westyjeff
Active Member
Purchased Matrix Audio Element X
Already had RME ADI2 DAC
Already had Crown 2502
Sold Airist R2R
Already had RME ADI2 DAC
Already had Crown 2502
Sold Airist R2R
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What items have you purchased as a result of ASR?
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Yes, the price is the only thing that's prevented me from getting one. I'm keeping an eye on the Class D Hypex and Purifi-based amps.
Those look interesting too, but also pricey. I can get good sound out of class D now for pennies on the dollar. If and when I upgrade, will be targetting the best measuring amp out there that is unique. Benchmark looks that way - low power class AB (?) that measures better than anything around. Might be worth saving your pennies for it the long run. Hypex and Purefi seem like flybys to me, what's next in class D.
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Yes, I agree with you to a large degree - one of the reasons I haven't made a purchase yet is that I'm still not completely certain that it's not worth saving up and just getting the Benchmark. Being fortunate enough to be able to afford a high-quality power amp, $2k vs $3k isn't necessarily a huge issue if one plans on keeping the amp for 10-20 years.
Still, I have no problem with the Class D designs and while the current Hypex and Purifi designs will no doubt advance and get superseded (as some Hypex ones already have), that's not my concern. My concern is that most of @amirm 's measurements seem to show that pre-assembled Hypex and Purifi-based amps seem to fall short in perhaps small but still notable ways from the best DIY units and/or from the Hypex or Purifi spec. The idea of spending $1000 or $1500 or $2000 on a Hypex or Purifi-based amp that has, for example, signal wires running right over the power supply, or a poorly cooled power supply, or sticky-tape wire hold-downs, or an asymmetrical layout for the two channels, is not appealing.
On the other hand, I'm guessing that if I got the Benchmark, a Nord, a DYI Hypex kit, and whatever else in a room and ABX'd them, I'd probably not hear a difference - so maybe I just need to get over myself.
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I have similar concerns. The Benchmark probably has less power than either the Hypex NC400 or the Purifi amp; and while the latter two fall short of the former in SINAD, theIr specs likely are more than good enough. The real issue may be how much we can rely on the build quality of the models available for purchase with these amps. That is not likely to be much of a concern for most of us in relation to the Benchmark. So if it's sufficiently powerful, as it is likely to be for me, that may be the way to go when one is ready to pay for it. For those of us in North America, there is the additional fact that the Benchmark is sold and can be serviced domestically, including in Canada.
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Aune 7s of which I was disappointed and quickly sold. Second, a Matrix Mini-i pro2 of which I am impressed. Third, I finally broke down and bought a Drop THX AAA 789 headphone amplifier which I (like so many others before me) judge to be one of the best bargains in audio). Lastly, I bought the Massdrop HD 6XXX (Sennheiser) headphone as a second headphone set to use as an alternative to a the Beyerdynamic hd 1770 pro which can be a bit intensive. The HD 6XXX I find to be well integrated and another bargain for the cohesiveness of its sound. I am not an unhappy camper. The is the most positive a Minnesotan gets in winter.
oldandintheway
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You should try the FiiO BTR5 that I also bought due to ASR as a complement for mobile listening. It has the ESS 9218p Sabre and all that Sabre glare is all BullSchiit. I have 4 different brands of DACs right now and will soon have the AK4499 (my first ever AKM DAC chip) for my upcoming DAP making that a total of 5 DAC brands in my collection
solderdude
Grand Contributor
Bought nor sold anything electronic.
I guess I am happy with my gear as it is (on the electronics side)
Did buy/return/sell shitloads of headphones though.
I guess I am happy with my gear as it is (on the electronics side)
Did buy/return/sell shitloads of headphones though.
After lurking for a while, I bought:
1) Wharfedale sw-150 subwoofer
2) MiniDSP 2x4 and UMIK-1 for subwoofer EQ
3) Audio technica ATH-MSR7
4) Fiio E10K
I am pretty happy with the first two, that made a huge improvement of my system, and with the headphones. I don't hear any difference between the output of the Fiio and my laptop's headphone out, other than the louder volume.
1) Wharfedale sw-150 subwoofer
2) MiniDSP 2x4 and UMIK-1 for subwoofer EQ
3) Audio technica ATH-MSR7
4) Fiio E10K
I am pretty happy with the first two, that made a huge improvement of my system, and with the headphones. I don't hear any difference between the output of the Fiio and my laptop's headphone out, other than the louder volume.
Soundstage
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I bought a car with all the money I saved by not spending it on expensive gear. ASR is going to change the hifi market eventually. In the end only subjectivists who eat organic food and cure themselves with homeopathy will buy the expensive gear and that is not enough for the hifi market to survive.
I already had a DEQX HDP-4 and had day dreamed about running multiple DACs on the digital outputs but assumed it was bank breaking nonsense. Measurements and discussion here steered me back to it:
2x SMSL M500
I wanted more power at a reasonable price and very nearly went with Emotiva. Measurements here allayed my concerns about class D and steered me towards Hypex:
2x March Audio P502, subsequently canceled and turned into a P451
2x ATI AT543NC
For the desktop system, the following replaced my Ayre Codex while it was out for repair, and have stayed.
SMSL SU-8
Monoprice 887
Side effect- I no longer day dream (much) about those $10k DACs or $20k monoblocks, nor give them much of a second glance when cruising the classifieds. With my upgraditis on those fronts pretty much cured I'm more sharply focusing on other aspects of my system.
2x SMSL M500
I wanted more power at a reasonable price and very nearly went with Emotiva. Measurements here allayed my concerns about class D and steered me towards Hypex:
2x March Audio P502, subsequently canceled and turned into a P451
2x ATI AT543NC
For the desktop system, the following replaced my Ayre Codex while it was out for repair, and have stayed.
SMSL SU-8
Monoprice 887
Side effect- I no longer day dream (much) about those $10k DACs or $20k monoblocks, nor give them much of a second glance when cruising the classifieds. With my upgraditis on those fronts pretty much cured I'm more sharply focusing on other aspects of my system.
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