Perfect Path "Solutions" (PPS) eMat

I’d resist the urge to oversimplify to make a case.

For most, I suspect it is actually a mixed bag of both buying the right stuff and setting up well.

Buy the wrong stuff and no amount of setup may ever make it right.
Buy the right stuff and not nearly as much needed after the fact to try to make it right.

Common sense.

I do agree its not hard these days to buy good stuff that will work well together. Integrated devices can make that a snap these days. Not so easy still otherwise.

Now, as a clear example, if its a Crosley integrated you choose, you might face some serious issues that no amount of setup will ever correct.


But on the other hand buy an integrated amp something  like this for a pittance and you will probably start off in a very good place, if not the "best":

Amazon.com: Fosi Audio: Fosi Audio

I can vouch for that one. Surprisingly good, might satisfy many with a good ear, but clearly not the best.

Buy the wrong stuff and no amount of setup will ever make it right.

When i spoke about embeddings controls i dont spoke about miracles against a sound engineering design for sure....

Bad or too cheap design is without redemption....

BUT it is relatively easy to buy a very good amplifier for low price....
My Sansui AU 7700 was one of the best in his times, today it is only good but it is enough for me....I buy another one in case....😁

For speakers i buy Mission Cyrus 781 the top of Mission speakers but it is not here also the best in the world, only good one, but so good i dont need subwoofer...

The most difficult part was to look for a very good DAC at low price...

The NOs battery Dac of Christophe Mariac Starting Point Systems on Ebay with minimal design and only one TDA 1543 chip is for me perfect.... Not the best by damn good reason BUT.... I pay on a bid 20 dollars new....And i cannot criticize it on any count: timbre, imaging, soundstage, dynamic....Not the best byt so damn good upgrading is very costly....

To the  best that i know what i must pay for an upgrade is :

At least 12,000 buck
Harbeth Speakers, Berning Zotl amplifier , Denafrips dac....


But my actual well embed only good system is so good because of the way it is under control in the mechanical aspect, the electrical grid not too noisy, and the acoustical taken care of, that upgrading is not very tempting...




 Take a vibraphone and a piano like in Sun Ra and Walt Dickerson magnificent cd "Visions"...

Listen to the distinctive timbre of the piano notes and vibraphone notes, listen for the changing aural hues of each tone of vibraphone and the pulsating decay of the note... Listen to the critical bass notes of the piano....

Are the 2 instruments in the room? do they sound natural? is the sound come from the speakers? If they are in the room, with natural timbre very distinctive and no sound coming from the speakers, i call that an audiophile experience...

There is better audiophile experience for sure, give me the three components i name above and it will be better.... But it will not trash my actual sound, only improve it because my actual audio system is relatively rightfully embed and good....

My best to you....

With many speakers these days most amps will sound different. SO you do not start in the same place regardless of the amp. Getting that alone right is not a guarantee and can wind up with costly mistakes.

Then there is that no two speakers sound exactly the same all the time.

Not so simple. A lot comes down to personal preferences in the end.

Just don’t oversimplify things to make a case and all will be well.

Nothing is ever that hard if you really know what you are doing. Audio is particularly tricky because much of it in the end comes down to personal preference which varies widely and is hard to quantify hence all the products out there that sell.

Also, yes, a good setup will ALWAYS make a difference but even there many ways to skin the cat and even worse each cat is different to start with.

You are right it takes me 5 years to buy the right components...

But it is more difficult to learn how to embed the system than to buy the right one...

It is the reason why most people want to upgrade unsatisfied without even knowing what their system can do at his peak potential working...

I know it takes me many years to know how sound my own system.....Installation is the key....

My greatest discovery is that it is not necessary to buy costly tweaks either.... You can create them....

i sell creativity not products or design upgrade....

My best to you.....

I started in hifi back in the 70s on and off to various degrees. ~ 2008 I decided to get serious once and for all. Got some good advice here and learned a lot. Took a couple years to get it all right....right gear set up right to meet my expectations. I still dabble with things just to make sure I’m not missing anything of value to me in regards to my hifis.  Technology always moves forward and improves over time.  Harvesting its fruits effectively is always the trick.

As they say YMMV. That’s the only real truth perhaps in this whole crazy hifi world.

Agree that the key tweaks need not cost much, sometimes nothing. But again that’s just me. YMMV.

Mapman rule #1: Don’t buy anything unless you have a clear idea how it works and how you will apply it and why. My professional career has always been with various applications of technology so I am comfortable with that, but of course again as always, YMMV. Live and learn!