caute

@Inoculator, @ilikebananafudge_, what do you suggest in above the budget realm for best in sq RCA interconnects? if I was going all out

@caute I am not the best authority on that above budget tier as I have gone DIY past that. I source DIY stuff from VHAudio, and have landed on KLE RCA connectors with either Furutech FA-aS22 or VHAudio Pulsar CU II (the former being a tad warmer, the latter being a tad more detailed). Let me know if you need a DIY hookup.

My BJC cables (RCA) started developing a short at the connectors. I switched to WBC, saved money and feel like I got a superior product. Too many options with WBC though and not all are in stock.

The all stars that sang... http://tiny.cc/x5s3vz and https://tinyurl.com/2rmdw8dn

TISM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YO0Bbfmfrg8

Zappa. Intricate, irreverent, relevant, doesn't try to "get it right" but keeps trying.

understand if no one wants to loan me, a rando Friend, a 25 lbs. $2.7K TOTL DAC or an amp that has a shit ton of breakable valves, mostly posted this on a lark, don't expect anyone to reply honestly, but you never know, and even if you just thought about it and decided against it, thank you for your consideration!

I know of a LIM for sale for $1600 if you’re interested

@rhythmdevils thanks for the heads up! That's not a bad deal. Wish I had the money to blind buy—just want to know which Yggdrasil is right for me then save up for it, rather than play the buy-and-sell game. Plus I have a distinct feeling the OG/A2 is probably where my preferences lie... now just need to know for sure!

Literally is the opposite of figuratively. Literally. ;)

And I go with the literal here: I think that timbre caused euphoria. But hey, was the quantum of euphoria inversely proportional to SINAD?

Excuse me while I have an organism.

I get things wrong on purpose (in speech—not in writing) because everyone's in on it. For example, telling someone, "Uh, that's, uh,... ungrammarical." But what really makes me laugh is making up mixaphors.

Me too.

Once wrote a whole essay in mixed metaphors. That was a bit naughty: We were "helping out" a temporary colleague from abroad with her English Language homework!

But hey, them that bakes last...

Roman concrete is back baby https://news.mit.edu/2023/roman-concrete-durability-lime-casts-0106

Damascus was kinda more of a "brand" name thing. Pattern welding in different forms and styles blah blah has existed in various forms through history and is still an active thing these days.

@Armaegis I think it's the wootz base, that no longer exists, that made ancient Damascus steel "Damascene", but you're right that with high-carbon steel and pattern-welding, it's p much the same thing today if you're looking for a cool kitchen knife.

just not a fan of most entry-level estats, I guess. Or HFM.

I appreciated that quality of the HE1000 but not enough to keep them due to its overall shortcomings (to my ears).

Bees knees

I personally define square/round as hearing overshoot/undershoot when each note starts to develop from zero stimulus. Or which side reproduction is closer.

It could also be a direct reference to sine waves vs square waves. If you've ever heard a square wave, there's a distinct feel to it. Music that hard clips also comes out kinda square-ish.

a "known quantity" here! It truly and *actually* means a lot to me to be a Friend of SBAF, so thank you so, so, so much to all those who made it happen! Feeling very grateful right about now... :)))))

thanks for being part of the community.

Good on you
https://youtu.be/nN9xsFUsPqM ;)
thanks for your contribution

If you want to go really crazy with abbas, he has some offers on his website now - 2.4SE for ~2300, or his prototype for 1300 (no case, bring your own chip)

@caute what you need to do is calm down and try it with what you have first. Make a decision from there

@ChaChaRealSmooth this is good advice... point taken.

I'd submit that having a Cinemag bal to SE box is something that's just very useful to have around as your system(s) progresses, or when you'd like to audition gear that doesn't fit perfectly in a chain optimized for entirely balanced or SE.

Echoing a bit what @yotacowboy says, don’t ONLY get one for the Piety. But if you have a lot of gear then it does come in handy. Especially if you are in the pro space and you need some conversion or to eliminate a ground loop

Looking at your config again, @caute , the Gungnir A1 has reclocking circuitry that should correct any noise from the Pi2AES, and sync the audio stream to its own very precise VCXO clock. Consider that problem solved -- you won't get any benefit from NoiseNuke or LPS on the Pi2AES.

We had a hacker who was able to take over an admin’s account for an hour or so and delete entire threads in swaths. Did a bunch of damage.

I kinda wonder who the hell would bother hacking us, but...

What they did to my boy, my sweet, sweet midrange is truly devastating. All wonky and timbrally not as correct, relatively; loses a lot of what made the 6X0 magical. Makes the highs annoyingly peaky too, even on the JAR model.

The pads are SO worn down. It really makes the stock 660S sound way worse.

I noticed! That's definitely a factor!!

It's perfectly normal. I went through a one or two rigs fairly quickly before a great guy like @sorrodje stepped up and put me on to the scent. I found these two very old HF posts by "aerius" helpful:
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/sound-preferences-and-priorities.70068/
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/understanding-and-battling-upgradeitis.70046/

I don't know about abandoning orthos, or even estats. Good stuff comes along or you have an itch for something, and you're sucked right back in.

Dynamics are named that for a reason. The One True Path.

@Merrick "Vinyl"

For the biggest raw hit of emotion: vinyl when you scratch or warp it beyond playability. Not nice, though.

It's a hard taskmaster.

Whiskey to take the edge off my tendency to micro-tweak equipment, then HQPlayer->DSD64 upsampling->Spring3->Ovation amp

The above chain is my preference after literal years of working on system synergy and figuring out what I like: bass slam, holographic stage, and micro-control of chain settings

I've had the SW51, downsized to piety and now I am happy to save for a big boy tube amp. If I were in US I would probably try to get one of the older EC, but being in EU/UK I decided to go the full DIY route

Really is remarkable that @CEE TEE made an amp that is so compelling that there are votes to just stay with the $150 amp rather than go for a ~$1K one. Lmao, amazing.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=40WSbXkXTPc "I'll say." Don't sweat it; your tastes might change. And @YMO's right that that any rectangular box is no substitute for a nice girl with a real box.

Good idea! I'll ask meze for the empyreans minus the drivers and fit some earpods underneath

Parallel thought: I always wonder if wearing IEMs under OSHA approved circumaural protection would be better than those wonky sounding ANC crap. (Not a big fan of ANC phones)

Noob must learn why double amping is bad, but also what the fuck a preamp actually does

In this case you are double preamping, which is bad because you are going through 2 preamp circuits including 2 gain stages and 2 potentiometers (volume controls) where you should only be going through one. This cannot possibly improve things objectively in any way, although the additional preamp in the chain may sometimes color the sound in a way that is more to your preference.

See, I am learning already haha. Cunningham's Law in effect unbeknownst to the OP (me, in this case lol)

“Dreams are messages from the deep.”

I don't know if I am an audiophile but I always dreamed of a dac that sounded analog. My dream came true when I bought my first multibit dac 5 years ago.

I remember only one dream about audio equipment. I dreamt that Mojo [1] and MEE Pinnacle had wonderful synergy. But I never followed up on the suggestion.

@shotgunshane @jexby please close this year. Thank you. :p