Hi ASR,
After nearly a year of reading and learning, I finally took delivery of all components of a new system and have music going:
Raspberry Pi 400 running Volumio & streaming Tidal Connect Hifi> Schiit Bifrost 2/64 > Topping Pre90 > VTV Purifi 1ET400A w/ stock Hypex buffer > Focal Chora 826 (Everything plugged into a ZeroSurge 8R15W-I)
After dreaming about a new set-up for so long, my expectations were pretty high in terms of listening enjoyment. Sitting here on the couch it just seems OK. Not really anything magical. If anything, I feel like my ears hurt a little bit, even at moderate volumes. Is that what they call "bright"? But at the same time sounds ever so slightly dull/muffled?
Maybe I just need to get used to it? Lower my expectations for the budget I spent? Let me ears get tougher? Wait for burn in that supposedly is as real as the boogie man? I do feel like I'm going to struggle enjoying this system if it is going to cause me discomfort/mild pain in my ears.
Looking for some opinions on what others would do to improve this set up. Everything is still within return windows. It's just barley north of 5k, and I would like to keep it there or at the most under 6. Revel has a sale on F206, so maybe speaker upgrade as an option. Another thought switch for a Naim integrated amp. Or possibly even tubes with something from PrimaLuna. Upscale Audio is pretty local so I could go check out something there if I needed to; that's where I got the Choras. I don't need the Pre90 anymore, the Safe Volume setting is not what I thought it was (and I could use the remote consistently to save my life).
Any input would be appreciated. Really don't think I'm gonna be OK with this set-up long term.
Thank you,
Alex
After nearly a year of reading and learning, I finally took delivery of all components of a new system and have music going:
Raspberry Pi 400 running Volumio & streaming Tidal Connect Hifi> Schiit Bifrost 2/64 > Topping Pre90 > VTV Purifi 1ET400A w/ stock Hypex buffer > Focal Chora 826 (Everything plugged into a ZeroSurge 8R15W-I)
After dreaming about a new set-up for so long, my expectations were pretty high in terms of listening enjoyment. Sitting here on the couch it just seems OK. Not really anything magical. If anything, I feel like my ears hurt a little bit, even at moderate volumes. Is that what they call "bright"? But at the same time sounds ever so slightly dull/muffled?
Maybe I just need to get used to it? Lower my expectations for the budget I spent? Let me ears get tougher? Wait for burn in that supposedly is as real as the boogie man? I do feel like I'm going to struggle enjoying this system if it is going to cause me discomfort/mild pain in my ears.
Looking for some opinions on what others would do to improve this set up. Everything is still within return windows. It's just barley north of 5k, and I would like to keep it there or at the most under 6. Revel has a sale on F206, so maybe speaker upgrade as an option. Another thought switch for a Naim integrated amp. Or possibly even tubes with something from PrimaLuna. Upscale Audio is pretty local so I could go check out something there if I needed to; that's where I got the Choras. I don't need the Pre90 anymore, the Safe Volume setting is not what I thought it was (and I could use the remote consistently to save my life).
Any input would be appreciated. Really don't think I'm gonna be OK with this set-up long term.
Thank you,
Alex