Recent content by dsnyder0cnn

  1. dsnyder0cnn

    Bricasti M1SE Stereo DAC Review

    Well, 2,000% more, but yes.
  2. dsnyder0cnn

    Sonos Five Smart Speaker Review

    Although I'm a fan, I'm more than a little surprised that the 5 fared so well under Amir's testing. Nice work! The SONOS (PLAY:5)/5 has long been my standard "lifestyle" speaker recommendation. I've seen many photos of "audiophile" systems that are poorly setup with terrible room acoustics and...
  3. dsnyder0cnn

    Topping LA90 Discrete Amplifier Review

    Performance of the LA90D has been exemplary so far. I was initially using it in low-gain mode but had to switch to high-gain after adding FIR filters for digital room correction to overcome filter insertion loss. I'm still able to get levels up into the high 80's / low 90's dB range, which is...
  4. dsnyder0cnn

    Topping LA90 Discrete Amplifier Review

    My LA90D arrived on December 7th, 2023, so I've had it only three weeks. I'm confident that it was from the latest batch (after the Apos sales freeze in July). No issues so far, obviously. None expected either. At the risk of pages of ridicule about the cable lifts (a Christmas gift from my...
  5. dsnyder0cnn

    SMSL D-6s Balanced DAC Review

    Hmm…we've discussed frequency response, time-domain behavior, and now we're back to talking about distortion. We already know from Amir's published measurements that distortion products from the D-6s are well below the threshold of hearing at around -140 dB. Time-domain behavior
  6. dsnyder0cnn

    Hifiman HE400se Owner's Thread.

    I'm using these. Very soft and comfortable. https://hartaudiocables.com/collections/hifiman/products/hc-9-dual-3-5mm-mono-ts-balanced-headphone-cable?variant=32619617386577
  7. dsnyder0cnn

    SMSL D-6s Balanced DAC Review

    First, you said, "Frequency response graph does not show differences in time domain behavior." When I mentioned that the only significant time-domain behavior I've observed is associated with filter selection, you said, "a DAC device sound character is still present no matter what for filter...
  8. dsnyder0cnn

    SMSL D-6s Balanced DAC Review

    To specifically what time-domain behavior do you attribute pleasantness of sound? In this forum, we generally don't get excited about phase or group delay since the passive crossovers in our loudspeakers have orders of magnitude greater errors. I have posted about filter pre/post ringing...
  9. dsnyder0cnn

    SMSL D-6s Balanced DAC Review

    Sounds like user error. There's no such thing as "Apple OS."
  10. dsnyder0cnn

    SMSL D-6s Balanced DAC Review

    Frequency response is ruler-flat unless you're using one of the slow filters. Not obvious from objective data how the D-6s could be more or less "pleasant"-sounding than any other objectively neural DAC. That said, I do subjectively enjoy the sound of the D-6s. Quite a lot, in fact. I imagine...
  11. dsnyder0cnn

    Topping LA90 Discrete Amplifier Review

    This subtopic is too long, so I've lost track of your objection. Is it just that the chart seems to compare bridged output of the LA90D to stereo output of the AHB2, and you're concerned that people reading ASR are not be smart enough to figure that out? If that's all it is, you should give ASR...
  12. dsnyder0cnn

    Topping LA90 Discrete Amplifier Review

    I don't agree with that, but the title for the plot is incorrect. Should be something like, "Power vs Distortion @ 4 Ohms Stereo (both channels driven) vs LA90D Bridged" Edit: I would add that a pair of Benchmark ABH2's retail for about $7k compared to $1.6k for a pair of LA90D's. Folks...
  13. dsnyder0cnn

    Topping LA90 Discrete Amplifier Review

    Well, I think the point of this comparison (green vs blow) was more about distortion levels than output power: Keep in mind that the retail cost of a pair of Topping LA90D amps is less than half of what you'd pay for a single Benchmark AHB2. So, the comparison is not out of bounds.
  14. dsnyder0cnn

    WiiM Pro Plus Streamer Review

    I'm glad to see that objective performance of the WiiM Pro Plus is this good. That said, I have a preference for separates. For about the same price, one could purchase the WiiM Pro and an SMSL SU-1 external DAC and achieve essentially the same performance...especially if you're not using the...
  15. dsnyder0cnn

    Topping L50 Review (Headphone Amp)

    Less attenuation is slightly better. I would adjust the gain setting so that you can run the volume closer to 3 o'clock.
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