russbutton
Responses from russbutton
| Name 3 songs where audio quality and song quality completely align Here ya go. Bebop (Victor Feldman vibes, Scott LaFaro bass, Stan Levy drums 1958) I Thought About You (Wesla Whitfield vocal) La Vallee des Cloches (composed AND performed by Maurice Ravel 1922) This last recording is special because it was or... | |
| "Audiophile" Power Cables: The Greatest Audio Conspiracy Theory of All Time? P.T. Barnum was right. | |
| "High end" store snobbery Hi-end audio is a rotten business and one most have failed at. They have to act like snobs because they are charging far more than the performance of their gear really warrants. This is normal in the industry. Beyond that, they can't take anyth... | |
| Fantasy or reality? Inexpensive solid state preamps that get you 80% there? @hilde45 Any competent tech can service these things. In particular, Bryston has the world's best support for their gear with a 20 year transferable warranty. Mind you, an 80's vintage Bryston will be out of warranty, but they'll be able to serv... | |
| Streaming Dac $5000-8000 Today's $8000 Wonder DAC will be the 2025 $2500 White Elephant DAC. | |
| How long do speakers last? As others have said here, the big question is the bass driver surrounds. Are they foam or rubber? The foam surrounds can be counted on to hold up for 10 years and often longer. But not that much longer. | |
| Fantasy or reality? Inexpensive solid state preamps that get you 80% there? What will get you at least 80% of the way there are any number of 80's vintage solid state preamps. Apt-Holman Bryston Hafler DH110 Nakamichi Just to name a few. All of which can be had for well under $1000 and here you were going ... | |
| streaming and audiophile stereo @tonywinga When I say "bits is bits," I mean that while the information is in the digital domain, it is the same regardless of the platform it is on. So whether the digital data is on a laptop PC, Raspberry Pi or exotic streamer, it's still just... | |
| streaming and audiophile stereo @ghasley I run an HP laptop I got off of Craigslist for $200. I swapped in a 1TB SSD, which cost me another $100. I run Ubuntu Linux on it with JRiver for Linux, which cost me about $30. I run a Peachtree DAC iT. I had some friends over for a sho... | |
| Really Inexpensive Systems That Sounded Great? I have a little system in a back room with some home brew loudspeakers with a 5" Vifa bass driver and a 1" soft dome Peerless tweeter. Damn things sound GOOD. I got the drivers from Madisound. The Vifa was being remaindered and I paid $15 each ... | |
| streaming and audiophile stereo Bits is bits. That's the beauty of digital. Your most cost effective streamer is a dedicated laptop PC. Spend a pile on some streamer and it won't sound a bit different. Bits is bits. | |
| Where to spend my money... There's nothing wrong with what you have. There is nothing you're going to buy that is really going make an improvement worth the trouble and money you're going to go through. | |
| The Impossible Has Happened Today's $18,000 wonder is next year's $10,000 White Elephant. | |
| Tube or solid state You can run a good tube preamp into either tube or solid state power amps, so there’s no reason NOT to run a tube preamp if you get a good one. But power amps are a different story. I’ve had more than one friend spend Large Cash on a tube power am... | |
| Speakers with deep/powerful bass There's no replacement for displacement. |