Can we just acknowledge that at 10:00 he has Kendrick Lamar’s “To Pimp A Butterfly” on vinyl? I tell people all the time, that album is a great listen. It was recorded all on analog and mastered digitally. Best to listen on vinyl as well. Props to that guy, he gets it 💯
The best feeling for an audiophile is what Mark describes from when he moved his speakers: Such a fundamental improvement in your system that you just want to rediscover your entire collection. No matter what the change is and if you go from a dirt cheap to a slightly less dirt cheap system or a filthy expensive system to a even filthier expensive system.
ya i gota chuckle out of that too.... how many more ( i dont mean the 99% of people that jam there towers against the wall 2 inches beside the tv..... ) people out there with wads of coin tied up in gear have there speakers pulled out 2 feet and just beaming with pride that they got it set up just tickety boo.... i had this youg guy over to give him some old speakers i wasnt useing and i said dude you gota check out my new ( to me ) receiver.... was a marantz 2270 , not even inspected yet, full of crud, but i figured he never heard anything more than a lg sound bar.... i think i put on Adele .... i said " sit in the sweet spot" but he was all about the stupid "Fishers" ide dragged off the curb and shouldnt have..... finally he did and when he heard the sound stage his mouth opens and hes stairing in disbalief lol.... i guess the first time is quite amazing....... so we got baked outa our gords and ( kid new nooooooooothing ) i introduced him to Black Sabbath..... so ya, now im loosing a pile of my vinyl "dobles" lol , cool eh
Part 1 and Part 2. Fun videos. Love to see what people use for music. The idea in video one of hos friends passing around a track for the day was pretty cool
Hi, Mark You put a lot of time and effort putting your system together. Just shows your passion to get the best sound reproduction possible. Very well done !!! Joe Bulger
Steve, I have a suggestion. It would be really helpful if we knew your interviewees primary musical tastes, favorite bands, that would give us insight into whether we might have a connection in terms of audio needs.
Another great interview/system tour! I couldn’t stop thinking about how he, with all that equipment, took a ten year break and was happy listening to his 128kbps MP3’s on ear buds. Crazy!
Thanks, Mark. After watching this video, I pulled out my Sorbothane pucks from a previous audiophile life and put 8 of them under my Bright Star Audio sand box today. It works great!
Thank you for talking me out of restarting a vinyl based system in my quest to rebuild my long out of commission audio system. Good chance that Schiit is in my future.
Yep, my Thiels were 7' into the room, listening about 9' away - firing the long way. Soundstage could literally be 360 on some recordings. But having _never_ dealt with a TV it makes things easier. I'm far more _old school,_ that software almost seems like work though. Turntable done right, I always cringe when I see the TT next to speakers or on a table with. *Great video!*
Thank you Mark for allowing Steve to make this happen - very interesting. 😎 2 things....1. Is that well tempered arm the version that sits in the fluid? I think I had that arm (well 1 of the arms), I had on my Sota Saphire late 80s - early 90s. Unfortunately, it wasn't a good match with that TT (at all). 2. I really liked your expression (with description) of 'audio visual cues'. Absolutely makes sense and explains a great deal for a myriad of things in the audio world. Cheers fellas. 🎶🎶🎶 Edit....yup.....sorry was writing as I was listening. That's the arm!!!
Great video! I'm not sure if I really appreciated the 1/3 into the room speaker placement theory until seeing it presented in this video. I'm catching bits and pieces here and there. I saw somewhere about how to think of your speakers as the microphones pointed toward the stage that is being recorded and how you should hear it played back as if that stage is behind your speakers, etc. In my space I'm very limited with how far I can get my speakers from the wall - about 2-3 feet max. My 'soundstage' I guess you would call it - tends to angle up toward the furthest point from my listening position - toward where the wall and ceiling meet. Not at ear level and behind the speakers as much as it should be probably, but luckily my couch lets my head naturally angle toward it. I just installed 4 in-ceiling speakers from RSL to complement my 5.1 system powered by a new Denon 4500 receiver. Not the high end equipment that some of you guys deal with, but WOW am I ever impressed with it. I've been mesmerized with what DTS Neural X can do upmixing 2 channel music and movies only mixed for 5.1/7.1 too for that matter. It blows my mind how it can seemingly so intelligently route the signal to the available speakers (10 total including the sub now). It doesn't work with every source, but some of those high resolution streaming albums sound phenomenal! It does fumble it occasionally, but more often than not it puts my listening position right in the middle of what I imagine the soundstage might be more like if I had a bigger and more ideal room to work with. Frankly, some of these 2 channel recordings sound more as if they were made to be listened to this way than with 2 speakers emulating a surround system. Almost like Atmos on a soundbar tries to emulate something that it isn't. Even if it's not as the artists, recording engineers, etc. intended for it to be played back it blows the earbuds that most people are using these days out of the water for sure.
A very interesting video. Mark made an enlightening point about rear walls affecting the perceived depth of image. Difficult to test in my small British lounge, however !
I see so many speakers placed close to a wall or in corners and realise there's so many people who haven't any idea just how good a sound stage can be. It's nothing to do with left and right, it's more about voices & instruments appearing out of thin air in a life like scale.
One of my favorite episodes. Love hearing experienced audiophiles talk through the reality of system evolution. Especially great because it's not crazy expensive gear.
I use Pure Music as well. It’s a memory player which works great. For Mark’s music, he should try a NAS to store his digital music running different levels of RAID to protect against disk failure.
Instead if the lacie individual drives I went with a 4 drive WD FreeNAS on Linux it’s a dumb nas box that stores alll my photos videos movies and Music all drives in a small PC cabinet on quad core atom processor
Harddrives in regular use have an approximate lifespan of 5 years before you can "expect" some sort of failure, so his 2 fails in 10 years are very much following that specification hehe. personally I have dual backups of music, photos and certain other files, the rest (as well as previous files) is only backed up on a single drive that is backed up once, and is now treated as read only to minimize wear, and is stored in a fireproof minisafe with silica packs in it, keep your data safe people! :) I have a lot of stuff that`s hard to get, private recordings, and my own projects, and those can`t be reobtained, replaced or recreated, so I`m actually considering a "master backup" RAID solution, using SSD`s, the investment is minor compared to the potential loss after all. Nice to see someone using a very well blended and symbiotic mix of traditional and digital tech in his system, but it might be "dangerous" for tweakers :D
@@markrigg6623 You're right. Flat to 40 Hz, 6 dB down at 35. Because of room boost (I assume), I've measured them with REW as flat to 32 Hz at my listening chair.
The thing I struggle with is the amount of air a single 5 inch driver can move. At any frequency. Why people buy speakers like that that have the same footprint as a tower escapes me. The speaker is the most Important component is a system because its a transducer so If you don't have serious space issues it's not place to compromise. Just my opinion.
Discussed about warped records, or what I called Kinks, no relation to the band. A low mass tone arms will ride over the kinks better than let's say the S-shaped tonearms. The S-tonearm is supposed to track better, but are greater in mass. I am still not convinced, and a counter balance is necessary to offset the S bend in the tonearm, complicating the mechanics of the platter. I am into the simpler the better. This is why I am a fan of the higher level ugly Dual turntables from the early 80s. Their ULM tonearms were very well designed. My pref is a CS 608, the direct drive 3 speed turntable, or the semi-auto CS 708-q direct drive table. The 741-q had too many electronics.
Thanks for the video Mark, cool system. In what way did the tube preamp improve your system? I can understand it giving a nicer presentation, but not more resolution.
He shows what the concept of the law of diminishing returns means in audio. Simply stated this law is “used to refer to a point at which the level of profits or benefits gained is less than the amount of money or energy invested”. Enjoy what you have because it’s going to cost $$$ to get marginal improvement in your sound.
Very impressive turntable dampening. Before watching this, I tested putting my stylus on a grove and man its noisy with the volume turned up. AC hum and vibrations are easily picked up. Bouncing a basket ball would wreck my speakers.
In addition to the subs, my favorite part of the interview hit the cutting room floor -- the story of spilling lead shot all over the place. ;) Oh, well, there were a lot of distractions -- doorbell, phone calls, people wandering into the shot, etc. -- that made some parts unusable.
Watching this video and saw this Platinum Audio with "Granite" speaker enclosure makes me realize that i am not crazy after all!!. . . i made a speaker box out of granite slab for the woofer to eliminate or minimize resonance . . all my friend that saw it laughed. . but when they hear it. . a different story. . . it can shake the room and everything in it. . not the granite speaker box, paired it with mid and tweeter on separate enclosure. . maybe not the perfect one. . . but for me. . . it is!!
Whoa. He went from 100 to zero back to 100, audiophile-wise. I wonder how he has come to understand that sense he had before when he realized that the more he listened to the details his equipment gave him, the less he listened to the music?
To take my knowledge to the next level I would enjoy if you would take the time and put links, if available, for all brands and software mentioned in your videos. tks
It is an acoustical nightmare. The system did not sound good when I first moved it up from my dedicated listening room in the basement. But: I've put in lots of acoustical treatment on the walls; I pull the shades down over the windows when listening critically; I have tube traps in the corners; all the pillows on the top/back of the couch (plus the two cushy chairs) absorb some high frequencies; the yucca plants are actually pretty good diffusers; the speakers are well away from the walls and I sit pretty close, which allows the brain to ignore room reflections, as they are significantly delayed compared to the direct sound; the room is 21 feet long and there are two large openings behind the listening seat to the kitchen hallway and the dining room, so much of the bass has, effectively, about 40' of travel before it bounces back and creates standing waves; the ceiling is high and vaulted, so floor-to-ceiling standing waves are broken up. If you were in the room, a clap test will show that the room is neither lively nor over-damped. A Mini DSP Umik-1 mic and REW software helped me dial in speaker and listening positions, although I don't use room-correction software. I don't think I need it.
@@markblock8659 I congratulate you on making your acoustic stuff so invisible. I also congratulate you on having an Ace answer to my , perhaps, impolite comment.... Do you cover the TV when you are serious about listening? (serious question... I cover mine with about a 1/2" Rockwool cover I made... my tv is between and a bit back, not at all good or helpful, but I know it's ill effects and can live with it -the ill effects in my room and placement are a diminishing of the sound stage depth by about half, it still, on the right material, can be the whole room....). Flat down to 30hz is a fine accomplishment. Cheers.
@@bc527c Funny you should mention covering the TV. I have a textured blanket on one of the chairs that my wife throws over herself when she watches TV; I throw it over the TV when I listen. I wasn't using it when Steve was over because I thought if my wife were to see it in the video, captured for posterity, she'd freak. She's not happy about the pillows already. ;)
Steve I have been watching your channel for a while now. I love to collect and play vinal I bought a vintage technics SL 1800 with a Pickering xv 15 stylus, Yamaha RX-V793 amp, Cerwin Vega RE25 speakers and definitive powerfield sub and it sounds great together, same system for 20 years. Been looking to put together a more expensive system but with so much information and different opinions I'm so confused now I do not know where to turn but I do want to put something together to enhance my listening experience since I'm getting a little older and can afford better equipment. Love your videos and I think you got me thinking about my future upgrade. Thanks.
I too am cheap. I always look at ROI to audio quality and I am limited by it. Thankfully. Questions: - What little USB CD burner is under that Mac Mini? - What software is he using on the Mac Mini for the digital audio? - What method does he use to get the PCM data from the Mini to the DAC, USB? I'd like to do a similar set up. Either with a Mini or RP with a hat (probably Mini as I know Mac much better and… easier) and probably a Schiit DAC. Probably controlling the Mini with an iPad. But this has so many moving parts… hardware but especially software unknowns (which one, etc.) ugh… :-( Thanks
What program or software do you use on your computer . You were showing it at the end of Marks system am interested in it is it just on the Mac Mini or can I use it on my IPad please let me know. Thank You for a very interesting video Steve and Mark
It's kinda like (buying &) drinking wine. You probably can't actually get anything much better than a $30.00 bottle of wine, about where I believe the law of rapidly diminishing returns kicks in, but some people spend thousands on a bottle.
I love music and own a fairly decent mid range system of separates. I often wonder how much of audiophile tech is overkill! Can you really hear the difference between a couple of grand system compared to one which costs the earth...
What exactly have you never heard of? The equipment brands, the technology, the audiophile terms? Welcome to the great world of audiophilia! Where the reproduction of music goes far beyond listening to 'loud speakers'.
@@FrankyRedEyes Ah... That is pretty typical of audiophile brands, for several reasons. 1. Many audiophile companies are started and run by engineers that are passionate about audio and sound reproduction. As opposed to big electronics companies, who are only in it to sell boxes with pretty lights. 2. The vast majority of audiophile brands are sold in speciality retailers, who cater to audio enthusiasts, not big box stores who cater to consumers. 3. They can cost substantially more, so there is a smaller market, smaller marketing budget, and smaller production. This guy also has some older gear that is no longer in production. Which brings up another point, hi fidelity does not always mean the latest, or highest tech audio equipment. A lot of vintage gear sounds better than modern gear, especially the mediocre mid-fi that is found in big box stores.
Great video! The guy that was in the hall that walked away----did you interview him in the past? I believe he has a lot of Conrad-Johnson equipment?? That was a fun interview as well.
Just wondering. Mark is not using a formal hardware preamp but is controlling the music system via his laptop. What software is he using for this? I have 2 McIntosh mc501 monoblocs and a pair of Revel Ultima Salon 2s. Just wondering if I can bypass purchasing a multi-thousand dollar preamp and just run my mostly FLAC collection of music through the computer. Or am I missing something here (very, very likely in my case)?
Its a Blue Circle Audio PLC (power line conditioner) Outpost filter. Removes RF from the mains or is supposed to. Blue Circle is actually out of business as of the first of the year but man responsible, Gilbert Yeung has moved on to another venture called Saturn Audio. People seem to speak well of the pucks for conditioning, and they are not that expensive relative to audiophillia standards.
It's under the Audtek brand now, I think. I use two runs per speaker, as my speakers have double binding posts for bi-wiring. The stuff I have looks like this one: www.parts-express.com/audtek-electronics-skrl-14-100-14-awg-ofc-speaker-wire-100-ft--100-021
Yah I wish i could place my setup in the length of my room. It poses issues for me tho, my speakers are to big 6 feet and wide about 3 feet each. I got a door against that back wall will cover it up. I Am not the minimalist type
It's alway interesting and I always learn something when Steve walks us through somebody else's system. Does anyone know the name of the "blue circle" device?
I would love to have the opportunity to experiment with the 14 gauge wire in Mark’s system, but when I took a look at the Parts Express website I didn’t see any 14 gauge cable sold under their name. I saw two different lines from Audtek and one from RCA. Is it possible to get a bit more detail on what he’s using and how it’s terminated?
The cable was originally sold under the Dayton brand, but I think the Audtek is the same stuff. I checked my original order and it was for "skirl-14" speaker wire. That part number comes up under the Audtek brand now. You could Google it further to see what happened to the Dayton wire, but the Audtek wire looks exactly the same to my eye. www.parts-express.com/audtek-electronics-skrl-14-100-14-awg-ofc-speaker-wire-100-ft--100-021
I don't terminate it. I strip it bare and tighten down the speaker terminals hard. Once a year I cut an inch off both ends to expose fresh copper. Don't know if that's the best way to do it, but that's my procedure.
@@markblock8659 I can picture you at 100 years old trying to stretch what's left of your speaker cable to reach the speakers. Hopefully you won't trip over it, and break a hip. 😂 😂 😂
@@amb3cog LOL. Maybe Parts Express will still be selling a hundred feet of speaker wire for $27.98, in which case I'll use my Social Security check to buy another reel.
Looked up the Lynx Hilo, and it has an ADC as well as a DAC. So when Mark said it has two balanced outputs, I think he meant one input it digitizes, and one output to the amp. So he’s probably going from the AQVox into the balanced input, that gets digitized at 24/192, then EQd, then back to analog to the amp. Is this right?
@@miguelbarrio The Lynx has an ADC and internal DACs with up to six analog 2 channel outputs. This allows him to assign one set of DACs to the high pass amplifier and another set to the subwoofers. As he explained the crossover is done in the digital domain and controlled by the Pure Music software running on the MacMini.
Yeah, I didn't do too well explaining that part -- one of several areas in which misspoke a bit. The AQVOX (which is current "mode" not current "source") has a balanced in from the turntable and a balanced out going to the Lynx Hilo, which is both an ADC and DAC. The Hilo digitizes the signal and creates a 24/192 output. I take one balanced out from the Hilo into the Merrill amp, and the other outputs to the subs. The crossover and volume controls happen in Pure Vinyl for vinyl playback or Pure Music for digital playback. By the way, I now have a Lino C 2.0 phono stage (from the same designer as the Pure Vinyl software). I have it configured so that the RIAA correction is done in Pure Vinyl rather than in the phone stage.
@@markblock8659 Thank you. Does this mean that the digitized 24/192 signal from the phono stage goes to your computer (over USB), gets eq'd, then back to the DAC for decoding to analog?
If you listen to pop or classic rock you might has well use earbuds and portable gear. On a high resolution system most of it, except for Dire Straits as an example, is irritating to me but fine on cheap consumer gear.
The brand is different now, but I'm pretty sure it's this stuff: www.parts-express.com/audtek-electronics-skrl-14-100-14-awg-ofc-speaker-wire-100-ft--100-021
You take measurements. The measurement is called an FFT (fast Fourier transform). You can purchase an app for your phone and use that, like StudioSix for the iphone (that's about the best phone/ipad app). Or you can use REW on a PC, but then you will need to also purchase a calibrated mic. So, then you play the output signal from the software through your system and the software plots a frequency response curve. Room modes show up on this graph, look at this page realtraps.com/art_modes.htm . Another way is to listen. Play a bass solo, for instance, and are all the notes the same volume and tone and impact, or do some drop out and some get really loud. The some drop out and some get really loud thing is the result of room mode action.
I think his plants even enjoy the sound, the way they look :)
Yes, speaker placement is an absolute shocker when you get it right. Amazing! Thanks Mark, and again Steve.
Mark, thanks for sharing your system and your audiophile journey. Steve, another great interview.
Can we just acknowledge that at 10:00 he has Kendrick Lamar’s “To Pimp A Butterfly” on vinyl?
I tell people all the time, that album is a great listen. It was recorded all on analog and mastered digitally. Best to listen on vinyl as well. Props to that guy, he gets it 💯
Just found that at a local shop :)
Very nice tour! Always interesting to see what others are doing with their equipment, rooms, systems, etc.
The best feeling for an audiophile is what Mark describes from when he moved his speakers: Such a fundamental improvement in your system that you just want to rediscover your entire collection. No matter what the change is and if you go from a dirt cheap to a slightly less dirt cheap system or a filthy expensive system to a even filthier expensive system.
ya i gota chuckle out of that too.... how many more ( i dont mean the 99% of people that jam there towers against the wall 2 inches beside the tv..... ) people out there with wads of coin tied up in gear have there speakers pulled out 2 feet and just beaming with pride that they got it set up just tickety boo.... i had this youg guy over to give him some old speakers i wasnt useing and i said dude you gota check out my new ( to me ) receiver.... was a marantz 2270 , not even inspected yet, full of crud, but i figured he never heard anything more than a lg sound bar.... i think i put on Adele .... i said " sit in the sweet spot" but he was all about the stupid "Fishers" ide dragged off the curb and shouldnt have..... finally he did and when he heard the sound stage his mouth opens and hes stairing in disbalief lol.... i guess the first time is quite amazing....... so we got baked outa our gords and ( kid new nooooooooothing ) i introduced him to Black Sabbath..... so ya, now im loosing a pile of my vinyl "dobles" lol , cool eh
I love these system tour videos. Keep them up!
COOL video! The way Mark has his system setup is very well thought out. Bouncing a basketball and Parts expres cables... big thumbs up!
Another great review! Sounds like you’re having fun. Love it. Thanks.
Part 1 and Part 2. Fun videos. Love to see what people use for music. The idea in video one of hos friends passing around a track for the day was pretty cool
Mark`s journey in realisation with speaker placement sounds a lot like what happened to me. The realisation when you get them right is amazing.
Hi, Mark
You put a lot of time and effort putting your system together. Just shows your passion to get the best sound reproduction possible. Very well done !!!
Joe Bulger
Mark, Thank you for sharing. Its very nice!
Steve, I have a suggestion. It would be really helpful if we knew your interviewees primary musical tastes, favorite bands, that would give us insight into whether we might have a connection in terms of audio needs.
Another great interview/system tour! I couldn’t stop thinking about how he, with all that equipment, took a ten year break and was happy listening to his 128kbps MP3’s on ear buds. Crazy!
Don't forget: "The Message Is In The Music". - Hamilton Frederick Bohannon
At that time he was enjoying the music, not "listening to audio".
😉
I need an audiophile gourd. :) Great vid.
Good stuff. Love the capability to "tweak" things on the fly.
Thanks, Mark. After watching this video, I pulled out my Sorbothane pucks from a previous audiophile life and put 8 of them under my Bright Star Audio sand box today. It works great!
Great tour. A really great system you got there Mark :-))
Great Video! Interesting system that Mark has there!
Excellent,some very nice toys that have stood the test of time.
Great system!!! He had me on the gourd!!!
Thank you for talking me out of restarting a vinyl based system in my quest to rebuild my long out of commission audio system. Good chance that Schiit is in my future.
Yep, my Thiels were 7' into the room, listening about 9' away - firing the long way. Soundstage could literally be 360 on some recordings. But having _never_ dealt with a TV it makes things easier. I'm far more _old school,_ that software almost seems like work though. Turntable done right, I always cringe when I see the TT next to speakers or on a table with. *Great video!*
Love these type vids👍🏻
All very cool stuff. I love to see the 2 channel and the AV system in the same room. My theater is set up to do 2 channel and atmos.
Wow.. Very inspired for speaker replacement. Thank you..
Regarding the turntable: "Are you sorry you don't have it anymore?" Steve answers "No."
Thank you Mark for allowing Steve to make this happen - very interesting. 😎
2 things....1. Is that well tempered arm the version that sits in the fluid? I think I had that arm (well 1 of the arms), I had on my Sota Saphire late 80s - early 90s. Unfortunately, it wasn't a good match with that TT (at all).
2. I really liked your expression (with description) of 'audio visual cues'. Absolutely makes sense and explains a great deal for a myriad of things in the audio world.
Cheers fellas. 🎶🎶🎶
Edit....yup.....sorry was writing as I was listening. That's the arm!!!
Great video! I'm not sure if I really appreciated the 1/3 into the room speaker placement theory until seeing it presented in this video. I'm catching bits and pieces here and there. I saw somewhere about how to think of your speakers as the microphones pointed toward the stage that is being recorded and how you should hear it played back as if that stage is behind your speakers, etc. In my space I'm very limited with how far I can get my speakers from the wall - about 2-3 feet max. My 'soundstage' I guess you would call it - tends to angle up toward the furthest point from my listening position - toward where the wall and ceiling meet. Not at ear level and behind the speakers as much as it should be probably, but luckily my couch lets my head naturally angle toward it. I just installed 4 in-ceiling speakers from RSL to complement my 5.1 system powered by a new Denon 4500 receiver. Not the high end equipment that some of you guys deal with, but WOW am I ever impressed with it. I've been mesmerized with what DTS Neural X can do upmixing 2 channel music and movies only mixed for 5.1/7.1 too for that matter. It blows my mind how it can seemingly so intelligently route the signal to the available speakers (10 total including the sub now). It doesn't work with every source, but some of those high resolution streaming albums sound phenomenal! It does fumble it occasionally, but more often than not it puts my listening position right in the middle of what I imagine the soundstage might be more like if I had a bigger and more ideal room to work with. Frankly, some of these 2 channel recordings sound more as if they were made to be listened to this way than with 2 speakers emulating a surround system. Almost like Atmos on a soundbar tries to emulate something that it isn't. Even if it's not as the artists, recording engineers, etc. intended for it to be played back it blows the earbuds that most people are using these days out of the water for sure.
Excellent, I hope Mark is still groovin.
Yes he is!
A very interesting video. Mark made an enlightening point about rear walls affecting the perceived depth of image. Difficult to test in my small British lounge, however !
These home gear tours are great. Real-world application for us nerds.
I see so many speakers placed close to a wall or in corners and realise there's so many people who haven't any idea just how good a sound stage can be. It's nothing to do with left and right, it's more about voices & instruments appearing out of thin air in a life like scale.
One of my favorite episodes. Love hearing experienced audiophiles talk through the reality of system evolution. Especially great because it's not crazy expensive gear.
I agree! Interesting episodes 1&2!!
Wow, I have the same Ikea TV bench. That's why my €2000 system sounds so good!
Joke aside, Mark's rig looks awesome.
love that his system is different to most audiophiles - i would never for myself tweak the crossover.
Would be cool if you sat in this listening chair for perspective, thanks for these!
He seemed happier when all he liked was an iPod.
I like his style 👍🏻😃
Mark is cool, get him on again soon!
Nice system!
Loved it. Both videos. "What does that sound like"?
I use Pure Music as well. It’s a memory player which works great. For Mark’s music, he should try a NAS to store his digital music running different levels of RAID to protect against disk failure.
Smokeyjoe Cafe RAID is great, but it’s more about uptime. Backup is still important
Instead if the lacie individual drives I went with a 4 drive WD FreeNAS on Linux it’s a dumb nas box that stores alll my photos videos movies and Music all drives in a small PC cabinet on quad core atom processor
Harddrives in regular use have an approximate lifespan of 5 years before you can "expect" some sort of failure, so his 2 fails in 10 years are very much following that specification hehe.
personally I have dual backups of music, photos and certain other files, the rest (as well as previous files) is only backed up on a single drive that is backed up once, and is now treated as read only to minimize wear, and is stored in a fireproof minisafe with silica packs in it, keep your data safe people! :)
I have a lot of stuff that`s hard to get, private recordings, and my own projects, and those can`t be reobtained, replaced or recreated, so I`m actually considering a "master backup" RAID solution, using SSD`s, the investment is minor compared to the potential loss after all.
Nice to see someone using a very well blended and symbiotic mix of traditional and digital tech in his system, but it might be "dangerous" for tweakers :D
Phil Jones worked for Vitavox back in the day afaik.. Those are rare monitors with Corian..
I'll eat my slippers if those 5" small speakers are flat down to 32Hz...
At such a low sensitivity it is definitely possible! Though you'd probably need at least 200 watts to use those speakers in any meaningful way.
www.stereophile.com/content/platinum-audio-solo-loudspeaker-measurements
@@markblock8659 So yes, not flat down to 32 Hz.
@@markrigg6623 You're right. Flat to 40 Hz, 6 dB down at 35. Because of room boost (I assume), I've measured them with REW as flat to 32 Hz at my listening chair.
The thing I struggle with is the amount of air a single 5 inch driver can move. At any frequency. Why people buy speakers like that that have the same footprint as a tower escapes me. The speaker is the most Important component is a system because its a transducer so If you don't have serious space issues it's not place to compromise. Just my opinion.
you guys are crazy
mark should be a youtuber...great job.
Discussed about warped records, or what I called Kinks, no relation to the band. A low mass tone arms will ride over the kinks better than let's say the S-shaped tonearms. The S-tonearm is supposed to track better, but are greater in mass. I am still not convinced, and a counter balance is necessary to offset the S bend in the tonearm, complicating the mechanics of the platter. I am into the simpler the better. This is why I am a fan of the higher level ugly Dual turntables from the early 80s. Their ULM tonearms were very well designed. My pref is a CS 608, the direct drive 3 speed turntable, or the semi-auto CS 708-q direct drive table. The 741-q had too many electronics.
"It' looks broken! My god, what's goin' on there!?"
Thanks for the video Mark, cool system. In what way did the tube preamp improve your system? I can understand it giving a nicer presentation, but not more resolution.
He shows what the concept of the law of diminishing returns means in audio. Simply stated this law is “used to refer to a point at which the level of profits or benefits gained is less than the amount of money or energy invested”. Enjoy what you have because it’s going to cost $$$ to get marginal improvement in your sound.
Very impressive turntable dampening. Before watching this, I tested putting my stylus on a grove and man its noisy with the volume turned up. AC hum and vibrations are easily picked up. Bouncing a basket ball would wreck my speakers.
Oops, I forgot to include Mark's subs!
In addition to the subs, my favorite part of the interview hit the cutting room floor -- the story of spilling lead shot all over the place. ;) Oh, well, there were a lot of distractions -- doorbell, phone calls, people wandering into the shot, etc. -- that made some parts unusable.
Hi Steve. Do you know vtl tube amps,? And what do you think about them?
I saw the SVS for the TV audio system. What does he use for his music system?
You also overlooked the room treatments. Those look unique.
@@vernemattson3300 Two larger SVS subs for the music.
Ohhhhhhhhhhh, the time I spend moving, switching a pair of speakers for another mfg. But, does make a hell of a difference.
Watching this video and saw this Platinum Audio with "Granite" speaker enclosure makes me realize that i am not crazy after all!!. . . i made a speaker box out of granite slab for the woofer to eliminate or minimize resonance . . all my friend that saw it laughed. . but when they hear it. . a different story. . . it can shake the room and everything in it. . not the granite speaker box, paired it with mid and tweeter on separate enclosure. . maybe not the perfect one. . . but for me. . . it is!!
I like the Yucca plants
Parts Express cable . I need to check them out 🔈🔉🔊
2:22-2:40 OOOOOOoooo SHOTS FIRED!! lol!!
Cool as a cucumber in a fridge in the Antarctic.
Whoa. He went from 100 to zero back to 100, audiophile-wise. I wonder how he has come to understand that sense he had before when he realized that the more he listened to the details his equipment gave him, the less he listened to the music?
To take my knowledge to the next level I would enjoy if you would take the time and put links, if available, for all brands and software mentioned in your videos. tks
Nice👍👍👍👍
You're not going to be able to convince me that room is not an acoustical nightmare.
It is an acoustical nightmare. The system did not sound good when I first moved it up from my dedicated listening room in the basement. But: I've put in lots of acoustical treatment on the walls; I pull the shades down over the windows when listening critically; I have tube traps in the corners; all the pillows on the top/back of the couch (plus the two cushy chairs) absorb some high frequencies; the yucca plants are actually pretty good diffusers; the speakers are well away from the walls and I sit pretty close, which allows the brain to ignore room reflections, as they are significantly delayed compared to the direct sound; the room is 21 feet long and there are two large openings behind the listening seat to the kitchen hallway and the dining room, so much of the bass has, effectively, about 40' of travel before it bounces back and creates standing waves; the ceiling is high and vaulted, so floor-to-ceiling standing waves are broken up. If you were in the room, a clap test will show that the room is neither lively nor over-damped. A Mini DSP Umik-1 mic and REW software helped me dial in speaker and listening positions, although I don't use room-correction software. I don't think I need it.
@@markblock8659 I congratulate you on making your acoustic stuff so invisible. I also congratulate you on having an Ace answer to my , perhaps, impolite comment.... Do you cover the TV when you are serious about listening? (serious question... I cover mine with about a 1/2" Rockwool cover I made... my tv is between and a bit back, not at all good or helpful, but I know it's ill effects and can live with it -the ill effects in my room and placement are a diminishing of the sound stage depth by about half, it still, on the right material, can be the whole room....). Flat down to 30hz is a fine accomplishment. Cheers.
@@bc527c Funny you should mention covering the TV. I have a textured blanket on one of the chairs that my wife throws over herself when she watches TV; I throw it over the TV when I listen. I wasn't using it when Steve was over because I thought if my wife were to see it in the video, captured for posterity, she'd freak. She's not happy about the pillows already. ;)
@@markblock8659 - Why not try something like MiniDSP with Dirac Live 2.0 ? It should just make it even better.
@@mag290 unlikely
Steve I have been watching your channel for a while now. I love to collect and play vinal I bought a vintage technics SL 1800 with a Pickering xv 15 stylus, Yamaha RX-V793 amp, Cerwin Vega RE25 speakers and definitive powerfield sub and it sounds great together, same system for 20 years. Been looking to put together a more expensive system but with so much information and different opinions I'm so confused now I do not know where to turn but I do want to put something together to enhance my listening experience since I'm getting a little older and can afford better equipment. Love your videos and I think you got me thinking about my future upgrade. Thanks.
Start by figuring out what you want to improve. Without a clear goal you'll be chasing your tail.
David is IN THE HOUSE !!!!
more videos please,😮 Infinity preamp, nice. how many watts do you have in the power amp?
I too am cheap. I always look at ROI to audio quality and I am limited by it. Thankfully.
Questions:
- What little USB CD burner is under that Mac Mini?
- What software is he using on the Mac Mini for the digital audio?
- What method does he use to get the PCM data from the Mini to the DAC, USB?
I'd like to do a similar set up. Either with a Mini or RP with a hat (probably Mini as I know Mac much better and… easier) and probably a Schiit DAC. Probably controlling the Mini with an iPad. But this has so many moving parts… hardware but especially software unknowns (which one, etc.) ugh… :-( Thanks
What program or software do you use on your computer . You were showing it at the end of Marks system am interested in it is it just on the Mac Mini or can I use it on my IPad please let me know. Thank You for a very interesting video Steve and Mark
My takeaway from this video is that there comes a point where you get past the names on the gear and just focus on the pleasure it gives you.
Yes but how long you stay there is highly variable.
It's kinda like (buying &) drinking wine. You probably can't actually get anything much better than a $30.00 bottle of wine, about where I believe the law of rapidly diminishing returns kicks in, but some people spend thousands on a bottle.
I love music and own a fairly decent mid range system of separates. I often wonder how much of audiophile tech is overkill! Can you really hear the difference between a couple of grand system compared to one which costs the earth...
I have no idea what I just watched. I've never heard of any of these things.
You were missing out, stick around, you might get turned onto some really cool stuff.
What exactly have you never heard of?
The equipment brands, the technology, the audiophile terms?
Welcome to the great world of audiophilia! Where the reproduction of music goes far beyond listening to 'loud speakers'.
pandstar yes lol .... never heard of most of these brands or the software or hardware.
@@FrankyRedEyes Ah...
That is pretty typical of audiophile brands, for several reasons.
1. Many audiophile companies are started and run by engineers that are passionate about audio and sound reproduction. As opposed to big electronics companies, who are only in it to sell boxes with pretty lights.
2. The vast majority of audiophile brands are sold in speciality retailers, who cater to audio enthusiasts, not big box stores who cater to consumers.
3. They can cost substantially more, so there is a smaller market, smaller marketing budget, and smaller production.
This guy also has some older gear that is no longer in production. Which brings up another point, hi fidelity does not always mean the latest, or highest tech audio equipment. A lot of vintage gear sounds better than modern gear, especially the mediocre mid-fi that is found in big box stores.
I wish I had a room big enough not to have my speakers up against the wall :-(
same!
Great video! The guy that was in the hall that walked away----did you interview him in the past? I believe he has a lot of Conrad-Johnson equipment?? That was a fun interview as well.
I thought the same thing he had those tall black speekers with real low efficiency
@@Avayah_Me Yes---thats the one!
Sharp eyes! That's our mutual friend David. ua-cam.com/video/Fa9u7ZH3ZVo/v-deo.html
Oh and how about the gourd story🤣🤣🤣
Have you tried Master Set and rational Speaker Placement Process? Your results with your speaker placement sounds like you have.
we do what we have to do is to get good music🎼 👍
I love that he listens to modern music, and better yet, some pop and hip hop (I saw Billie Eilish as well as Kendrick Lamar, I’m fans of both)
Ha!! I have that AQVOX phono stage! (and yes, it's very good)
what have you compared it with?
Just wondering. Mark is not using a formal hardware preamp but is controlling the music system via his laptop. What software is he using for this? I have 2 McIntosh mc501 monoblocs and a pair of Revel Ultima Salon 2s. Just wondering if I can bypass purchasing a multi-thousand dollar preamp and just run my mostly FLAC collection of music through the computer. Or am I missing something here (very, very likely in my case)?
My wife keeps moving the Polk towers on our multimedia set. But I pull them out 3’ and the difference is immediate.
What is the name of that gray cylinder plugged into the wall to filter the AC line?
Its a Blue Circle Audio PLC (power line conditioner) Outpost filter. Removes RF from the mains or is supposed to. Blue Circle is actually out of business as of the first of the year but man responsible, Gilbert Yeung has moved on to another venture called Saturn Audio. People seem to speak well of the pucks for conditioning, and they are not that expensive relative to audiophillia standards.
@@robertwrightphoto oh shoot! I didn't know that!
Does anybody know which specific parts express speaker wires he’s talking about? I checked parts express and there’s a few ones listed. Thanks.
It's under the Audtek brand now, I think. I use two runs per speaker, as my speakers have double binding posts for bi-wiring. The stuff I have looks like this one: www.parts-express.com/audtek-electronics-skrl-14-100-14-awg-ofc-speaker-wire-100-ft--100-021
Yah I wish i could place my setup in the length of my room. It poses issues for me tho, my speakers are to big 6 feet and wide about 3 feet each. I got a door against that back wall will cover it up.
I Am not the minimalist type
It's alway interesting and I always learn something when Steve walks us through somebody else's system. Does anyone know the name of the "blue circle" device?
PLC
Blue Circle RPD-15 DC Offset Blocke
I can't find a speaker that symphonic/ big band music well. Why?
the best cheapest cables is blue jeans has the best capacitance out of all cables measured
I liked him better yesterday.🤔😀
Missed the subs in the audio system.
@@fourthrockonearth "That's just for the TV"
Two larger SVS subs for the music. That part of the interview got screwed up by a doorbell and friends coming in, I think.
What’s that blue circle device?
I would love to have the opportunity to experiment with the 14 gauge wire in Mark’s system, but when I took a look at the Parts Express website I didn’t see any 14 gauge cable sold under their name. I saw two different lines from Audtek and one from RCA. Is it possible to get a bit more detail on what he’s using and how it’s terminated?
The cable was originally sold under the Dayton brand, but I think the Audtek is the same stuff. I checked my original order and it was for "skirl-14" speaker wire. That part number comes up under the Audtek brand now. You could Google it further to see what happened to the Dayton wire, but the Audtek wire looks exactly the same to my eye. www.parts-express.com/audtek-electronics-skrl-14-100-14-awg-ofc-speaker-wire-100-ft--100-021
I don't terminate it. I strip it bare and tighten down the speaker terminals hard. Once a year I cut an inch off both ends to expose fresh copper. Don't know if that's the best way to do it, but that's my procedure.
Thanks, Mark! I enjoyed your interview very much.
@@markblock8659 I can picture you at 100 years old trying to stretch what's left of your speaker cable to reach the speakers. Hopefully you won't trip over it, and break a hip. 😂 😂 😂
@@amb3cog LOL. Maybe Parts Express will still be selling a hundred feet of speaker wire for $27.98, in which case I'll use my Social Security check to buy another reel.
what piece of gear have you fellow subscribers had the longest? 25 years, kudos Mark.
46 years Yamaha CR700 still use it as a tuner.
Marantz 2270 & JBL L100's since '74.
Fun episode. I didn’t understand how the analog chain works. Does the AQVox phono preamp have a ADC? How is that done?
Looked up the Lynx Hilo, and it has an ADC as well as a DAC. So when Mark said it has two balanced outputs, I think he meant one input it digitizes, and one output to the amp. So he’s probably going from the AQVox into the balanced input, that gets digitized at 24/192, then EQd, then back to analog to the amp. Is this right?
@@miguelbarrio The Lynx has an ADC and internal DACs with up to six analog 2 channel outputs. This allows him to assign one set of DACs to the high pass amplifier and another set to the subwoofers. As he explained the crossover is done in the digital domain and controlled by the Pure Music software running on the MacMini.
I meant six analog channels of output
Yeah, I didn't do too well explaining that part -- one of several areas in which misspoke a bit. The AQVOX (which is current "mode" not current "source") has a balanced in from the turntable and a balanced out going to the Lynx Hilo, which is both an ADC and DAC. The Hilo digitizes the signal and creates a 24/192 output. I take one balanced out from the Hilo into the Merrill amp, and the other outputs to the subs. The crossover and volume controls happen in Pure Vinyl for vinyl playback or Pure Music for digital playback. By the way, I now have a Lino C 2.0 phono stage (from the same designer as the Pure Vinyl software). I have it configured so that the RIAA correction is done in Pure Vinyl rather than in the phone stage.
@@markblock8659 Thank you. Does this mean that the digitized 24/192 signal from the phono stage goes to your computer (over USB), gets eq'd, then back to the DAC for decoding to analog?
What is this nosie filter he plugs in mains?
If you listen to pop or classic rock you might has well use earbuds and portable gear. On a high resolution system most of it, except for Dire Straits as an example, is irritating to me but fine on cheap consumer gear.
What is the Parts Express 14 gauge speaker cable he is referring too?
The brand is different now, but I'm pretty sure it's this stuff: www.parts-express.com/audtek-electronics-skrl-14-100-14-awg-ofc-speaker-wire-100-ft--100-021
@e james Featured in a previous Audiophiliac video. ua-cam.com/video/Fa9u7ZH3ZVo/v-deo.html
I missed the main part , active crossover , what’s the setup is the platinum passive or active
Anand Shah The platinum is a passive design, the crossover is between the speaker and the sub
Steve What is he using for active crossover on mac
Luckily he didnt bounce the basketball all over hes system;)
Mark, how do you know if you have standing waves in the room??
You take measurements. The measurement is called an FFT (fast Fourier transform). You can purchase an app for your phone and use that, like StudioSix for the iphone (that's about the best phone/ipad app). Or you can use REW on a PC, but then you will need to also purchase a calibrated mic. So, then you play the output signal from the software through your system and the software plots a frequency response curve. Room modes show up on this graph, look at this page realtraps.com/art_modes.htm . Another way is to listen. Play a bass solo, for instance, and are all the notes the same volume and tone and impact, or do some drop out and some get really loud. The some drop out and some get really loud thing is the result of room mode action.