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Thread: The Audiophile Thread

  1. #2501
    Member LASERCD's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Zeuhlmate View Post
    I have a friend who has an older Sony SACD player but with the digital output.
    He bought a Hegel integrated amp (200 watts, dont recall the model) with built in DAC - He kept the Sony and uses the DAC in the Hegel.
    It sounds so much better.
    Hegel is not very well known in the US but I believe they still have distribution here. I have a friend who has Hegel as the core of his system and loves it. What I’ve heard at audio shows was impressive. Very good value considering the price.

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  3. #2503
    Member Zeuhlmate's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by LASERCD View Post
    Hegel is not very well known in the US but I believe they still have distribution here. I have a friend who has Hegel as the core of his system and loves it. What I’ve heard at audio shows was impressive. Very good value considering the price.
    Very up to date, modern functionalities, usb, digital in/out, advanced remote, etc. ... Reviewers love it.
    Rather far from tube sound I think.

  4. #2504
    Anyone have experience with ProAc speakers? I've enjoyed their ribbon tweeters, and one of my local guys, Ken Christiansen of ProMusica has always steered me in that direction... thanks
    "Always ready with the ray of sunshine"

  5. #2505
    Member BobM's Avatar
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    ProAc's have always been a great sounding speaker. If you can find one used at a decent price you should jump on it.
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  6. #2506
    Member Jerjo's Avatar
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    I use a Schitt Modi in my home office system and to my ears, it was a noticeable difference. I should get a DAC for the system in the living room but keep putting it off because at some point I need to just overhaul that entire system. Some day....
    I don't like country music, but I don't mean to denigrate those who do. And for the people who like country music, denigrate means 'put down.'- Bob Newhart

  7. #2507
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jerjo View Post
    I use a Schitt Modi in my home office system and to my ears, it was a noticeable difference. I should get a DAC for the system in the living room but keep putting it off because at some point I need to just overhaul that entire system. Some day....
    I need to take a Schitt in my home office, but not my living room which has Pioneer Elite receiver DACs which are 32 bit.

    The receiver utilizes 192-kHz/32-bit ESS SABRE32 Ultra DACs (ES9016S) to handle audio processing. The receiver is also able to support up to 11.2-MHz DSD Direct playback (two-channel) via the USB input or SACD discs (2.8-MHz DSD) via HDMI (5.1 or two channels)

  8. #2508
    Member moecurlythanu's Avatar
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    When we feel the need to count how many bits are in our Schitt, I'd say we're in too deep.

  9. #2509
    Member Jerjo's Avatar
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    As long as I don't see corn in mine, I'm good.
    I don't like country music, but I don't mean to denigrate those who do. And for the people who like country music, denigrate means 'put down.'- Bob Newhart

  10. #2510
    Member chalkpie's Avatar
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    My next purchases might be the Schiit Bifrost and Audiolab 6000 cdt transport.

  11. #2511
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jerjo View Post
    As long as I don't see corn in mine, I'm good.
    Nobody wants to be in deep Schitt

  12. #2512
    Quote Originally Posted by Jerjo View Post
    As long as I don't see corn in mine, I'm good.
    I hate it when it comes out popped.
    NEVER UNDERESTIMATE THE POWER OF STUPID PEOPLE IN LARGE GROUPS!

  13. #2513
    Member Mythos's Avatar
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    Rodney from Easy Money: "Hey Rose there's a mess-er-schmitt in the kitchen...will ya clean it up for me?"

  14. #2514
    Man of repute progmatist's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Shadow View Post
    Quote Originally Posted by Jerjo View Post
    As long as I don't see corn in mine, I'm good.
    I hate it when it comes out popped.
    Enough with the corny jokes.
    "Well my son, life is like a beanstalk, isn't it?"--Dalai Lama

  15. #2515
    Member chalkpie's Avatar
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    https://www.stereophile.com/content/...ated-amplifier

    New Stereophile review of my new integrated amp I bought in June. Possibly the best $1600 I have ever spent....I love the sound of this this thing so much.
    If it isn't Krautrock, it's krap.

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  16. #2516
    Quote Originally Posted by progmatist View Post
    Enough with the corny jokes.
    I'm a-maized no-one spoke up earlier.

  17. #2517
    Member Zeuhlmate's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by chalkpie View Post
    https://www.stereophile.com/content/...ated-amplifier

    New Stereophile review of my new integrated amp I bought in June. Possibly the best $1600 I have ever spent....I love the sound of this this thing so much.
    Looks good ! But the price is $ 2000 in Denmark so the competition is tough.

  18. #2518
    Member chalkpie's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Zeuhlmate View Post
    Looks good ! But the price is $ 2000 in Denmark so the competition is tough.
    Yeah, its difficult buying this stuff without hearing it first in person, but I have to say I lucked out big time, its a wonderful integrated amp.

  19. #2519
    Outraged bystander markwoll's Avatar
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  20. #2520
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    Interesting interview with Steven Wilson on remixing:

    https://www.soundonsound.com/people/...sic-albums?amp

  21. #2521
    Since I have been listening to quite a bit more classical (modern, contemporary and avant-garde) lately, I have come to a conclusion about recording quality. Not sure how many other people here will agree with this conclusion. I might even get flamed.

    I may also be accused of becoming a typical audiophile, in that, my reference is: acoustic instruments, played in an acoustic space, by real musicians.

    What I am referring to as "recording quality", is the ability for a recording to reproduce, as accurately as possible, a musical event as it originally occurred. And include the natural ambiance of the space it was recorded in. The same can be said for acoustic jazz recordings, to a slightly lesser degree.

    When I put on a classical recording, the placement of the instruments, their relationship in space to each other, the width and depth of the space they are playing within, are all discernible. Along with that, the recordings are: low in distortion, high in dynamic range (usually higher than rock recordings), have very wide frequency range, etc. Pretty much everything one would use to evaluate a recording as being good, are pretty much the default with classical recordings.

    With rock (including prog) recordings, the quality is so variable, that when a recording meets a decent level of quality, it gets rave reviews.

    And I am even including those much revered rock recordings, that are held up as being so exceptional. Aja, Dark Side of the Moon, etc. Of course, I think they are great recordings for what they are meant to do (be part of the band's / engineer's artistic vision). But compared to the immediacy of "seeing": violin, woodwind, horn, percussion, pianists, etc in front of me, in their proper places in the orchestra in width and depth, and being able to hear the size of the hall they are playing in, holds more importance to me lately, than hearing: sounds panned from side to side, huge sounding drum kits that 'hit' me in the chest, overdubs, and other cool studio techniques.

    Don't get me wrong, I listen to more prog than classical, but I do this with the understanding that even the best of them, are inferior to classical recordings. Please don't accuse me of listening to music just because of how great it sounds on my system. I am, and always will be, a music first audiophile.
    And if there were a god, I think it very unlikely that he would have such an uneasy vanity as to be offended by those who doubt His existence - Russell

  22. #2522
    Member Zeuhlmate's Avatar
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    ^^^
    I listen somewhat the same way. But Classical music is supposed to sound like 'the score', live in concert, as the composer imagined, and usually written in a time whith no studios or recording facilities in mind.

    Intermediate music in that respect could be jazz music, usually it's live in the studio, or should sound that way.

    But again with loud / amplified instruments or synths, you never really know what they should have sounded like. Remix/masters sometimes reveals this.
    And the band/producer may have had a dream that some instruments should stick out, stay behind, be less prominent, blend or the opposite, etc.
    And usually they use all the tricks you can do in a studio, and really dont want it to sound like a live album. Its a movie for your ears / mind. Not many believes movies are true or even a picture of reality.

    Too much or wrong compression is probably what most easily can destroy a recording - to my taste at least.

  23. #2523
    Member Jerjo's Avatar
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    I like the sound of jazz, especially small ensembles, in my system. Some of the old stuff is kind of a hot mess but "modern jazz" sounds absolutely wonderful - pristine, spacious, immediate.

    I was having trouble with my old ARCAM CD player. It's always been a touchy thing and it was getting really fussy of late. I pulled it out and substituted a Denon player. The Denon had a decent sound to it but there was something that was barely tangible missing. I couldn't define it but it was there. Any way, a couple days ago the Denon ate a Big Big Train CD and I decided this experiment had to end. I cleaned the connections of the ARCAM, replaced the batteries in the remote, and put it back into the system. I played "Third World Man" by Steely Dan, which was the first song I had played when I put the Denon to work and yeah, the ARCAM was a step up. Maybe it just synchronizes with my ARCAM amp better but there definitely was a difference. After the Steely Dan I switched to The Who and just let the fucker rock.
    I don't like country music, but I don't mean to denigrate those who do. And for the people who like country music, denigrate means 'put down.'- Bob Newhart

  24. #2524
    Member hFx's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by simon moon View Post
    What I am referring to as "recording quality", is the ability for a recording to reproduce, as accurately as possible, a musical event as it originally occurred. And include the natural ambiance of the space it was recorded in. The same can be said for acoustic jazz recordings, to a slightly lesser degree.
    I can't see how this in any way should be conscidered controversial. Classical and classical jazz recordings are intended to capture a live experience in a good room, while "popular music" often is a no-limits studio production that should sound bigger-than-life. Like 12 guitar tracks or more, fattened-up drums etc. Likewise, the dynamics is limited to meet the expectations of the consumers.

    Some labels like DG were heavily critisized for "mixing" their recordings to lift and emphasize the quieter passages. Natural dynamic live recordings of a rock band can likewise be a weird experience compared to "produced" studio recordings.
    My Progressive Workshop at http://soundcloud.com/hfxx

  25. #2525
    Member chalkpie's Avatar
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    Some of the best sounding recordings in my collection are classical, chamber, solo piano/lute/cello/etc. Dorian/Sono Luminous id an extraordinary label with incredible acoustics! EMI, DG, London, etc some incredible recordings.

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