
| Ruminations On CD Players Naim cd5 si. Open drawer, drop 💿, press play. Benefit from Naim analogue stage. Enjoy! | |
| But is it HiFi? (Crown) I once had a Crown CE4000 powering small ProAc speakers and the sound had all the attributes of a very good hifi amplifier. The fan was annoying at low volume so I replaced it with a K2 but the latter didn't sound as good. I guess you have to try ... | |
| Pure Class-A Amp under $2000 (USED) Classe Audio real class A amplifiers are : DR-2, DR3, DR3-B (25 Watt - 65lbs.) DR3-VHC (45Watt - 99lbs) | |
| High End Intergraded comparisons, Marantz, McIntosh, Levinson, Luxman.... Other integrateds to consider are Bryston and Moon Audio. The former with a 20 year warranty and the latter with 10 years. | |
| Biggest "bang for the buck" audio gear you have owned(in your history)? Naim Nait 2Magnum Dynalab ÉtudeSota Sapphire... all bought new over 2 decades ago and still running fine | |
| Best "Bang for the Buck" you have owned? Naim Nait 2 and MD Étude tuner. Bought new in 86 and still using them | |
| Best DAC for around $2,500 or less The Chord Qutest is the one you need. For much less money, a used Hugo 1 is as good but be prepared to replace batteries every 2-3 years. | |
| Best integrated tube amplifier, under $3,000.00. No phono needed. Could be used, too.d The Conrad Johnson CAV45 can be found used under 3k. Worth looking at if you like the sound of EL-34s. |