A $15k music streamer reviewed on stereophile

[Killingbeans]

I'm glad some picked up on what I posted, yep, old fan here. Did you ever see the movie length cartoon in 1986?

Didn't know there was a movie. I read the Danish translations of the comics, and that was all I had. I probably had no clue what New Zealand was back then, even though there was a map on the first page pointing to Gisborne

 

[fragzone]

That doesn't make any sense for numerous reasons... where does the review say this btw?

6moons audioreviews: Yamaha NX-N500

JSmith

2nd page mate.


"To evaluate the potential of Yamaha's NX-N500, I first had to gauge the quality of available source signals. The NX-N500 was discriminating enough to explore different inputs and resolution settings. Not all were created equal. From the start, the merits of higher resolution files was readily apparent. The best results came from the wired connection to the music server. This produced superior detail, dynamics and soundstage from local files and Tidal streaming. Wyred designed a clean circuit and it showed all the way down the playback chain. A close second was the wireless connection from the server. This gave up a small amount on all fronts, most noticeably as some dynamic compression. Third was Apple Airplay, tailored to be more forgiving. It was guilty of greater compression on dynamics and depth and additionally compromised on transient behaviour by dulling leading edges and prematurely truncating trailing edges. It remained pleasant but obviously lost information by direct comparison. Bluetooth was still a little further back in the pack but remains a decent alternative for those without access to better. These results were achieved using the highest quality resolution settings that the various programs would allow. If you opt for lower settings, expect inferior results."


Airplay being inferior makes sense because that is apple's bespoke format which from what I know converts/compresses to its own format.

 

[Firefly00]

2nd page mate.


"To evaluate the potential of Yamaha's NX-N500, I first had to gauge the quality of available source signals. The NX-N500 was discriminating enough to explore different inputs and resolution settings. Not all were created equal. From the start, the merits of higher resolution files was readily apparent. The best results came from the wired connection to the music server. This produced superior detail, dynamics and soundstage from local files and Tidal streaming. Wyred designed a clean circuit and it showed all the way down the playback chain. A close second was the wireless connection from the server. This gave up a small amount on all fronts, most noticeably as some dynamic compression. Third was Apple Airplay, tailored to be more forgiving. It was guilty of greater compression on dynamics and depth and additionally compromised on transient behaviour by dulling leading edges and prematurely truncating trailing edges. It remained pleasant but obviously lost information by direct comparison. Bluetooth was still a little further back in the pack but remains a decent alternative for those without access to better. These results were achieved using the highest quality resolution settings that the various programs would allow. If you opt for lower settings, expect inferior results."


Airplay being inferior makes sense because that is apple's bespoke format which from what I know converts/compresses to its own format.

Not seeing much in the way of measurements to back that up…

 

[voodooless]

Airplay being inferior makes sense because that is apple's bespoke format which from what I know converts/compresses to its own format.

Airplay is lossless, just limited to 24 bit, 48 kHz. So anything within these limits should be bit perfect.

 

[BDWoody]

. Third was Apple Airplay, tailored to be more forgiving. It was guilty of greater compression on dynamics and depth and additionally compromised on transient behaviour by dulling leading edges and prematurely truncating trailing edges. It remained pleasant but obviously lost information by direct comparison.

That's silly...

 

[Firefly00]

Airplay is lossless, just limited to 24 bit, 48 kHz. So anything within these limits should be bit perfect.

It’s probably the easiest and most convenient way to get lossless out of an iPad, which is depressing. Airport express costs less than a CCK, and doesn’t have wires. Only drawback is not getting that sweet sweet inaudible upgrade from 96 or 192kHz.

 

[Firefly00]

That's silly...

They even specify exactly what the measurements should show, and yet are unable to provide any!

 

[Honken]

Airplay is lossless, just limited to 24 bit, 48 kHz. So anything within these limits should be bit perfect.

AirPlay1 is always lossless I believe, but AirPlay2 does have a lossy mode as well:

Service Discovery - Unofficial AirPlay Specification

openairplay.github.io

 

[jammer]

I've read alot of forums over the years but this one takes the cake for THE MOST speculative collection of opinions I've ever seen. I can tell you having been in hifi for over 20 years I wasn't a believer until I bought some servers into my system and listened. From a MacMini, to a Nucleus, all the way up to the higher end stuff like Antipodes and Pin Faun. They make a PROFOUND difference. I was completely blown away with what it did to my DAC (MSB), and how much better everything sounded.

You can have all the fun you want speculating and rationalizing and poking fun at those who are willing to spend the high price for these things but until you listen and test for yourself (with an ear, not a measurement) its just that, fun (for you) and speculative opinion.

 

[PatentLawyer]

I've read alot of forums over the years but this one takes the cake for THE MOST speculative collection of opinions I've ever seen. I can tell you having been in hifi for over 20 years I wasn't a believer until I bought some servers into my system and listened. From a MacMini, to a Nucleus, all the way up to the higher end stuff like Antipodes and Pin Faun. They make a PROFOUND difference. I was completely blown away with what it did to my DAC (MSB), and how much better everything sounded.

You can have all the fun you want speculating and rationalizing and poking fun at those who are willing to spend the high price for these things but until you listen and test for yourself (with an ear, not a measurement) its just that, fun (for you) and speculative opinion.

Nope.

 

[jammer]

Nope.

you must be great at your job.

 

[PatentLawyer]

you must be great at your job.

I am actually. And I don’t get paid by the word.

 

[sq225917]

Jammer, You must be great in bed.

 

[jammer]

I am actually. And I don’t get paid by the word.

Good to know, I can't believe you get paid at all quite honestly.. and thank you for proving my point with a complete lack of any rebuttal or experience with a product you have magically formulated such a staunch opinion on.

 

[BDWoody]

I've read alot of forums over the years but this one takes the cake for THE MOST speculative collection of opinions I've ever seen. I can tell you having been in hifi for over 20 years I wasn't a believer until I bought some servers into my system and listened. From a MacMini, to a Nucleus, all the way up to the higher end stuff like Antipodes and Pin Faun. They make a PROFOUND difference. I was completely blown away with what it did to my DAC (MSB), and how much better everything sounded.

You can have all the fun you want speculating and rationalizing and poking fun at those who are willing to spend the high price for these things but until you listen and test for yourself (with an ear, not a measurement) its just that, fun (for you) and speculative opinion.

Welcome.

Uh huh...

 

[PatentLawyer]

Good to know, I can't believe you get paid at all quite honestly.. and thank you for proving my point with a complete lack of any rebuttal or experience with a product you have magically formulated such a staunch opinion on.

Enough ad hominem. Defend your point with reliable data.

 

[_thelaughingman]

I've read alot of forums over the years but this one takes the cake for THE MOST speculative collection of opinions I've ever seen. I can tell you having been in hifi for over 20 years I wasn't a believer until I bought some servers into my system and listened. From a MacMini, to a Nucleus, all the way up to the higher end stuff like Antipodes and Pin Faun. They make a PROFOUND difference. I was completely blown away with what it did to my DAC (MSB), and how much better everything sounded.

You can have all the fun you want speculating and rationalizing and poking fun at those who are willing to spend the high price for these things but until you listen and test for yourself (with an ear, not a measurement) its just that, fun (for you) and speculative opinion.

Did you quantitate the difference in sound via measurements? Speculation based on subjectivity is what I am hearing in this post. Take your paid drivel to a garbage dump where it'll have some critters to listen to.

 

[jammer]

Enough ad hominem. Defend your point with reliable data.

I actually own (or have owned) the equipment. Have you even listened to it? Data is only useful for the design stage not the end result of what your brain processes. You have data for my brain you can point me to? Your brain is the end recipient so data means almost nothing to most actual audiophiles.

You are trying to make sense, using data, of something we don't completely understand and can NOT measure. You can take your data...Listen to the device, properly set up and then come back and respond. Until then, your measurements don't make you correct.

 

[Robin L]

Good to know, I can't believe you get paid at all quite honestly.. and thank you for proving my point with a complete lack of any rebuttal or experience with a product you have magically formulated such a staunch opinion on.

I guess you should know a little bit about what you just stepped in.

The founder of Audio Science Review, Amir Majidimehr, has deep background in audio and electronics, particularly the correlation between the measurable and the perceivable. This link offers up his curriculum vitae:

A bit about your host....

This is a bit about your host, Amir Majidimehr. I am writing this as to give more context to people reading my technical reviews and measurements. I have realized that without this context, many assume I am yet another blogger spitting out graphs. That is very true but let’s see if we can...

www.audiosciencereview.com

To the point: until meaningful and repeatable data is offered, subjective analysis is dismissed as not proven. So, your opening statement tells everybody in the forum who has been paying attention, including a great many audio professionals and others familiar with the inner workings of electronics and sound, that you simply cannot not be taken seriously.

 

[Killingbeans]

Listen to the device, properly set up and then come back and respond.

Right back at ya:

Audio Blind Testing - You Are Doing It Wrong! (Video)

Just uploaded a video on the basics of performing controlled tests in audio. It was motivated by saving myself text in having to write all of this down when telling someone who to do these tests right. And as a counter to a few online personalities to keep saying they do "blind" tests yet when...

www.audiosciencereview.com