Just a quick system update for May 2024. Minor changes and a couple of new boxes.
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- Опубліковано 20 тра 2024
- Just a quick system update for May 2024. Minor changes and a couple of new boxes.
*DISCLOSURE: Some of the links below contain affiliate Amazon links. If you purchase with those links, I do receive a small commission but, it doesn't affect your price. Thank you for supporting the channel.
Current audio equipment list:
Cambridge AXR-100 Receiver amzn.to/49Nq4Ft
Cambridge MXN10 amzn.to/44sBhdL
Cambridge EVO150 amzn.to/3UTJowI
Schiit Bi-Frost Multi-Bit DAC
Schiit Lokius EQ amzn.to/3Qhuu0x
Schiit Mani Phono Pre-Amp amzn.to/3JyyCVW
Loxjie D-30 DAC just for DSD decoding.
Elac Debut 2.0 F-62 Speakers amzn.to/3Jy6eUc
Fluance RT-84 turntable. amzn.to/4aMuZrt
Upgraded with the Audio Technica AT540ML. amzn.to/4diAyzy
All line level cables are from Worlds Best Cable. I primarily use Mogami 2964 Wire and Amphenol ACPL connectors. amzn.to/3JWCDE9
iFi AC iPurifier amzn.to/3UWb4ko
My main streaming source is a small format PC amzn.to/3yhCoAI
I also have a remote-controlled line level switcher so I can run all my source components through the Lokius. amzn.to/3w8IZwL
Email: oldguyhifi@gmail.com
Tidal Playlists:
The Fahrenheit Project (ambient electronic music): tidal.com/browse/playlist/69c...
Electronica for Audiophile: tidal.com/browse/playlist/e29...
My Classical playlist: tidal.com/browse/playlist/8e5...
Baroque Weekend: tidal.com/browse/playlist/cfe...
DJ Ed, a collection of music that is all over the place. tidal.com/browse/playlist/f89...
Spotify:
Classical Weekend: open.spotify.com/playlist/648...
80’s Patio Mix: open.spotify.com/playlist/4RU...
Qobuz playlist:
"Audiophile Electronica:" open.qobuz.com/playlist/20718243
"Vivaldi:" open.qobuz.com/playlist/15233981
Just a quick system update for May 2024. Minor changes and a couple of new boxes. THANK YOU SO MUCH! We got to 1000 subscribers. I am humbled. Thanks so much
Always good to see your system configuration and prompts for your recommendations for system updates. Thank you for your time and for sharing this with us all. I'm interested in getting your updates on the cables. Stay well, Sir, and good listening. BTW, children always say their parents don't know everything until they are no longer children. 😂😂😂.
Simon, You are so right about the kids. It is amazing how much smarter I am now then when they were teens. I will let you know about the cables. I am going to run them in the a week or so. Thank you sir and be well.
Nothing like having some fun! Enjoyed the May update. Congratulations again on passing the 1K subscribers.
Thanks so much Rafael.
I look forward to the upcoming reviews!
Glen, No worries my friend. If you checked the brand of cable I use, World's Best Cables from Amazon they are only about $30 to $50 depending on length. Part of my idea is cables like that do offer benefits because of better construction and shielding. I think that can influence sound. BTW, the subwoofer is not on. Lol. Thanks. I look forward to chatting again. All opinions are welcome here long we stay civil which you certainly have. Thank you so much for your thoughtful response.
Nice to see Geshelli labs !
Indeed! Thanks for tuning in and commenting.
Such an awesome room!
I think the built in racks are awesome. I have a Panasonic Blu-ray player as a transport, using a Schiit Modi DAC. The Schiit does a awesome job. Keep up the great work.
Thank you sir. I will try. I agree about Schiits's products.
Lookin good Ed.
Thank you sir.
Always good to hear from ya Ed
Thank you so much.
I've been so busy that I'm running behind. I love your videos and I am glad you have a Geshelli DAC. I plan on getting one and they seem like great people. I can't wait for the review
Sneak peak! Oh my!
Always great to watch your vids. As a newbie I'm always looking for someone who knows what they're talking about who's in it for the passion of the hobby and less motivated by making a UA-cam career. Looking forward to the upcoming reviews. BTW, I think the Australian bloke you're speaking of is named Lachlan, though I don't know his last name either. His channel is called Passion for Sound and it's great.
Chad, You are right. That is the fellow I was thinking of. Thanks for letting me know that.
Awesome stuff Ed!! 🎉❤
Thanks so much!
Glad to see geshelli j2! I have it and love it. Upgraded to sparko amos and it expanded sound stage in my opinion.
I going to do a review with the stock TI then a 2nd one with Sparkos and maybe one with Burson. It does sound quite good.
Good for you, have a smaller system , don't need all that equipment
I am not sure my wife would agree with that. LOL. Thanks so much for watching and commenting.
Good to see your system - maybe you can review the J2S with both the Sparkos SS3602 and SS2590 dual mono DIP8 unit? I am assuming that you are using the singled ended output?
Neil, Yes, single ended yo my AXR100 but balanced into the EVO150, I am only curious about the Sparkos in a single ended application. Ben's going to loan me one of his op amps. Since I don't own the J2 (not yet!) I am not going to buy any op amps or power supplies. That could change. Thanks so much for tuning in my friend.
Hey, Ed, just want to let you know that I'm a fan of what you're doing here on your channel. I appreciate your down to Earth takes on hifi. I am a fellow Cambridge AXR100 owner, and I'm really looking forward to your review on the Geshelli Labs dac to hear your thoughts on the potential synergy with the AXR100. I've been researching the J2S and considering purchasing one myself. Everything I've seen and read sounds very promising. Keep up the good work!
Thank you. I can give you a bit of a sneak preview, shhh! The J2 S with Sparkos is very good. I mean really very good. I do have a J3 on its way to me as well. So look for that review. The J2 review will drop next week. Thx so much.
That’s the direction I’ve been leaning toward, the J2S with the Sparkos upgrade. Thanks for the sneak peek.
I don't think you can go wrong with the J2. Don't bother with the Burson chip. It is not as quick and agile sounding as the Sparkos. Glad to help.
You have two CD decks? And I like the way you display your CDs there on the left shelf. It looks like you could flip through them. Is it all running through the Cambridge amp? Very cool set up and nice room.
TWO? Actually Jake, I have 5 CD players. I only use two of them in the main system and yes, everything is connected to the AXR100. If you look to the right in the opening shot you can see some more of my collection. There are several hundred more out of sight in a different room. Stuff I don't play frequently. I will start a war with some folks by saying this but, CDs sound better than streaming by miles. Thanks so much for commenting , watching and hopefully subscribing.
I like your channel and your general outlook and philosophy about music and stereo equipment. OTOH, I think you get a little too distracted by things like interconnect cables that don't have a good historical track record of being able to pass a standard double-blind A/B listening test.
I think the most important things for sound quality in an audio system are in this order:
1. The recording you are listening to
2. The speaker system and speaker placement
3. The listening room and any room treatment or room correction
4. The amplifier
5. The source components
6. The wires and cables
I know it is interesting to make changes and improvements in the hopes of getting better sound quality out of a system, but I cringe when I see so many younger people who are new to the hobby go right to #6 while often ignoring things much higher on the list.
High-end audio dealers (and magazines like "The Absolute Sound") are pretty good at convincing people that they "need" to spend a large sum of money on cables and other gadgets that simply don't have any objective, science-based evidence that they make an audible improvement.
Thank you for commenting and the kind words Glen. I will have to write a essay in response. I would respectfully take issue with some of your comments. Not all. I like the ones where you agree with me. LOL. I do respect your opinions and would fight for your right to hold them. Let's just leave it at this statement: We all have different opinions on many topics. Opinions are not facts. We can find and manipulate facts to suit a particular conclusion or to support a particular opinion. The best example I can give is the world of politics. I am firmly in the subjectivist camp. My experiences are different than yours. Having worked in the audio world, pro and consumer, for some very large companies and with some very talented electrical engineers and designers, I can tell you that almost every designer/electrical engineer or mixing/studio engineer have their favorite cables. I do to. I firmly believe cables matter. I also think you can go way overboard with cables. My most expensive cable cost about $80.00. I too don't like the high end cable BS and I never advocated for expensive cables. I just mentioned the I was trying USB cables that met an industry spec. I not sure it will make a difference but, I won't discount it out of hand. Also, they only cost $25.00. Double blind testing has one major flaw, us, humans. We are terrible about being objective and our ability to remember sounds is terrible. BTW I think your list may be out of order, IMHO, the room comes first. I would love to have a beer or two with you and discuss this further. Seriously I don't want to start a fight. Everybody is entitled to make their own judgements. There is enough room in this hobby for all of us. Thank you so much for viewing and commenting. I really do appreciate it. The good news is that we can still be friendly with each other and enjoy our common hobby,
@@OldGuyHifi I'm not trying to start a fight either. I don't see any problem trying better USB cables for example (or any other type of cable for that matter). My thought about your cables in general came from some of your previous videos where you listed most of the custom interconnect and speaker cables in your system. That, and the fact that you had been an audio retailer for quite a while made me jump to the conclusion that you had a soft spot for expensive cables. Monster Cable opened that Pandora's box back in the mid-1980s, and it has only gotten so much worse since then, IMHO.
The conflict between the subjectivists and the objectivists in the audio world has been going on for over 40 years. Setting up a proper double-blind A/B test with rapid switching between the two level-matched systems being compared is very difficult and seldom done. If someone has spent some money and taken their time and effort to make some change to their system, it is pretty easy for them to expect and want it to sound better.
FWIW, quite few regulars in some of the audio subreddits would be quite horrified that you have that Cambridge DAC/Amp/Streamer sitting on top of your subwoofer, because the vibration is going to somehow affect the internal electronic components and change the sound quality... I think that idea is pretty silly.
Hey Ed, thanks for your post. What strikes me is your speaker setup. I'm using the same arrangement of drivers; feeding line level signal through a powered sub (cross-over at 80 to 100 Hz). The sub pass through feeds the two-way Q Acoustics 3050 towers. Seems like the bass is more time aligned when placed in this orientation. Is that what you're going for? Thanks.
Yes. I also found that imaging improved greatly as it is harder to pinpoint the subs location. I do run my main speakers full range and let them roll off naturally and then have a bit of an overlap with the x-over point on the sub. Typically around 60Hz. I would rather have a smidge more bass than too little. Thanks so much for asking. Sounds like you have a great set up.
I am curious if the Cambridge Evo 150 functions and usability not just sound quality.
John, This thing has my brain all twisted. It is making me re-evaluate all my preconceived notions. I am all over the place with it. Let me give you a sneak peak: Holy sh!t is good and in my mind it shouldn't be. Crazy right?
I'm thinking of purchasing the B&W 603 S3. Are they worth the extra $$$ over the Elacs you have?
I have not had the two side by side to compare. I will tell you that I am not a fan of the current B&W sound. It is too forward and fatiguing. I don't equate brightness with detail so they don't float my boat. Back in the day I did have a pair of DM110s. I did like those but, they had soft dome tweeters, which I definitely prefer. It is hard to make a recommendation as I don't know what sound profile you like. I will tell you that the ELACS are warmish sounding. Good bass, not amazing but, with a nice sub they can punch very well. The mids are neutral to ever so slightly warm with good detail and no glare. The upper-mids, lower-treble range has got depth and good body. The highs are detailed, without fatigue but, gently roll off above 16KHz. That is fine with me as I can't hear anything above 12-14KHz anyway. I will say that as a whole, the system has good synergy and throws a very large and satisfying sound stage with good depth. My thing is being able to listen for hours without listening fatigue. I know that not much help but, it is the best I can for you. You have to listen and decide what works for your particular preference. I am grateful that you asked my opinion. Thank you so much.
@@OldGuyHifi It does help. I thank you for taking the time to respond.