moonwatcher
Responses from moonwatcher
| Vinyl-sourced files at Tidal (how common for stream services?) While these might indeed have been rips from an LP, keep in mind that after CDs had been around awhile, some idiot producers and engineers thought it would be "nostalgic and cute" to add in some vinyl noise (surface noise, snaps, crackles, and pop... | |
| Vinyl-sourced files at Tidal (how common for stream services?) I echo @cleeds here. All of these streaming services get whatever files the record labels send them - and we have to hope they aren't mislabeled by the labels as to providence. I've "helped" Tidal out more than once when an album wasn't correct in... | |
| How good is the crossover in your loudspeakers? My old Acoustic Research AR 9 speakers sounded great in the 1980s. But they need some work now. The old Callins capacitors are shot. I'm fortunate I found a local guy who specializes in rebuilding/refurbishing Polk Audio speakers and is willing to... | |
| Are there any recording artists you just can’t listen too? Ah, because of all the negative comments I had to check out Edith Piaf on Tidal as I had never heard of her. Whoa! Bad - but not any worse than Joan Baez with that vibrato making her sound like a cassette played on a deck needing the rollers clean... | |
| Are there any recording artists you just can’t listen too? @mylogic I looked it up and found this, so I assume it was this JJ guy: Austrian performer Johannes Pietsch won the 69th Eurovision Song Contest on Saturday night while Israel's Yuval Raphael came second after a tense showdown at the Grand Final ... | |
| Are there any recording artists you just can’t listen too? The Decemberists. Way too whiny vocals. Can’t stand them. Sound like they ought to be in a Monty Python sketch. I can take Bjork! for a few songs, but not very many at one time. Her vocal gymnastics are just too hard on the ears. She makes Kate ... | |
| What does the audio term 'air' mean? I agree with what most have said. Generally, an open high end that doesn't sound muffled or rolled off at all. My ears only hear up to about 12.5KHz now, but even I can hear "air". I notice it very much when comparing concert recordings done wi... | |
| Why most $3000 and lower DAC’s sound almost identical Then there is the issue that many say R2R DACs in the $2K to $3K range are soft sounding and don't have punchy bass, even if they have great natural tone and a nice body to that tone and a deeper soundstage. That often seems to be the main qualifi... | |
| Best Cheap DAC Streamer WiiM Ultra or Bluesound Node Nano, both well under $400. The WiiM Ultra has more features (some of which you likely will never use), but the Nano (according to some reviewers) has slightly better sound. I just recently bought the WiiM Ultra and ... | |
| Qobuz Connect Launched Yesterday @drmuso if your streamer has a built-in app that allows the URL of the stream to be passed directly to the streamer and bypass your phone or computer or tablet, then you are set already. You are using the external device as only a remote control i... | |
| Qobuz Connect Launched Yesterday For those not understanding, these "connect" apps, when implemented and supported on the streamer, allow you to pass off the URL of the stream directly to your streamer such that it is no longer going through your cellphone or iPAD or computer. Yo... | |
| Are streamers digitally enhanced? It would be illustrative if someone or some outfit like the venerated or hated depending on your views, like ASR, could take a streamer, feed it a known series of data and then simply measure the digital output to see how accurate that output real... | |
| Exceding recommended power rating No. Unless you accidentally crank it waaay up. Having more power in reserve is actually better than making an amp strain to deliver power to a speaker, esp3ecially if the speakers are hard to drive or have a very low sensitivity or need more curre... | |
| Sound quality differences in streamers The issue with the $329 WiiM Ultra is its internal clock is only "so-so" according to some reviewers. So, if you use it to feed an external DAC, make sure you are doing so in such a way that the presumably better clock in the more expensive DAC i... | |
| What is a "reference" system? Well, I know you said you didn't want to open it up regarding YouTuber reviewers, but Hans Beekhuyzen has three "reference" systems. In his world, "reference" means three price points such that all components in each system are matched to each oth... |