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WANTED: Happy members who like to discuss audio and other topics related to our interest. Desire to learn and share knowledge of science required. There are many reviews of audio hardware and expert members to help answer your questions.
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My latest purchase thanks to ASR is the THX 789. I own the Atom amp, but grew tired of how it likes to wiggle when you plug in headphones. Amir's measurements of the 789 single ended output (I have no interest in switching to balanced cables) convinced me it would be a comparable performance replacement.
Me too. I honestly didn't think I would be able to hear the difference between the Schitt Bifrost DAC I already owned but I was pleasantly surprised.
Better sound stage, fuller musical depth, and most of all music sounds much better at lower volumes and I've actually been listening to a lot more music for that reason.
"Damned you", ASR: Motu M4, Focusrite Clarett2 Pre, Topping D90 MQA, Chromecast Audio (DoA, so trashed it next minute; "thanks" Google for your lack of support).
Good lord, the list is ever-growing...now have ordered the Audiophonics LPA-S500NC stereo amp, based exclusively and completely as a result of the various Hypex Ncore discussions here on ASR. Ages ago I had a quick readup on Class D amps...roundly dismissed by the - wait for it - “audiophile community”...my personal knowledge was that it was this finned thingy sticking out the back of my subwoofer...and here we are, who knew?
Curious to what degree people use ASR reviews and feedback from the ASR community before buying gear.
For me personally I picked up a JDS Atom, a Topping D30 and a MOTU audio interface based on reviews. The newly reviewed Revel speakers look tempting as well, of course I have no need for them whatsoever.
+1
Was also interested in the Klipsch. CCA is sometimes on offer "refurbished" from 1-day here in NZ. That's where I got mine! Works a treat with my Vortexbox via Squeezer. Was not impressed that you needed to go to Premium to play music off YT Music, compared with the Chromecast you plug in the telly which doesn't have this restriction. Well, guess you can always cast off an Android phone if desired.
I found the Klipsch to be a good value when it was on sale. I purchased mine from Amazon for a significant discount compared what we'd normally pay for them down here in Aotearoa. Paul Money HiFi was selling them for $1,000NZD at one point, and I got mine from Amazon at ~$215NZD. There's no way it was worth what Paul Money was asking, but with the currency conversion at time it matched US retail pricing I suppose.
One thing I did with my PowerGate was to bypass its internal DAC (it's not particularly good as evidenced by a review here on ASR) with the analog output of my Chromecast Audio for streaming and an Apple dongle DAC for local computer playback. I prefer Google Cast to DTS Play-Fi (PowerGate's onboard streaming protocol) anyway and was already invested in the former. The bypass works well and does sound better to my ears, and it was so cost effective that it didn't add a significant cost to the PowerGate setup.
As for CCA and YT Music, I never use mine for that service and just cast from regular YT instead.
Things I have purchased as a direct result of conversations and reviews on this site include:
SMSL M500 (Amir's Review)
iLoud MTM (Amir's Review)
Buchardt A500 (@napilopez Review)
I am really grateful for the incredible work done by Amir and so many others on this site. I decided to dip my toes into the HiFi world this year and felt incredibly overwhelmed by vast differences of opinion on YouTube and other reviewing sites. I really had a hard time trying to evaluate any sort of objective standards to base my purchases on. Some people made me feel like I needed to spend $15k and others convinced me that any speakers over $1000 were a waste of money. I wanted to know WHY. I work in film production and have spent many countless hours researching/buying/renting expensive equipment and information regarding the performance and technical differences between equipment is generally available to anyone who can understand it and wants to know. Sure the law of diminishing returns is very real in that industry as well, but overall the differences are clear and every production has its own requirements. I was looking for that sort of clarity and information. I found that here! Here I've been able to see measurements like frequency response, distortion, and dispersion patterns that have helped me understand what I am paying for and make an informed decision for myself. On this site, I've learned how my room could affect the sound and what I can do about that, that $10,000 DACs aren't infused with magic, and many many other invaluable lessons. Thank you!
RME ADI-2 is the one i am sticking with after trying 6 DAC/AMP combos. The price is high, but i have peace of mind that i bought a device from a established manufacturer that also is a name in Pro Studio equipment. Added Bonus is that i live in the same country. I will get good support and there will be driver updates if needed. I could get a cheaper DAC/AMP with similar if not better measurements but none has even close to the engineering and flexibility.
Thanks to everyone on this site that helped me with my newbie questions and lack of knowledge when it comes to all these audio terms.
Cheers!