I prefer to eliminate distractions. As I progressed from LP to CD to file playback, it was increasingly agreeable have "fewer moving parts" and to disassociate the music from the hardware. All non-audible sensory input will inevitably bias one's assessment and appreciation of the sound.
I was also told here that Kefs are difficult to drive speakers and they not only need enough watts to 4 Ohms but also have to be able to sustain it down to 2 and 1.2 Ohms which my NAD is not capable of doing (NuVista is).
Sorry for the OT but does “we” mean your business? I guess you might be in a better position than most of us as you’d deal with far more gear than we do (at least most of us anyway!).
As of his origin, I guess he's talking about British stuff, not exactly kings of thermals (think small Naim
)Well this would be my quote. Signal to AV10 with ART and straight out to amps. From what I understand, your signal path is full of distractions in pursuit of even greater excellence? IMO amps are the least of distractions as they don't actually do much more then amplify, and yes distort some while doing so.
1. Digital signals (with ART) from JRiver to DACs via ethernet.
Your attention to detail is impressive. Using AES72 to keep the wiring tidy and sending S/PDIF to the LS60 through the Merging HAPI II is quite a setup.
It's a seasonal adjustment.
Do you have plans to switch to AV receivers like the X3800H in the future? I think it could reduce the number of devices and distractions.
why do you keep referring to this? what does it mean and what does this conversation have to do with China?
You can't measure well (flat frequency response, inaudible noise and distortion, low output impedance) and have a "signature sound"
you mean they want distortion or wildly varying frequency response? (I'm assuming here, you're not saying anyone wants noise). Some might though I personally can't understand why. Most (according to decades of blind testing) don't.
They are a great bit of kit. I have one, gonna get another, so I can place one on each speaker. (There is no central location I can put it)
Nothing wrong with that. It all boils down to what value different people place on the different aspect of the component. This is subjective. Some people like yourself put a high value on aesthetics, and are prepared to pay for that. Others place a high value on the engineering/measured performance, and are prepared to pay for that. The resulting decisions for both people are inherently logical, optimising personal value judgements.
It is simpler than that in my opinion.
Many of the skills needed to design well measuring kit are the same skills needed to design for reliabilty. As we see that expensive doesn't necessarily mean good measurements, it holds that expensive doesn't necessary mean reliable. Reliability is a design topic (including design for manufacture), not a price topic.
