MellowVelo

@DigMe you give new meaning to “Full Moon” Club.

Looking forward to this! He takes forever to release albums but they are worth the wait!

@jaker782 I had honestly given up hope that i/o would ever be released. 21 years is excessive, even by PG’s standards. To say I’m excited is an understatement.

While not a definitive house sound comparison, some Starlett vs Zen Taboo comparisons I did here: https://www.superbestaudiofriends.org/index.php?threads/decware-zen-taboo-mkiv.4854/page-4#post-389335

Below Inoculator I posted that with the Zen Taboo MKIV "there’s a good amount of warmth, richness, and lushness, and the amp has a slightly wet sound to it, not unlike the Stratus." It's not as wet as the Stratus, though, for me.

If you know how, you can already listen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KIDu6a9COmg

What’s the trick?

@Josh83 VPN, although it looks like the link is now live in the US.

Wouldn’t say it’s a bad pairing. Schiit is known as high value gear and seeing how it does with $$$$$ sources is a good test of the value proposition

@Cspirou I'm not saying that it's a bad pairing. I'm sure that Tyr absolutely holds its own with $$$$$ sources. In that regard, you're correct that the pairing is a good test of the Tyr's value proposition, but that's basically an academic exercise.

As a real-world application, it's pretty absurd. In most circumstances, people will pair high-value gear with other high-value gear. Or, if somebody is really buying ORFAS gear like the MBL DAC, then they wouldn't dream of pairing it with non-ORFAS gear like Tyr.

Can some of us who don't celebrate it have some love too please? ;) lol...

Seriously. Happy Eating and drinking, folks :D

@Thad E Ginathom yes, of course! That’s why I said “all who yearn for renewal”. Everybody is included. :)

@Qildail yeah, I assume that’s the reason. They basically have their tour financed up front.

I was a little disappointed when I saw them at Pinkpop this year.
Lars just seemed like he didnt want to play - he kept getting up and walking off.. Also they decided to play songs from St Anger, so theres that

@JayC that's disappointing to hear. I last saw them in 2017. I was actually quite pleased with Lars' performance. For all the legitimate criticism he receives for his sloppy playing, I think that he has actually improved in the last few years. He's never going to play like the late 80s/early 90s again, but to my ears, he sounds better today than some of the atrocious performances I heard in the 2000s.

I preferred the Rogers one over the TS one in the loaner, personally, but yeah try both and see what works for you.

Try to hear the differences. See if *you* have a preference. Years ago, I had a dozen old American 6SN7s; I sold them all, except one (not telling).

@Claritas I certainly take your point. Ultimately, only I can decide what I like. That said, I appreciate reading about people's preferences and triangulating with my own experience. It helps me to understand what I'm hearing.

@9suns the price is right, for sure. Have you used the Presonus speakers?

Not yet, was also looking for studio monitors and noticed the Eris had those characteristics. I think the rca inputs, class a/b amps and absence of internal ad/da alone makes it a nice choice in that price range tbh. Have to hear one ofc but seems like a safe bet.

@9suns yes, I like those characteristics too. I think that they look nice too.

Please do. I’ve been thinking of upgrading. I feel like the MM-6 needs cleaner top end…less murky.

@Azimuth will do. I haven’t heard other DL models, but I don’t perceive a murky top end on the MP-7.

@Azimuth I posted impressions of the MP-7, if you’re still interested.

https://www.superbestaudiofriends.org/index.php?threads/darlington-labs-mp-7-comparative-review.11262/#post-396908

Haha, I had the same with the Mani 1, I sold it immediately and I completely agree with the bass, its thick and detailed but doesnt bleed. I've had three iterations of the MP-7 so I've also seen it progress over time, mostly with the bass

Do you think you want to post your findings on the thread? Could be interesting for others too

Yes, I’m definitely planning to post my impressions. Could you also post an update about how the MP-7 has improved with subsequent iterations? I think that people would find this interesting, and it speaks to Keith’s commitment to continually improve his products.

oh definitely, I created that comparison thread with the intention of doing a lot of side-by-sides with other units and there's something to be said there about iteration comparison. I had some setbacks in getting that done, but I'll be picking that up again in the coming days

First spin: “Random Access Memories” by Daft Punk.

Haven't heard but was curious myself a couple years ago. Those balanced inputs/outputs especially appealing. In a big compare of phono stages, I found the big difference, unsurprisingly, to be between tube and solid-state.

@SoupRKnowva nice! I didn't see the page because it's not listed in the menu. Canare L-4E5C is standard, but if you want the slightly larger Canare L-4E6S, you can request it for a few bucks more. I had a great email conversation with Andrew at BJC. He's super knowledgeable and helpful.

So, what do you think of the HP cable so far?

@roughroad I haven’t done an A/B comparison (life is too short), but the Focal Elear sounds as expected. I purchased the cable because I wanted a particular length and termination. Canare starquad is well regarded for headphone cables. It’s durable and non-microphonic. Lots of folks on SBAF use it.

As with everything, the amp/source/chain/synergy matters a lot, but all things being equal, you'd be missing resolution, micro.

You're missing beryllium and swagger. ;)

Driver timbre is noticeably different between the two. Utopia also has incredibly smooth upper treble; still never heard a headphone with better performance there. Utopia also scales like mad with better gear since it's so resolving

https://dr.loudness-war.info/

Here's how I see DR. High DR doesn't guarantee a mastering will sound good, because there are other ways to bork a mastering, but a low DR almost always guarantees the mastering will suck because if the DR level is low enough there is no saving it.

Well said. Many older CDs have high DR but also sound thin and brittle. I seek out masterings with high DR, but I have to actually listen to know whether or not it sounds good.