I am a convert. Goodbye snake oil!

[Mnyb]

I once ripped all my CDs to 128kb/s MP3 thinking I couldn't hear any deterioration. This was decades ago, at a time when storage wasn't anywhere near as cheap as it is now.

I later found I was wrong. I bitterly resented the time I spent re-ripping them to lossless.

+1 Did exactly the same thing , it was only for portable use I thought, until I had a music server.
Ripped 1500 CD’s one more time ….

 

[Tim Link]

Ah, I hope you keep the original CD's. There may come a time when your system improves or you acquire more attentive listening habits and the lossy compression coding your using becomes more audible. IMHO I don't see where any "inaudible" lossy schemes can save enough storage space to be of worth it for the archiving of CDs over good ole lossless FLAC compression. Your music, your choice.
YMMV

BTW, Cables are a different case, unless they are very poorly made or constructed out of a badly chosen material, they can make Zero difference in the sound of your system.

I keep all my CDs! I actually spin them in the CD player now and then. The main difference I notice is the CD player seems a little louder than playing through iTunes, whether I use compression or not. I can hear a difference, it just doesn't matter that much to me so long as the compression isn't too strong. I'm pretty happy with 128 AAC.

 

[thcdru2k]

I just setup a CD transport for first time in 10+ years. Had an extra portable blu-ray drive laying around. Connected it to my Pi which is connected via USB audio to Flex HTx. Silly considering I have Spotify lossless but fun to have.

 

[wadude]

What a downgrade. As a technically inclined person, I appreciate a proper cable salad.

I was experiencing Airplay delay and went through the combobulations, thinking about hardwiring everything. Then a knowledgeable family member suggested Plex and it has solved the delay issue so hardwiring doesn’t seem necessary anymore.

I’m also in the process of re-ripping a bunch of CDs. The good thing is that there are a few I missed.

 

[wadude]

I just bought a new 1.5m HDMI cable from a large electrical wholesaler in the UK. It has the HDMI.org hologram and QR Code to certify it as 8K performant. I have checked these on the certification site.

It cost ...wait for it.... £2.96

Don't understand why anyone would pay Audioquest or Chord prices for some additional feel-good marketing speak

No problem with generic HDMI cables, but my ego required Belden for speaker wires and Mogami for interconnects.

 

[babadono]

I once ripped all my CDs to 128kb/s MP3 thinking I couldn't hear any deterioration. This was decades ago, at a time when storage wasn't anywhere near as cheap as it is now.

I later found I was wrong. I bitterly resented the time I spent re-ripping them to lossless.

if I had a nickel.....or would you say 5 pence across the pond...
part of my sig on. another forum....I've never made a mistake, just attempted to do things that needed correction.

 

[Multicore]

I once ripped all my CDs to 128kb/s MP3 thinking I couldn't hear any deterioration. This was decades ago, at a time when storage wasn't anywhere near as cheap as it is now.

I later found I was wrong. I bitterly resented the time I spent re-ripping them to lossless.

I did the same but 160 kbps AAC. The whole collection of 2k+. I so regret it to this day.

Thankfully it's only notional. The files sound fine to me.

 

[antcollinet]

or would you say 5 pence across the pond...

That'll be a good old English shilling to you, my lad.

 

[Ropeburn]

No problem with generic HDMI cables, but my ego required Belden for speaker wires and Mogami for interconnects.

My national pride requires Sommer or Cordial for signal, and Lapp wire for speaker cables. All of which made in Germany or at least designed - and coincidentally super cheap at high quality.

 

[mrehorst]

Imagine what one of these could do for your stereo!

Qi Home Cell- Whole Home EMF Protector

"The Qi-Home Cell is Waveguard's whole-home EMF protection solution, designed to reduce electromagnetic field exposure across shared living spaces. Using proprietary Qi depolarization technology, it gently disperses EMFs without blocking WiFi or cellular signals. Designed for stationary use, it provides continuous, passive protection throughout apartments, homes, and small offices."

Chuck McGill could really use one of these!

If you're in Milwaukee, you can get a deal on one via Craig's List.

 

[Tim Link]

With HDMI cables I did upgrade from $3 cables to cables that were $12.00 each because I was having dropouts. The better cables solved the problem, except on the blu-ray player. I assume the fault there is with the player. I get visual static once in a while or dropouts. I have to jiggle the cable to make it go away.

 

[CapMan]

My national pride requires Sommer or Cordial for signal, and Lapp wire for speaker cables. All of which made in Germany or at least designed - and coincidentally super cheap at high quality.

I have Sommer speaker cables - but only because they are grey and match the carpet better

 

[Sal1950]

I have Sommer speaker cables

What cables do you use in Winter ?

 

[antcollinet]

it gently disperses EMFs without blocking WiFi or cellular signals

That would be spectacularly impressive if it could do that. Disperse EMF without dispersing the particular EMFs. you want to have.

 

[Bren Derlin]

Imagine what one of these could do for your stereo!

Qi Home Cell- Whole Home EMF Protector

"The Qi-Home Cell is Waveguard's whole-home EMF protection solution, designed to reduce electromagnetic field exposure across shared living spaces. Using proprietary Qi depolarization technology, it gently disperses EMFs without blocking WiFi or cellular signals. Designed for stationary use, it provides continuous, passive protection throughout apartments, homes, and small offices."

Chuck McGill could really use one of these!

If you're in Milwaukee, you can get a deal on one via Craig's List.

I'm in Milwaukee, and I'll report back in...

Never.

 

[babadono]

That'll be a good old English shilling to you, my lad.

hmmmm...thought you only had pounds and pence nowadays. But I know nothing. Cheers.

 

[2tec]

In my opinion, the problem isn't people wasting money on vanity gear, it's vain people leading entitled lives where apperance matters and money does not.

What do people expect the entitiled upper class to be spending our money on if not on thier grandiosities?

 

[Digital_Thor]

More differences are to be found in the transducers.
By that I mean speaker drivers and loudspeaker systems.
Maybe less so with room correction.

Perhaps cartridges if vinyl is involved

So true. Using the best driver unit for the given "job", is definitely the best way to go. As you build your system, sit down and figure out what you really need, and if it ain't more expensive or troublesome for you, please overdo it a bit, since that leaves headroom for fun and EQ.
I changed my SB23NRX - which are not bad at all - to WO24P drivers, and they fit much better in my closed design and a bit higher cross-over point + lower distortion, is always going to clear things up - to a certain degree of-course.
Second was going from KEF R3 to R3 Meta - definitely easier to lower the cross-over for the tweeter, when distortion in the Meta is way lower.
When I change something now, I always conduct a small blind-test with one of my friends, and if it can't be pointed out after level-match and EQ, with the listening partner "blind" - then it's usually not worth it, and effort should be put elsewhere.
Both the woofer and coax change/upgrade - was easily chosen 10/10 of the times, when level matched and EQ'd within around 1/5dB.
Every time we did this same test with amplifiers (YBA, D'agostino, NAD, Groundsound, Behringer... list goes on...) we never reach that precision in choosing one amplifier being better than the other - which fits very well with the more scientific approach to HIFI here on ASR.

 

[antcollinet]

hmmmm...thought you only had pounds and pence nowadays. But I know nothing. Cheers.

Oh, we have, since the 1970's. But we don't all live in the present

 

[Multiway]

So true. Using the best driver unit for the given "job", is definitely the best way to go. As you build your system, sit down and figure out what you really need, and if it ain't more expensive or troublesome for you, please overdo it a bit, since that leaves headroom for fun and EQ.
I changed my SB23NRX - which are not bad at all - to WO24P drivers, and they fit much better in my closed design and a bit higher cross-over point + lower distortion, is always going to clear things up - to a certain degree of-course.
Second was going from KEF R3 to R3 Meta - definitely easier to lower the cross-over for the tweeter, when distortion in the Meta is way lower.
When I change something now, I always conduct a small blind-test with one of my friends, and if it can't be pointed out after level-match and EQ, with the listening partner "blind" - then it's usually not worth it, and effort should be put elsewhere.
Both the woofer and coax change/upgrade - was easily chosen 10/10 of the times, when level matched and EQ'd within around 1/5dB.
Every time we did this same test with amplifiers (YBA, D'agostino, NAD, Groundsound, Behringer... list goes on...) we never reach that precision in choosing one amplifier being better than the other - which fits very well with the more scientific approach to HIFI here on ASR.

Yes back to back blind test certainly puts things straight / in perspective.

I've found that differently applied IIR and Time / Phase alignment of the drivers in my system does as you'd expect
yield very audible differences. Easy to A/B too.