joshua43214

Responses from joshua43214

Looking for a new DAC
I have the Holo May KTE.   It is a fantastic DAC. Upgrading from it will be a pretty expensive proposition.   A big word of caution about the May and many other modern DACs: The May has a 5v output, much higher than the input range of many pre... 
Thoughts on using a smart plug on intergrated amp.
I would approach with caution, most smart plugs are not meant for high amp circuits.   If you absolutely must, buy only from a reputable brand from an authorized dealer. I.E Schneider from Digikey or Mouser. Do not buy from Amazon, even if it fr... 
DAC recommendation for DSD input
My digital front end is a SGC i9 based optical server to an Optical Rendu to a Holo May KTE. The May is extraordinary. I have tried using both I2s and USB, the USB was better to my ears. My digital front end has undergone many changes over the l... 
ACTUAL MUSICAL SOUND VS. MEASUREMENTS
I might have some insight based on my own reactions to my own experience.   As a scientist (I am actually a scientist), I really hate the notion that I can hear the difference between interconnects and speakers cables, and it really PO's me that... 
Package Has Disappeared in USPS System
I ordered coffee from a local store 10 days before Christmas. It made it to my local depot, disappeared and showed up about 1000 miles away in MO 2 days later. It then made it about 200 miles closer before going back MO. Nothing at all for a while... 
How much dirt is too much dirt
My old DAC was plugged into a power strip that it shared with the wall wart for my Chromecast Audio.   Sometimes, I would have people over that wanted to listen to my system, and I would unplug the wall wart mid-song. Every time, folks would sit ... 
GROUNDING - assistance on how NOT to shock yourself
A lot of gear uses a "floating" ground (better called a neutral). With out knowing how your gear is wired, it is hard to say if using the grounding lug on your preamp is "safe." I would expect any decent phono preamp's TT ground lug to be "lifted"... 
Tube Preamp with "pass through" for HT option?
I have not noticed any difference between unity gain and pass through with home theater. So I would not quibble over the difference, either is fine as far as I am concerned. I had a BAT and a Cary. The Cary was decent, but actually sounded a bit ... 
More potential bad news for some big names...
Lots of negativity in this thread, we should lighten up a bit. People have less disposable income, so they will spend less on luxury items, hence the increase in sound bar sales. This is not a bad thing, it is a good thing. It means people are st... 
Receiver Too Weak?
Not all of the issue is the AVR, some of it is the sound engineering on the movie. I run into this a lot. Some movies have a perfect balance between speech and sound, others do not.  I have a Denon that is supposed to be their "best" AVR for sound... 
Burn Twetter Speaker
To put things another way, you need sensitive speakers for low power amps, or powerful amps for insensitive speakers.   For a decent sized room, I start thinking in terms of 200watts for an 89db speaker if I want it loud. Remember, it takes twic... 
Why tube rectification?
I will add something that has not yet been mentioned explicitly.   What you are listening to from an amp/pre-amp is the power supply - not the signal being sent to it.   It is a bit of a misnomer that we call these things amplifiers. It implies... 
Physical degradation of CD's
The laser will not degrade the CD. Some CDs get rot as mentioned above. The only concern I would have would be that it might be getting hot inside the player, and leaving a CD in a hot place for a long time can cause it to delaminate (rot).    
Solid State Preamp to replace tube unit
I struggled with this for about 3 years. I needed a preamp with balanced out to go between my Manley Snapper monoblocks and my Holo May KTE DAC. Tried quite a few.   In the end I wound up with a Levinson 523. Probably outside your budget even ... 
Considering a Backert Rhythm 1.4, talk me out of it
I ended up ordering a Mark Levinson 523 off the 'Gon. It should be here by the 17th :) I paid about the same price as the Rhythm 1.3 cost before the price hikes. It was a tough choice, but I feel pretty good about it. Not only did I get what is p...