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Snake Oil Department, Top This

Page 3 of the manual - 220 V, 30 Amp supply to get the rated output of the Epic 1600.
Good find, thanks.

I don't know how common this type of connector is across the pond, but here in the UK, they're known as BS4343/IEC 60309 plugs and sockets. Yellow for 110 V centre-tapped isolation supplies for power tools etc., blue for 240 V single phase and red for 415 V 3-phase.
Never seen one before in my life.
For better or worse, our standard AC supply is 115v using IEC type connections on the gear.

Armchair quartbacks
 
Sorry guys but for an amp that draws as much current as that Relentless by D'Agostino, I would only feel safe that my fidelity is intact with an exothermically bonded permanent connection like the ones I used to use on grounding loops for lighting protection at comms sites.


It's the only way to be sure you're getting the best possible sound. Just don't do the 'connection' indoors.
 
“HiFi streaming networks” is the selling mantra of the company Silent Angel that produces the $3995 switch box which Stereophile is now pushing as a recommended component: Silent Angel Bonn NX network switch by Jim Austin. You will be equally served by this $24.99 switch box with no audible difference. The HFA blog (hi-fiadvice.com) goes even more insane Silent Angel Bonn N8 Pro and Bonn NX Ethernet Switches and Genesis GX Clock by Christiaan Punter. :facepalm:
LOL And no measurements this time.... i wonder why that could be?
 
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I enjoyed reading a six page review on Entreq magic wires which ended with this paragraph:

Since today's context was a comparison of two complete cable looms, we'll end as follows. Compared to the LiveLine cables whose name nicely captures their live sensation focus, the Entreqs scale down this 'aha' charge and overall lit-up character. They relax focus into a more floating construct which is about non-smeared mellifluousness and softer contours without confusion. It's a whiff of valve flavor to the French aroma of superior transistors. While such characterizations always run afoul of eventual generalization, I do I think it captures the core flavor quite nicely*. The fact that I evaluated a complete front-to-back Entreq cable system also makes me confident that the described sonic traits will migrate recognizably from one audio setup to the next.

Personally speaking I’m very much against non-smeared mellifluousness but completely for any Aha moments.

I didn’t realise transistors had a aroma. Is that good?
 
LOL And no measurements this time.... i wonder why that could be?
It is all intuitive, it is art. Either you have it or you don’t. Remember what Jim Austin says in his review: he “opened his mind... to a greater acceptance of uncertainty, a willingness to give up the certainty of scientific proof and accept things with less evidence than, say, a rigorous double-blind test.” I am crying and laughing all at once. It is very disconcerting. Confirmation bias anyone? ;)
 
Good find, thanks.


Never seen one before in my life.
For better or worse, our standard AC supply is 115v using IEC type connections on the gear.

Armchair quartbacks
IEC C13 and C14 is the norm here too for computers/audio components and the like, but is only rated up to 10 Amps, which is plenty for most sensible hi-fi gear.

The "Commando" type plugs and sockets are used on high current "portable" devices. Air compressors, welders, plasma cutters, industrial pressure washers, pumps etc. Also frequently encountered on stage and events gear.

I have a couple of blue 16 Amp and 32 Amp single phase outlets at home for a welder and plasma cutter.

We use a lot of the red 3-phase connectors at work (water industry). Submersible pumps are often plugged in this way - makes them easy to replace without needing an electrician. Rental kit is connected using them too. Smaller diesel generators (up to a few hundred kVA), pumps, air blowers and stuff.
 
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I visited d'Agostino a few years back. Dan seemed an extremely nice fellow, but the emphasis of everything was the appearance. And looking up the Stereophile reviews, I noted that they had their absolutely dumbest writer cover these products, and the actual performance, which was extremely mediocre-to-poor, caused the usual Atkinson verbal dance to justify the raving of their house idiot. Crossover distortion has no place in a modern product, the linearity was questionable, and the noise performance was mediocre. It's one thing to have a luxury product which is vastly more expensive than it needs to be but still has basically good performance, it's another to have that luxury product not even do its basic function properly.

Yes, a Rolex won't keep time as well as an Apple watch, but if it lost a minute per day with a $50,000 price tag, you'd wonder what they were thinking.
 
I visited d'Agostino a few years back. Dan seemed an extremely nice fellow, but the emphasis of everything was the appearance. And looking up the Stereophile reviews, I noted that they had their absolutely dumbest writer cover these products, and the actual performance, which was extremely mediocre-to-poor, caused the usual Atkinson verbal dance to justify the raving of their house idiot. Crossover distortion has no place in a modern product, the linearity was questionable, and the noise performance was mediocre. It's one thing to have a luxury product which is vastly more expensive than it needs to be but still has basically good performance, it's another to have that luxury product not even do its basic function properly.

Yes, a Rolex won't keep time as well as an Apple watch, but if it lost a minute per day with a $50,000 price tag, you'd wonder what they were thinking.
Gotta make it sound different somehow.
 
Gotta make it sound different somehow.
And at that, it still may not sound different. It takes a LOT of distortion to be audible, and the frequency response deviations from the poor output impedance might be audible in a rapid switching direct comparison, but are unlikely to be picked up on a casual listen.

The poor measurements just indicate sloppy engineering, with attention focused on the looks rather than the innards. For the prices charged, I would at least expect top tier amplification performance. But I'm not a technically illiterate reviewer, either, nor do I get paid as well. :D
 
It takes a LOT of distortion to be audible, and the frequency response deviations from the poor output impedance might be audible in a rapid switching direct comparison, but are unlikely to be picked up on a casual listen.
I thought we were discussing a SS amp here, not a tube amp? :p
 
LOL And no measurements this time.... i wonder why that could be?
No measurements in either review because, what audio characteristic can you measure out of a network switch? The only thing I can think of is for Silent Angel to develop a “clarity” and “depth” measuring tool. Each one of them should be a separate contraption that one could buy as add-ons for each component you buy... They would not be interchangeable among components, of course, because they need be finely tuned for each one of the components. That way the buyer will pay some additional $500 for each add-on. Sounds like a deal to me! :p
 
The only thing I can think of is for Silent Angel to develop a “clarity” and “depth” measuring tool.
Clarity: turbidity is easy to measure. A nephelometer will do quite nicely. Here's a random one courtesy of google.
Depth: Heck, depending on the magnitude & resolution required, one of these should suffice.
1727831138153.jpeg


Follow me for more quantitative audiophilicity tips!
:cool: :)
 
Clarity: turbidity is easy to measure. A nephelometer will do quite nicely. Here's a random one courtesy of google.
Depth: Heck, depending on the magnitude & resolution required, one of these should suffice.
View attachment 395990

Follow me for more quantitative audiophilicity tips!
:cool: :)
Air sampling and then condensation of the air samples will be required to measure the clarity with the nephelometer. I wonder what will be used as “blank”... Air from a quiet room?

I would prefer to measure the depth with a laser tape measure. The Bosch ones have an error of 1/32" or 0.79 mm.

;)
 
Air sampling and then condensation of the air samples will be required to measure the clarity with the nephelometer. I wonder what will be used as “blank”... Air from a quiet room?

I would prefer to measure the depth with a laser tape measure. The Bosch ones have an error of 1/32" or 0.79 mm.

;)
Ahh, you work in the industry, then! Please be discreet! Don't tell us any proprietary information which we shouldn't know! It could become awkward for us all.
:D ;)
 
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