My digital journey

CnoEvil

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Never went to a classical concert but saw a lot of artist like Tracy Chapman, Susan Vega, Amy Mc Donald even slash (one hell of a guitar player) in the Ancienne Belgique on acoustics this in one of the best concert hall's in the world saw a lot of other artists (my uncle worked there) but those where far from modern but cosy an warm effectively never harsh even Slash or Rival sons (those where pretty loud 😁
The difference a Classical Concert makes, is there are no mikes/amps/speakers to change the sound. You are hearing Instruments "In the wild", so to speak.

On amplified music you are completely dependant on the quality of how that is done....which can be brilliant or ear-splittingly awful.
 
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tuga

. . .
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The difference a Classical Concert makes, is there are no mikes/amps/speakers to change the sound. You are hearing Instruments "In the wild", so to speak.

On amplified music you are completely dependant on the quality of how that is done....which can be brilliant or ear-splittingly awful.
I would add that amplified music live can never sound the same as a studio recording because the latter is mixed to sound a particular way when reproduced through speakers or headphones which cannot be replicated live.
 

ChemMan

ChemMan
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I was streaming an internet radio station devoted to acoustic guitar pieces through my
Here is something else worth discussing in this thread. Radio Paradise Mellow Mix is on my system almost more than anything else. I find it warm, bassy, rich, round and wonderful. I rediscovered a recording of "Visions of Johanna" from Blonde on Blonde. It's an album I'm far too young to know, but because of it's imperiosity I know it nonetheless.

It's on as I write this Qobuz 96K 24 bit and simply not as enjoyable as the RP Stream. It's bright, thin, detailed and thoroughly turn-off-able. The Tidal MQA version is a little better. It's still thin, a bit bright, but slightly easier on the ears, yet I still want to squash that harmonica.

Heartbreaking. Truly. When I heard this before going to @Roby79 place on Saturday I immediately used the sense function to save it and favorite it. It was superlative from RP.

Our sources go only so far as is mentioned time and again on this forum. The recording itself, mastering, pedigree, etc. is paramount. What's all this mean to me? Warm and rich is better than detailed and impressive.
 
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CnoEvil

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What's all this mean to me? Warm and rich is better than detailed and impressive.
By far the biggest complaint from the old WHF days, was "The sound is bright, thin, harsh and not enjoyable - and I don't know why, because I bought all 5* components". When asked if it was demoed, the answer was "No, as I got them online at a good price".

There were very few complaints about a system being too smooth and rich sounding...but it did happen.
 

ChemMan

ChemMan
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There were very few complaints about a system being too smooth and rich sounding...but it did happen.
Goodness knows why. I reckon it's about time to go all in and embrace the @rabski way of listening and get myself a nice 300B SET or even an 805/845 of some sort. I mean, it's only 5K for a Line Magnetic -- only?????? The one thing I do know -- it's time for a change of speaker.
 

DomT

Food and coffee and rock n roll
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I would add that amplified music live can never sound the same as a studio recording because the latter is mixed to sound a particular way when reproduced through speakers or headphones which cannot be replicated live.
In general I agree but there are some exceptions. Japan’s recording engineer John Punter went on tour with them to make sure that the live sound was just like on the album. I really liked his work with Japan and Roxy Music.
 
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CnoEvil

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Goodness knows why. I reckon it's about time to go all in and embrace the @rabski way of listening and get myself a nice 300B SET or even an 805/845 of some sort. I mean, it's only 5K for a Line Magnetic -- only?????? The one thing I do know -- it's time for a change of speaker.
It's all about Onions - and @rabski knows his. He probably has a dozen half finished projects he could sort you out with (just add some LVs). 😁
 
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tuga

. . .
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Here is something else worth discussing in this thread. Radio Paradise Mellow Mix is on my system almost more than anything else. I find it warm, bassy, rich, round and wonderful. I rediscovered a recording of "Visions of Johanna" from Blonde on Blonde. It's an album I'm far too young to know, but because of it's imperiosity I know it nonetheless.

It's on as I write this Qobuz 96K 24 bit and simply not as enjoyable as the RP Stream. It's bright, thin, detailed and thoroughly turn-off-able. The Tidal MQA version is a little better. It's still thin, a bit bright, but slightly easier on the ears, yet I still want to squash that harmonica.

Heartbreaking. Truly. When I heard this before going to @Roby79 place on Saturday I immediately used the sense function to save it and favorite it. It was superlative from RP.

Our sources go only so far as is mentioned time and again on this forum. The recording itself, mastering, pedigree, etc. is paramount. What's all this mean to me? Warm and rich is better than detailed and impressive.
I've often come across this with Spotify not having the best mastered version of a particular recording.
Very annoying, and the reason why I track down good versions of the music I like and buy the CD or download.

It also frees me from the moods of the internet connection.
 

Roby79

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Apr 22, 2023
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Alex came by we both come to the same
Conclusion the d2 is worth the money
But might not be for our taste

Let me explain:
First all the characteristics I explained I found them to detail, space, control
Slightly to bright an cold an a little bass shy
But extremely crisp an accurate

Than we put the spikes… wow the D2 produc s the bass we where missing, I was missing all wknd
Then after a while in all this beauty it was a little to high for us an we couldn’t say it was warm
Compared to the moon the d2 was better in every aspect not miles a way, but better then it’s an other price range

Maybe @tuga you can correct if I’m wrong
My understanding is that xlr by default at 1.5db output over rca
I connected the moon via xlr to the amp an the d2 via rca . Of course we noticed the difference right away each time.
But measuring with the phone we had 8db difference, the d2 was 8 db louder

When putting the d2 back in the box I see the moon was connected via opt to the node the d2 via coax could that be the reason???

Anyway had a great weekend overall top of it was Saturday thanks again @ChemMan
Learned a lot thank you all a specially @CnoEvil for his patience research an advice
up to the next adventure , the next dac
Nooe there is a little question nagging me of course would the spring sound the same way now the Avalon’s are on the spikes? Would the bass be more controlled an free?
The end of this werkend I would say I lean more to the sound of the Spring because of his perfect imperfections even if it to much
An the D2 is almost perfect I Can only say
A little to harsh in the high an an sometimes feels cold because of his accuracy
An his price tag of course
3rd thing the moon is really good in his class, really scored well
 
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CnoEvil

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Way better see my answer
The next step could be to measure your room acoustically, to get an idea of what is going on. I believe this is in @ChemMan 's skillset, so if in a good mood, he might guide you through it.

You will likely find the room has the biggest impact on what you hear - so if there are problematic nodes, expensive gear will not reach its potential.

With the worst areas in your room acoustically treated, it will be much easier to assess different components. WHF have even done a writeup on this: https://www.whathifi.com/features/t...nent-in-your-system-isnt-what-you-think-it-is
 
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tuga

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My understanding is that xlr by default at 1.5db output over rca
I connected the moon via xlr to the amp an the d2 via rca . Of course we noticed the difference right away each time.
But measuring with the phone we had 8db difference, the d2 was 8 db louder

The Moon line-level output was measured at 2.05v by Hi-Fi News, maybe that explains the difference:

https://www.hifinews.com/content/simaudio-moon-280d-mind-2-networked-attached-dac-lab-report

I hadn't realised that it also used an ESS chip. If you have a coax you could try S/PDIF but I wouldn't expect much difference in presentation. USB might.
 

Roby79

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The Moon line-level output was measured at 2.05v by Hi-Fi News, maybe that explains the difference:

https://www.hifinews.com/content/simaudio-moon-280d-mind-2-networked-attached-dac-lab-report

I hadn't realised that it also used an ESS chip. If you have a coax you could try S/PDIF but I wouldn't expect much difference in presentation. USB might.
Didn’t test usb yet maybe I should
2.05v seems very low
D2 announce
XLR: 5,6 Vrms RCA: 2,8 Vrms
Even the Primaluna claims to have 2.1v an has only Rca but they admit it’s on the lower side

Logically I would say I should pay attention to this as the Ams only Hase 35w but class A that seem to change the game
 
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CnoEvil

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If interested in the Linn Selekt, this is what I would want to try and find out, given the price difference of various options:

1. Aside from aesthetics, what performance advantage does the £5050 extra for the "Edition Hub" model bring - due to better isolation of components?

2. What improvement in SQ do you get by spending the extra £2250 for the "Dual Mono Organik" DAC over the "Stereo Organik" version?

3. What is the difference in SQ between "Classic Hub" + Dual Mono vs "Edition Hub" + Stereo Organik

4. Will the "Edition Hub" hold its value better second hand, given it's much more desirable, due to its aesthetics/build quality.....This will be harder to quantify.
I know how you operate - and you will be immediately drawn to the much higher quality case of the "Edition" version.

I suspect the above questions have been brought up and discussed in the Linn section of this Forum.

IME. When Linn bring something out and say it is an improvement - it almost always is. So as always, it's about putting a value on that improvement......and that will have to be judged against the competition ie. Pulse + Preferred DAC.

Pulse + May KTE...........£7,970
Pulse + May L2.............£7,049
Pulse + Spring KTE.....£5424

Pulse + Aqua La Scala.......................£9760

Selekt Classic + Stereo Organik....£8150
Selekt Classic + Mono Organik.....£10,400
 
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Roby79

Wammer
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Apr 22, 2023
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295
78
Zaventem
HiFi Trade?
  1. Yes
  2. No
If interested in the Linn Selekt, this is what I would want to try and find out, given the price difference of various options:

1. Aside from aesthetics, what performance advantage does the £5050 extra for the "Edition Hub" model bring - due to better isolation of components?

2. What improvement in SQ do you get by spending the extra £2250 for the "Dual Mono Organik" DAC over the "Stereo Organik" version?

3. What is the difference in SQ between "Classic Hub" + Dual Mono vs "Edition Hub" + Stereo Organik

4. Will the "Edition Hub" hold its value better second hand, given it's much more desirable, due to its aesthetics/build quality.....This will be harder to quantify.
I know how you operate - and you will be immediately drawn to the much higher quality case of the "Edition" version.

I suspect the above questions have been brought up and discussed in the Linn section of this Forum.

IME. When Linn bring something out and say it is an improvement - it almost always is. So as always, it's about putting a value on that improvement......and that will have to be judged against the competition ie. Pulse + Preferred DAC.

Pulse + May KTE...........£7,970
Pulse + May L2.............£7,049
Pulse + Spring KTE.....£5424

Pulse + Aqua La Scala.......................£9760

Selekt Classic + Stereo Organik....£8150
Selekt Classic + Mono Organik.....£10,400
It think you like to get me spinning 😈😈😈😂
 

Roby79

Wammer
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Apr 22, 2023
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Zaventem
HiFi Trade?
  1. Yes
  2. No
Interesting pol I promise it’s not mine 😂
 

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