desktopguy

Responses from desktopguy

A warm DAC?
Another vote for R2R--even more so for NOS.Another vote for MHDT Labs Orchid w/tube buffer. Very nice sound.Another suggestion: ditch the USB input of whatever DAC you have & use coax cable coming from a SPDIF converter (there are a number of ... 
How Do You Live The Audiophile Life
I echo what @freediver said about becoming familiar with live music in real spaces. Live acoustic music is priceless for understanding tonality/timbre, smooth vs grainy sound, soundstage, rhythm/pace, other issues you’ll run into in audiophile sys... 
Best DAC for around $2,500 or less
+1 re the MHDT Labs Orchid & " Roll into a WE396A D getter " (which I did).In addition to my strong preference for NOS digital (or really well done R2R), I have a very constrained space on my desktop & the Orchid fits perfectly.I paid the... 
is it possible to make digital audio sound like vintage vinyl
Let’s assume your vinyl rig is at least B+ quality or higher (TT, arm, cartridge all pretty good)--and it’s optimally set up--and if it’s a moving coil or low-output moving iron cart, the step-up device is also at least B+ quality. That’s a lot of... 
Bookshelf speaker for an apartment
I totally agree with the idea of getting sealed bookshelf speakers. I find the sound of sealed/acoustic suspension systems to be superior in several ways, though you do need some power to make them open up. You can also place these closer to the r... 
My list of seller red flags
I’ve bought and sold many things on various sites. When I started selling, I quickly learned to put "No trades, please" and "No lowball offers, please" in my listings. Of course I still heard from people offering trades & lowball offers--just ... 
Tidal vs ATC
I have no experience with Tidal. I do have experience with ATC, but it’s limited to their smallest (and passive) professional monitor, the SCM12 Pro's. So my comment may or may not be relevant to this thread.But here’s the thing: I’ve had 4-5 powe... 
What country builds the best audio equipment?
I know it's a truism, but I'd have to say Germany builds the best. I've owned a lot of gear over the years--but the most impressive build quality, operational flexibility/design & sound quality in one box has to be my Violectric V281 headphone... 
Active line level crossover with subwoofer out - HELP
I've used a Marchand electronic crossover in my desktop system for several years. It really gets the job done nicely. I did some not-so-rigorous comparing of the sound w/ & w/o the crossover. I couldn't distinguish any sonic differences with i... 
What other Hobbies or Interests Do You Have?
vivisection...mummification...alien communications...petty larcenyOK, none of that is true. The truth is so boring:1 - I walk 5 miles a day as fast as possible. Ran that or more for decades; now it's walking. Used to swim 2-3 miles/day (that was t... 
It looks like a debate to me.
For the record:I have a face (just checked...it's still there)And I'm not a "hobbyist." My love of music (which propels all my audio systems appreciation), has way more amplitude than that snarky word can convey 
Speakers Don’t Matter As Much As We Think They Do?
Years ago my big living room system evolved, starting with speakers I ended up hating (mid- to low-end Infinity's), then getting speakers that pleased me enormously (Vandersteen 4s). Flash forward 25 years and the same process started playing out ... 
Guest suddenly takes it upon herself to move my speakers
Just one question: where is she buried now? 
Best songs to test speakers
I use different kinds of music to explore various performance characteristics of speakers, ie:Well-recorded acoustic jazz to explore timbre, detail/speed & soundstageWell-recorded large scale classical and choral to explore time, detail/speed,... 
Axe to grind know it alls
The light at the end of the tunnel is ... a colonoscope.I belong to 4-5 audio boards. Each one suffers from trolls to some extent. We've now had decades of time to adapt our social pathologies to Internet communications. You know, the old comment ...