duckworp
Responses from duckworp
| Where are the cheap home streamers? Pro-ject Streambox S2 is around £250 in the UK. It does what you ask though no DAC included. https://www.project-audio.com/en/product/stream-box-s2/The S2 Streambox ultra is more expensive and more popular with audiophiles. The cheaper basic versi... | |
| Buying a DAC when you can't try it first I think the streamer element of the Chromecast Audio is amazing, but it needs to be run through software like Roon rather than casting to it. Casting to CCA is not so good. Remember they made these in their millions so the costs were stripped bac... | |
| *WHITE PAPER* The Sound of Music - How & Why the Speaker Cable Matters Interesting reading. I have the author's Townshend F1 Fractal speaker cable in my system and it is, without a doubt, by far the best speaker cable I have heard. Good to read the science behind why it sounds so good. | |
| Warm romantic & detailed The ribbon tweeter in the Proac K-series is beautifully smooth. The speaker is also an impressive all-rounder. Works with rock well too. I home demoed the K-6 and was very very tempted. The Avalon Ideal is also a wonderful speaker, rich and non-fa... | |
| More power for moderate listening levels? There is nothing inherent in the design of an amp which will mean a higher powered amp will sound less good at low volumes than a low powered amp. The Pass Labs Int 250 may sound better or worse at low volume to your ears through your Harbeths tha... | |
| New system, large room, low listening level Larry, what is her budget? I live in the uk in an Edwardian high-ceiling home, though not quite to the height of those magnificent Georgian homes your daughter lives in. They are beautiful houses and the rooms so light and airy with their tall s... | |
| Why so obsessed with bass? Sub-woofers are an interesting phenomena in that they are relatively rare in 2 channel systems in Europe, where they are found mainly in AV theatre systems. They are, rightly or wrongly, often perceived as unnecessary to a pure 2 ch system. The th... | |
| DSP TO TAME THE BASS IN HARBETH SPEAKERS Roon has the ability to run DSP through the output. By all accounts this works very well, and at the price that Roon is, it is a very cost-effective solution. Of course that won't solve vinyl issues. And with CD would require the ripping and s... | |
| Tweaks you got rid of because they were not effective (enough)? @hilde45 Re below: I am talking floor standing speakers. So it’s speaker, Gaia feet, granite. @duckworp -- thanks. If I’m understanding, from the top down it’s:speakergranite chopping boardsGaia feettop of the speaker standthen....what underneath ... | |
| Have you changed your mind about a brand? Was it you, or them? I had a deep love affair with Naim, as many British hifi-enthusiasts do. Naim have a very cleverly marketed upgrade path where power supplies and separate components can be upgraded to the next up the chain. It is an addictive process. However I l... | |
| Tweaks you got rid of because they were not effective (enough)? @hilde45...@duckworp, for the feet under the speakers, what worked for you? I have some spikes but have not tried them out, yet. Came with the speaker stands.Spikes were OK but the big improvement happened by placing cheap granite kitchen chopping... | |
| Tweaks you got rid of because they were not effective (enough)? I have many tweaks that worked but these ones that did not:- expensive feet under amps, CD players and DACs (Unlike under speakers where they have had a big effect, and under the Hi-Fi rack, again a positive effect).- external clocks - crystals, a... | |
| A long harsh digital trip - final meter? My electronic engineer friend tells me that the various electronics and noisy switch mode power supplies in your home will inject noise into the signal, as well as all the components, from the modem onwards, that the signal passes through. Hence w... | |
| Your most indispensable "tweak"? The Stein Music room in the Munich high-end show always soundS amazing. But the do have some fantastic speakers. I’d love to try their room treatments and 'harmonisers' one day. I did contact them and they were happy to supply things to try out.... | |
| What's your favorite boutique speaker maker So far it’s been US companies. Here are three of my favourite from the rest of the world. The Swiss company Boenicke make speakers which are elegant hand-made beauties, all made from solid wood. They look and sound like no other speaker, so musica... |