Search results

Moved to a new house last week and finally set up the stereo. The primary listening / living room has carpet. Last house had tile. Speaker stands have Iso Acoustics 'de-coupling' feet with an soft rubbery compound that acted like a suction cup on tile floors and dampened vibration. New house...

If operated within their optimal operating envelope, should one expect an audible difference between solid state class A and tube class A into real world, non-pathological speaker loads?

Not sure what to make of this: Vinyl of the Month Club: The Golden Era - Vinyl Subscription Price: $24.99/box & FREE Shipping Delivered every month Plan Option: Vinyl GET AN ESSENTIAL ALBUM, EVERY MONTH - Join the club and receive one must-own record from the Golden Era of Vinyl...

I asked my wife: "If you're in the other room, and can't see the stereo, can you tell the difference between me playing an LP or streaming digital music?" Her answer: "No no no." I guess my vinyl set up is just that good. Or, if I'm a digiphobe, does it mean it's that bad?

"I listen to music every single day—it’s one of my favorite things in life. I also bought my first turntable a few months ago and have wondered what it’d be like to only listen to vinyl for an entire week. So recently, I did just that and I have a lot of thoughts about the experience. My...

If I want to go full retro style in my system: Are there any vintage DACs worth owning? I'm sure none will measure as well as a modern $200 DAC, but are there some Golden Age of hi fi tank build DACs that are good enough for basic Redbook streaming?

So I got my new integrated amp and my .2mV MC cartridge is right at the borderline of usability with the .3mV MC input sens. It sounds fine when an LP is playing and at the gain I'm using (volume knob about half way up, seems to be about -20 dB), I don't hear any hum. However, even though...

If delivery happens according to schedule, my new integrated amp arrives on Monday. But I'll need to add an external streamer to use as a Roon end-point. I have two options: Option 1. HiFi Berry DAC2 HD -> Amp RCA input (the unit Amir tested is actually mine)...

[The following probably only applies to music systems, not to AVRs / HT] An increasing number of integrated amps have come to market either with a fixed DAC built-in or with a 'DAC module' that can purchased as an optional add-on. But are these ever a good investment? I'm starting to think...

Simple question: If I use a Japan market amplifier rated for 100V in the US do I really need a voltage converter?

I'm rather liking driving my headphone amp straight from the pre-outs on my integrated amp (which has a built-in DAC), with no separate DAC and wondering how many others are doing that same.

If I need to use something other than USB-out, what's the best Raspberry Pi digital I/O hat these days? My amp's DAC can accept coax, Toslink, or AES inputs.

I was skeptical at first, but I have to admit this accessory made a huge difference in my listening. Especially noticeable on headphones. Sonic improvements were across the board, but most notable in a tighter bass and improvements in the upper octave air region. Highly recommended! I'm...

The combination of these two might make for a pretty cool stack: https://teac.jp/int/product/ud-701n/feature https://teac.jp/int/product/ap-701/top Not budget gear, but not crazy expensive and the build quality looks great. Blatantly claiming to be a Delta Sigma DAC. Based on the parts...

This question is specific to a headphone amp, but I guess could generally apply to other applications, as well. All the following description is for the Schiit Mjolnir 2, which uses 2 x 6922 tubes as a gain stage, and then a SS output stage, set to high gain. Scenario A: On the belief that...

I have a lot of 6922-family tubes. Like 16 pairs, most of which are NOS. They range from cheapie modern production JJs to expensive collectible Siemens, Telefunkens, and Mullards. When used in my Mjolnir 2 I *think* I hear a difference between some of them, which probably isn't completely...

Not only does this device combine a CD player and a reel to reel deck, but it uses a custom 1/8" (same as cassette) reel to reel format that nobody else uses: Spoiler: Made using cassette deck parts

Right now, I feed my headphone amp from the pre-outs from my integrated amp. The pre-out is set to "variable" so that I can also use it with subwoofers; the connection to the headphone amp is handled through a cable switcher. This also has the added benefit of allowing me to use the remote...

It is often said, and Amir made the same point in one of his videos, that the performance per dollar one can get from headphones far exceeds what can be had via speakers. So given that: If you've spent $X on speakers, how much should you spend on headphones? Assuming 50% listening time to each.

If I don't have a GRAS , what's the best way for me to test if I a given listening volume is too loud with headphones? Would, for instance, using a a smartphone dB meter app work well enough to gauge whether something is too loud for safety?