Any audiophiles in here?

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Sort of; I like my high end stuff, but have a sensible reality based point of view when it comes to the law of diminishing returns.
 
Lowe said:
Sort of; I like my high end stuff, but have a sensible reality based point of view when it comes to the law of diminishing returns.
Click to expand...

Lowe - this is very much my view. I passionately believe, first and foremost in great speakers. And you can defo take it too far and there is tonnes of snake oil out there.

When professional studios use van damme speaker cables, I think its safe to assume these stupid cables achieve nothing :)

Ive experimented with a fair bit over the years, but now I have a completely digital system, comprising:

Windows Machine running j river playing ripped flacs (I don't agree that a .wav is better quality etc)

Benchmark DAC2 HGC
Home Made Hypex Ncore amplifiers. Class D 200w
Anthony Gallo Strada 2 x 2 and TR3-d Subwoofer

Linked with vam damme cables, XLR in the case of dac to amps

Prior to this I had Cyrus gear. And I also experimented with KEF LS50 as speakers, but they are terrible. Don't believe the (paid for!) reviews!
 
Helloo, yes but I wish I could reasonably afford better gear. :p

At the moment I have a Xonar Essence STX, an Arcam A75, a Marantz PM5003, a pair of beautiful Wharfedale Diamond 9.2's, some Fidelio X1's, and some AKG K7XX's in the post. :)

Portable wise, I have an ancient Creative Zen Sleek Photo, a Fiio E7 and some Viisang R-03's :p
 
Chimp Paradox said:
Lowe - this is very much my view. I passionately believe, first and foremost in great speakers. And you can defo take it too far and there is tonnes of snake oil out there.

When professional studios use van damme speaker cables, I think its safe to assume these stupid cables achieve nothing :)

Ive experimented with a fair bit over the years, but now I have a completely digital system, comprising:

Windows Machine running j river playing ripped flacs (I don't agree that a .wav is better quality etc)

Benchmark DAC2 HGC
Home Made Hypex Ncore amplifiers. Class D 200w
Anthony Gallo Strada 2 x 2 and TR3-d Subwoofer

Linked with vam damme cables, XLR in the case of dac to amps

Prior to this I had Cyrus gear. And I also experimented with KEF LS50 as speakers, but they are terrible. Don't believe the (paid for!) reviews!
Click to expand...

I'm a professional audio user - I build, maintain and use recording studios as part of my job. Most of my professional cable is some form of Van Damme, with Neutrik connectors. Bomb proof. :)

Yup - great speakers are the best starting point, after all they're the only mechanical part in the chain (source transport not withstanding obviously but that's not really what I'm getting at). I'm a bit of a PMC fan (if you hadn't guessed) and use their stuff at work and also at home. Love the Hypex amps - use them at work, but have cheaper stuff at home. I'm not a huge believer in amps having that big an impact on the sound so long as we're talking an amp of 'sufficient' specification for your needs. I'm not for a moment suggesting that a cheap PA amp will sound the same as a Bryston 4B...

My own home system is a 5.2 surround array based around PMC FB1i and DB1i. Subs are BK Monoliths. :)
 
Hi Lowe, great to be in your esteemed company and what a relief my view are the same as a pro :)

Completely agree re amps. I was attracted to Hypex as I wanted class D for lower power consumption, heat and small size, to fit alongside the Benchmark. This was a cheapish way of getting 200w and also I liked the simplicity of the design and know they will effectively never break or if they do I can fix em/replace a part at low cost. I also like taking advantage of Neutrik's Speakon connections - very cool.

I love PMC too. I only bought my stradas (which on the face of it look too audiophile really for my taste) because they were a good price, and they are idiotproof, and by that I mean child and dog proof. They have a hard casing, you see. And they can be wall mounted. They are really only tweeter and mid range and no rear whole. They are totally unfussy about where they go, which is often a phrase used as a complete lie in stupid audio magazines - when clearly anything with a rear port must be placed carefully. I really dig using the associated sub (with an amp built into it) as of course bass is non-directional and it allow for flexibility in placement again and some really deep lows. I think you probably could improve on it though.

The Kef LS50 were a classic trick - they boosted that sensitive part of human hearing frequency range to make them sound hyper resolving and impressive during a testing session 9and you can see this on recorded graphs) but to live with they are invasive and you want to leave the room, they are that bad. Its stupid cos people say things like "unforgiving of bad recordings" that is literally a synonym for enjoying this stupid trick", since I can listen to old Robert Johnson or whatever with massive LP crackle and such and have no issue on mine, despite them being hyper resolving. Its a shame with the kefs though since for certain things, like male vocals, I adored the velvety tone. I imagine their higher end speakers would be nice. The Stradas, but contrast, are a touch lean at times. Never bright though.

Ive love to experiment with some of the 2k plus bookshelf speakers, by Kef, PMC, Dynaudio. but Id also love to experience a good floor stander too. For now I think mine are a good compromise and work well as a double up home theatre which is what they currently do.
 
Lowe said:
Sort of; I like my high end stuff, but have a sensible reality based point of view when it comes to the law of diminishing returns.
Click to expand...
I'm of this opinion too - somewhat limited also by the spare cash I have available so mine's fairly modest and pretty dated. It was bought many moons ago over a period of a decade or so. I stopped when I was happy with the sound and thought only a major investment (well major for me on my limited budget) would reap any real gains.

I use a Cyrus CD7Q as the front end, a Smartpower/PSX-R combo for amplification and a Yamaha AX1 as a source switch and preamp. Before I get shot down for the AV amp I found little to no difference in running this as a pre when compared to the Cyrus aCA7.5 I had before.

Cabling's bi-wired QED silver anniversary for the Pi-40's and the CD player > Yam > Smartpower are connected using Russ Andrews Silver Streaks.

As you've guessed from the presence of the Yamaha it also ties into a surround system but that is certainly not used for any audiophile listening... not even with SACD's haha! :D


I love the look of those Hypex Ncore's by the way - very nice! :)
 
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I like my Hi-Fi gear. Also recently became a PMC fan and I'm running Hypex modules.

My set-up is PC running JRiver, USB connection to MDAC, Mark Grant XLR cables to 2 x Hypex NC400, currently Kimber 8TC but about to change to Mogami connecting PMC Ob1i. I have a fair bit of room treatment too, including bass traps and acoustic tiles.
 
So what this thread really about? That the OP doesn't like the highly regarded and highly reviewed Ls50's? Or the fact because the OP uses the same cable as recording studio?

I just don't see where this thread is going.
 
I also agree on the common sense approach regarding diminishing returns. I also work in the professional industry and use a lot of ex pro kit at home. (Broadcast rather than dedicated audio recording)

My set-up uses a Xonar essence ST, Tascam CD-RW901 or Thorens TD 160B coupled to a Marantz AV7701, InterM R300 amplifier and 10" Tannoy Super Red monitors. Cables are mainly canford audio SDV for single ended, FST/HST for balanced XLR and HPS for speakers with neutrik or amphenol connectors.
 
Sort of.

Mac Mini, Thunderbolt to HDMI cable into a NAD M51, Van Damme XLR cables, Event Opal speakers on IsoAcoustic ISO-L8R200s, sat on DIY stands filled with kiln-dried sand. At some point I need to get Dirac on my Mac so I can do some room correction + some acoustic panels.
 
Lowe said:
I'm a professional audio user - I build, maintain and use recording studios as part of my job. Most of my professional cable is some form of Van Damme, with Neutrik connectors. Bomb proof. :)

Yup - great speakers are the best starting point, after all they're the only mechanical part in the chain (source transport not withstanding obviously but that's not really what I'm getting at). I'm a bit of a PMC fan (if you hadn't guessed) and use their stuff at work and also at home. Love the Hypex amps - use them at work, but have cheaper stuff at home. I'm not a huge believer in amps having that big an impact on the sound so long as we're talking an amp of 'sufficient' specification for your needs. I'm not for a moment suggesting that a cheap PA amp will sound the same as a Bryston 4B...

My own home system is a 5.2 surround array based around PMC FB1i and DB1i. Subs are BK Monoliths. :)
Click to expand...

I take it that you don't believe in magic speaker cables and their magic properties then?
 
Somnambulist said:
Sort of.

Mac Mini, Thunderbolt to HDMI cable into a NAD M51, Van Damme XLR cables, Event Opal speakers on IsoAcoustic ISO-L8R200s, sat on DIY stands filled with kiln-dried sand. At some point I need to get Dirac on my Mac so I can do some room correction + some acoustic panels.
Click to expand...

Ive always wanted to hear those Event Opals - look amazing
 
Nick1881 said:
I like my Hi-Fi gear. Also recently became a PMC fan and I'm running Hypex modules.

My set-up is PC running JRiver, USB connection to MDAC, Mark Grant XLR cables to 2 x Hypex NC400, currently Kimber 8TC but about to change to Mogami connecting PMC Ob1i. I have a fair bit of room treatment too, including bass traps and acoustic tiles.
Click to expand...

Lovely mate. What cases did you build your ncore in? Room treatment is so important isnt it, again most audiophiles overlook this. It will be my next project when we finally buy a house!
 
I like to dabble with hifi, though not as much as I did in the past.

I'm currently using some old gear that I inherited, a Michell Gyrodec / Alphason tonearm / Ortofon MC3 Super vinyl front end with a Roksan Kandy CD player, and some streamed music from my Mac into an Audio Innovations S500 valve amp and Monitor Audio RS6 speakers.

It's a bit of a lash-up but sounds pretty good, though I'll be looking into some upgrades this year.
 
More money and a dedicated room is what I need! Pretty happy wih my current setup though, and a beresford bushmaster DAC and Apple TV with Spotify has brought me into the Internet age.
 
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