An anxious audiophile

[tonapo]

I am an anxious audiophile. I am always wondering about how I can improve my system or if I have made good choices with the kit I have already purchased. Although I do enjoy that aspect of the hobby, all the tinkering.

Previously to finding this site, I would generally use subjective reviews of equipment, I would then try any interesting kit in the shop, and then, if possible, at home. However now there is a third aspect, the measurements. This is great, however I am not sure about all my kit, as I have only seen manufacturer measurements for some of it which makes me unsure about whether I could do better.

My current system

Server - Roon on a intel NUC i5 – music files predominantly FLAC served up via ethernet (and qobuz subscription)
Streamer – Raspberry pi 4 running ropieee, stock psu
DAC – Topping D90, stock psu – USB input. Sharp filter. XLR out (Mogami 2534 with neutric connector cable).
Amplifier – Musical Fidelity M6si, balanced input. Belden 5T00UP Speaker Cable 10AWG
Speakers – Kef Reference 1.
Room correction – www.homeaudiofidelity.com – filters loaded into Roon.

So, any thoughts on how to improve the system? I have been wondering about class d amps, so I have been reading the Audiophonics HPA-S400ET review with interest.

Thanks for reading and for any comments.

 

[antcollinet]

There doesn't seem to be much wrong with your system. Digital end is fine and won't influence the sound. Your dac is pretty much state of the art, and your amp (if manufactureres specs are to be believed) is almost certainly not audibly different from the class D amps you've been looking at.

I've no idea how good filters from audio fidelity are - you could look at DIY using REW as a trial to see if it can do better.

You also have bookshelf speakers. It might be worth considering adding one or more subs.

 

[DavidEdwinAston]

Your system sounds wonderful, as stated, to me. Just enjoy the music.

 

[DavidEdwinAston]

Oh, and stop being anxious!

 

[levimax]

Your system looks good to me. If you really enjoy tinkering now is a great time to get into DIY... at home measurement equipment is better and cheaper than ever and there is a wide range of projects and information on the internet.

 

[warnerwh]

I'd add a sub if I were you.

 

[jae]

Your system is good. As another suggested the next step is probably looking into integrating a sub. There aren't many speakers much better than Reference 1, unless you want to get into the territory of the bigger Genelecs/Neumann actives, D&D 8C, Kii, or the new KEF floorstanders.

 

[Zoomer]

Have you become more or less anxious after finding this site?

 

[Vacceo]

Kef Reference is pretty much as good as it gets. There are more expensive speakers, but performance-wise, the increments you can get are tiny for the amount of money you'd be paying.

Electronics look good and transparent, so since the amp's wattage is fine for the speakers, that should be a clear issue. Switching the amp will not give you a different sound, just a more efficient, less hot operation.

I agree that a subwoofer should do the trick and give you the lower side of the frequencies well played.

 

[jsrtheta]

I am an anxious audiophile. I am always wondering about how I can improve my system or if I have made good choices with the kit I have already purchased. Although I do enjoy that aspect of the hobby, all the tinkering.

Previously to finding this site, I would generally use subjective reviews of equipment, I would then try any interesting kit in the shop, and then, if possible, at home. However now there is a third aspect, the measurements. This is great, however I am not sure about all my kit, as I have only seen manufacturer measurements for some of it which makes me unsure about whether I could do better.

My current system

Server - Roon on a intel NUC i5 – music files predominantly FLAC served up via ethernet (and qobuz subscription)
Streamer – Raspberry pi 4 running ropieee, stock psu
DAC – Topping D90, stock psu – USB input. Sharp filter. XLR out (Mogami 2534 with neutric connector cable).
Amplifier – Musical Fidelity M6si, balanced input. Belden 5T00UP Speaker Cable 10AWG
Speakers – Kef Reference 1.
Room correction – www.homeaudiofidelity.com – filters loaded into Roon.

So, any thoughts on how to improve the system? I have been wondering about class d amps, so I have been reading the Audiophonics HPA-S400ET review with interest.

Thanks for reading and for any comments.

Your anxiety is par for the course in this dangerous hobby (I'm speaking fiscally here).

I might get some pushback, and to be clear I am no technical expert.

But,...

The people pushing Audio Insecurity are the equivalent of the guys who used to stand outside strip clubs and swear that Lavonda (or Tawanna or Ms. Discipline) were the primest examples of feminine pulchritude, come on in, just a two-drink minimum...

They want you to believe that, sure, the Unbelievable DAC is, well, okay.... but the newer v.2 of the I Can't believe You Buy This Crap DAC takes you out of the Stratosphere and into Xylorian orbit, jeez, NO ONE has the Unbelievable DAC anymore, not since the I Can't Believe You Buy This Crap DAC v.2 started exposing their chips to South African elephant dung, resulting in an uncanny sense of seeing through the music that will make you listen to all your old music just to see how much you missed...

Bottom line: Don't. Just... don't. Especially if you have children.

If you can reliably distinguish, in blind testing, between Total harmonic Distortion of .008% and Total harmonic Distortion of .007%, then hurray for you! I doubt anyone else can.

Put your money, if you must, in better speakers, or serious room treatment. More importantly, enjoy what you have. If you find better speakers, and you can swing the price, great! If not, wait until you can. Don't chase after new electronics that sound exactly the same as what you have already. And listen for enjoyment. That's supposed to be the point.

 

[Beershaun]

Subwoofer and Room correction software are the only things I would add.

 

[Vacceo]

Your money on better speakers? Reference 1 from Kef. Even the Blades will not give a drastic improvement!

 

[voodooless]

Like others said, what you have is already as good as it gets. If you want to improve, two things come to mind:
- one ore more subs: it will extend and enhance bass response, and with multiple subs can lead to much smoother in-room response
- depending on your room, some treatment or reflections or bass traps might elevate the sound a bit more. But it always influences the looks of the room, so might not always play well with the better half

 

[Axo1989]

Have you become more or less anxious after finding this site?

They say that some time after a windfall gain people tend to return to the same level of happiness (or the opposite) as prior. The windfall cornucopia of cost-effective knowledge here can buoy the spirits, then facilitate slowly resuming baseline anxiety with novel focus on graph hygiene, inaudible spuriae, room EQ tweakery and the gradual slippage of one's DAC SINAD ranking. No need to be satisfied if you don't want to be. And if surplus cash results, take up a new vice.

 

[tonapo]

Thanks for all the replies, it is much appreciated.

You also have bookshelf speakers. It might be worth considering adding one or more subs.

I suppose the speakers are technically bookshelf but you would need a big shelf! They are really big and very heavy with the stands.

There aren't many speakers much better than Reference 1

Kef Reference is pretty much as good as it gets.

Your money on better speakers? Reference 1 from Kef. Even the Blades will not give a drastic improvement!

Thanks, the speakers are good, they definitely stay!

one ore more subs: it will extend and enhance bass response, and with multiple subs can lead to much smoother in-room response

I agree that a subwoofer should do the trick and give you the lower side of the frequencies well play

Subwoofer and Room correction software are the only things I would add.

On the sub front, I had long chats with Rel and we basically came to the conclusion, that there is no good place in the room anyway, it would be a massive compromise. And, the speakers already go pretty low, so a sub is out for now. Unless I move!

Oh, and stop being anxious!

Thanks! And, I wish...

Have you become more or less anxious after finding this site?

That is a great question! Errr, maybe more?? But its enjoyable.

depending on your room, some treatment or reflections or bass traps might elevate the sound a bit more. But it always influences the looks of the room, so might not always play well with the better half

Subwoofer and Room correction software are the only things I would add.

I might need to explore this a bit more. I have a rug, sofa, chairs, bookcase, so the room measure ok.

If you can reliably distinguish, in blind testing, between Total harmonic Distortion of .008% and Total harmonic Distortion of .007%, then hurray for you! I doubt anyone else can.

No, I don't think I can ! I have to do some blind tests with certain stuff, but its always hard to get the volume leveling correct.

They say that some time after a windfall gain people tend to return to the same level of happiness (or the opposite) as prior. The windfall cornucopia of cost-effective knowledge here can buoy the spirits, then facilitate slowly resuming baseline anxiety with novel focus on graph hygiene, inaudible spuriae, room EQ tweakery and the gradual slippage of one's DAC SINAD ranking. No need to be satisfied if you don't want to be. And if surplus cash results, take up a new vice.

I will just move onto my desktop set-up! Lots of latitude with hifi!

Thanks all!!

 

[voodooless]

On the sub front, I had long chats with Rel and we basically came to the conclusion, that there is no good place in the room anyway, it would be a massive compromise.

Maybe give a bit more details? There are quite a few people here with experience that could help, and a second opinion would never hurt.

 

[DSJR]

I've known (and still do) restless individuals who chop and change their cars and audio gear for no real reason other than they get bored with it (the gear, not the music or the driving). I got out of the car thing (not that I was ever a 'petrol-head' as I preferred comfort to bone shaking ride with fidgety handling) when I took an advanced drivers course - the car being driven becoming irrelevant if the driver is skilled enough (I never got to that standard but still try forty years on). The gear thing happened when I married in 1996, as the best 'sound' I've ever had at home was replaced by smaller less capable gear (some expensive too) and NONE OF IT came close. I inherited the first proper speakers I ever sold and the 1970's prosumer amps he used to power them back in 2008 (acqiuring a later pair of more recent BBC-Derived equivalents which didn't 'sound' hugely better apart from the bass power handling) and you know what, I can forgive it all it's sins, especially as much of the 'issues' I felt the speakers had, was actually my hearing loss which has been severely creeping up on me over the last ten years or so (I'm basically out of th eindustry now, so it matters to nobody but me).

So now, I look forward again to the all too few hours a week when I can play my speakers, which now sound as if they've either had new tweeters fitted (and/or an invisible upper mid driver - ) and I can hear all the 'air, space and 'deeeetail' I thought they lacked! Now to hear some proper monitors again to see if my 'new ears' overload on the sounds they present... We have an annual carnival procession and highlight for years has been the Suffolk School of Samba (I think they're called) - so happy and joyous in the procession, I can't wait to 'hear' them all over again

PLEASE guys, those new to all this as well as oldies long immersed in this hobby and life-obsession, TREASURE your hearing, go hear as much live acoustic music as you can to get a good grounding of what the 'real thing' actually sounds like and take care of deafening volume levels. A seriously good playback system doesn't NEED to be turned up loud to impress - it's what it does at lower volumes which is where the impressive part comes in (hell, even ATC learned that one back in the late 90's).

 

[Sokel]

When I first interested in the hobby my friend who was waaay deep in it told me to think about it and better get into gabling or drugs instead.
I'll never forget that.
Maybe some of your anxiety go away if you thing that everything in home audio is about compromises and decisions about what matters most to enjoy your music.

 

[FrantzM]

Hi @tonapo

I understand where you are coming from. I have been not too long ago in a similar boat. I was a subjective audiophile. I did preach, abide and defend the "everything-makes-a-difference" B.S. err ... mantra. I even believed in cables, DAC, Different electronics and expensive, very expensive loudspeakers. I was invited to ASR. it came to be a daily Internet destination, and I have never enjoyed so much music in 50 years of being an audiophile (started in my early teens...). Oh! and before I forget, my current system is the Best I have had in those 50 years, as well as being the least expensive, and I would even go as far as saying the more mundane: it is anchored by an AVR, The subs are Dayton aka Parts Express, the speakers are the lowly and powered JBL LSR 30x series!! Before I had preamps that cost more than this entire system, amps that cost multiple of it. I'll add that I am familiar , yes, with systems costing well over U$500,000.oo.. Very familiar, most of these systems look impressive (Audio porn), but do not sound as good as the one I have now, I know, I know , tooting my own horn... I am satisfied to the point that I am very reluctant to change anything... so much I am enjoying music, mostly from the compressed variety (Spotify is my main source) and movies, yes, it serves both duties... admirably. My former HT front projector cost more than the entire current HT and music system... The only expensive item I have in the system is a Stewart GrayHawk 100 inches screen ... it was however purchased on eBay for 1/10 th its retail price .. thus ...

This post is not about me. ii is about the anxiety that you feel. Short answer: It is fed by the Audio Industry , mainly the HEA. They cannot survive, if they don't feed your anxiety. They can't , won't ever, tell you that for all practical purposes, electronics are solved... DAC for example, where a $9.95 model clears the threshold of hearing, IOW you or actually more than 99.9999999999999% of the world population , cannot, if blinded and levels are matched, hear any difference between that sub $10,oo DAC and those costing $500.oo or $5,000.oo or God forbid >=$100,000.oo... Not too far for amplifiers, where most are indistinguishable from each other ... all things being equal or ... They will not tell you that. The magazines would have a serious problem reviewing what essentially sound the same and the industry would not be able to sell you $350,000.oo amplifier with the same distortion profile as that of $350.oo (no typo, three hundred fifty dollars) Nobsound Tube amplifier on Amazon... As a matter of fact the $350,.oo Nobsound may have better performance... .
You have a good system with superlative speakers. Physics say that most Audio systems require multiple subwoofers. Not an opinion, a fact. It is not a matter of bassheads, of explosion reproduction and Home theater. It is physics and biology/physiology/psycho acoustics. The most linear transducer, one that can reproduce, for example 1 Hz to 100 Khz with 0.0001% THD and able of 130 dB at 4 meters (Such doesn't exist by the way); placed in most any room, would give you a frequency response that could vary by more than 50 dB ( Yes, I said fifty dB) in the room. The room dominates in the bass... Entirely. Completely, and ineluctably. There is no escaping it. The solutions: EQ and DSP ... Thing is, Subs are made for bass (duh!) and it is easier to EQ them. Subs can be placed basically anywhere in the room, (I have one in the back of the room behind the couch on its side) and the judicious combination of their output and phase manipulation (there is a good software for that called MSO, Multiple Subwoofer Optimizer, a difficult to learn software but ... a marvel), can provide a level of sound reproduction when properly integrated with superior mains such as your Kef Reference, that you have no idea of... That most audiophiles have no idea of. Keep your system, In my honest opinion, your only path forward is to add two or more subwoofers to your system ... This is not easy. This is difficult but once done... I am repeating myself heaven... Perhaps DRC in which case cloud 109.. and a bit of room treatment too, not for the bass (forget about room treatment for the bass..., think about room treatments for first reflections, floor reflections, ceiling reflections, backwall reflections.

And you need to learn to measure. Rather inexpensive. A software (free) REW. $100 microphone, miniDSP Umik-1 and you are good to go... well prepared, to be good to go, you need to learn REW, learn how to measure. From there you will learn to integrate the subwoofers to your mains... Depending on how much you know or already knew this may take months... It took me almost 2 years... You must be prepared to research, toil, iterate, ask questions and be discouraged but you must forge ahead.. Stay on ASR, ask questions. People here know, a lot more than on most audio sites. Prepare yourself to have your questions answered by luminaries, by honest amateurs with the knowledge of practiced professionals, by award-winning professionals and by enthusiasts, who know what the real deal is...

You will be glad you did.

Peace.

 

[FrantzM]

@tonapo

Just read your last reply.... Don't chat with REL... Their subs are overpriced and their subwoofer philosophy is that of the HEA, i-e complete nonsense. SVS, Rythmik, HSU, Monoprice make better, much less expensive subwoofers.. Chat with people here not with REL ... A good place to start: @sweetchaos Subwoofer Comparison