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Do you consider yourself an audiophile?

Are you an audiophile?

  • Yes

    Votes: 31 13.4%
  • No

    Votes: 84 36.4%
  • Audiophiles are deluded bullshitters

    Votes: 116 50.2%

  • Total voters
    231
or could i use something like a cambridge audio dac magic, it has a usb input?
Yeah, that would work, the main difference there is it’s just designed to get audio out of a device whereas a proper sound card works both ways so you can capture good quality sound into a computer as well as getting decent sound out of it.
 
Lots of amps now have a DAC inbuilt. All of my listening these days comes from digital sources so I have an amp that doesn't even have any analogue input.

If you are a proper audiophile though, you need to purchase a dedicated DAC, a large black box with a small microchip and lots of fresh air inside.
 
moody - This is the DAC you need:
1697172503597.png


It is also benefited with the use of PureWave technology, which is balanced, symmetrical dual-mono topology with short, direct signal paths. It achieves sonic purity due to the exceptional linearity and extremely low levels of noise and distortion.

The only problem is that looking back at the thread, I don't think we ever identified wtf those things are below/on top of the DAC, and without them, idk if you will really benefit from the DAC at all.


Actually I've struggled to find obviously loony audiophile DACs, I think there might be a gap in the market... That one has the patter but there are more expensive DACs out there and they don't have the loony patter to them and seem genuinely like pro end DACs (eg: Lynx Aurora N 32 DNT (Dante)) ... or another on that site which does have something of the patter but I honestly don't know if this is nonsense or not:

The output of a DAC chip is either a voltage or current (as in our design) that represents the value presented on their digital inputs. This output is to be converted to voltage (in case of a current output) and filtered with a low pass filter. These two stages are typically designed with the same reference voltage of the DAC chip at e.g. 5V. Think about this: the first stage that the analog waveform is exposed to has a headroom limited to 5V. Now imagine this to be 120V! This is what we have done in the Director. The current to voltage conversion as well as the low pass filter are both running on a 120V rail - our VOLTAiR technology. The incredible headroom and the enormous power lets the analog wavefront come to life and evolve without limitations. And that is audible. Very much so.
 
moody - This is the DAC you need:
View attachment 395210




The only problem is that looking back at the thread, I don't think we ever identified wtf those things are below/on top of the DAC, and without them, idk if you will really benefit from the DAC at all.


Actually I've struggled to find obviously loony audiophile DACs, I think there might be a gap in the market... That one has the patter but there are more expensive DACs out there and they don't have the loony patter to them and seem genuinely like pro end DACs (eg: Lynx Aurora N 32 DNT (Dante)) ... or another on that site which does have something of the patter but I honestly don't know if this is nonsense or not:
Jeezs, that iFi model is a grand!

I did have a little look last night once it had been suggested.

Think i might investigate getting a Cambridge Audio dacmagic as they often come up secondhand, are viewed as nice bits of kit and a lot of people are using them for the specific purpose mentioned with good reported results.
 
Jeezs, that iFi model is a grand!

I did have a little look last night once it had been suggested.

Think i might investigate getting a Cambridge Audio dacmagic as they often come up secondhand, are viewed as nice bits of kit and a lot of people are using them for the specific purpose mentioned with good reported results.
I know, bargain isn't it! You could be spending £5-£10k but only a fool would spend that much money on a piece of home hi-fi equipment, and I see you are no fool ;)

I'm honestly just disappointed that I didn't immediately find something completely crazy at the apparent professional price point. Where's all my de-oxidised computer chips, ionic gold connectors and proclamations about heightened soundstages etc?
 
my arcam alpha 10 is fooked.

been in the repair shop for a few weeks now. had new speaker relays, a chip replaced but there is still a further issue with one of the processors?

Waiting for a part but not holding out much hope.

In the meantime, I have found and bought this arcam a22 amp as a replacement.

403406892_371193625295126_6758467780092099347_n.jpg

It's based on the alpha 10 but is more recent and has updated components. Same 100 wpc though and will slot right in with my FJM P25 power amp.

The (FJM) A22 was the flagship amp in the FJM series so I'm expecting a half decent amp.
 
got my alpha 10 back today fully working, the guy didn't even want anything for sorting it.

I got the a22 here too. (& a p25)

I think I am gonna trade them all in and got for one decent anologue amp, one with no digital features like processors or volume control.

as these are the things that go first when things go wrong. the repair guy said so himself, having replaced some chip and some processor in the alpha ten, and as there old amps the parts are really hard to get.

so gonna be looking for a mid level old school amp maybe in the summer, should be able to get decent money for my arcams as they're rated by folk.
 

Ken Fritz was years into his quest to build the world’s greatest stereo when he realized it would take more than just gear.

It would take more than the Krell amplifiers and the Ampex reel-to-reel. More than the trio of 10-foot speakers he envisioned crafting by hand.
And it would take more than what would come to be the crown jewel of his entire system: the $50,000 custom record player, his “Frankentable,” nestled in a 1,500-pound base designed to thwart any needle-jarring vibrations and equipped with three different tone arms, each calibrated to coax a different sound from the same slab of vinyl.

...

No, building the world’s greatest stereo would mean transforming the very space that surrounded it — and the lives of the people who dwelt there.
 

Ken Fritz was years into his quest to build the world’s greatest stereo when he realized it would take more than just gear.

It would take more than the Krell amplifiers and the Ampex reel-to-reel. More than the trio of 10-foot speakers he envisioned crafting by hand.
And it would take more than what would come to be the crown jewel of his entire system: the $50,000 custom record player, his “Frankentable,” nestled in a 1,500-pound base designed to thwart any needle-jarring vibrations and equipped with three different tone arms, each calibrated to coax a different sound from the same slab of vinyl.

...

No, building the world’s greatest stereo would mean transforming the very space that surrounded it — and the lives of the people who dwelt there.
makes me think no different than people with massive train sets - too much time and money on their hands
 
1705489029958.png

Honestly though those are some mad speakers and he built them himself, insane but I've definitely got some kind of respect for this guy for going all out on his passion.
Problem I see with his system though:
1705489157305.png
I mean what are those cables doing just lying on the floor like that!? He needs himself some cable uplifters...

also the article says when they sold this all off, those massive speakers sold for just over $10k, which is less than this pair of Yamaha bookshelf speakers:
which are $17k - I don't associate Yamaha with audophile stuff, is there a reason these are so expensive?
 
also the article says when they sold this all off, those massive speakers sold for just over $10k, which is less than this pair of Yamaha bookshelf speakers:
which are $17k - I don't associate Yamaha with audophile stuff, is there a reason these are so expensive?
What? I wouldn't have thought that Yamaha went in for all that bullshit.
I can't see anything in the materials or design that warrants anything much more than a grand.

  • Newly developed diaphragms boast acoustic velocity comparable to that of beryllium
So not beryllium and not as expensive or as expensive to work with
  • Newly developed R.S. (Resonance Suppression) Chambers suppress unwanted resonance in the mid and high ranges
Um, isn't this normal? No speaker wants unwanted resonance in any frequency . . it's unwanted. All designs take this into account.
These speakers have chambers of resonance suppression?
  • 30 cm (12”) 3-way bookshelf design draws on the tradition of the legendary NS-1000M
So what?
  • Carefully crafted laminated plywood enclosure made of Japanese white birch from the island of Hokkaido
It's laminated plywood. It looks nicer than the regular stuff but in terms of speaker construction it's a waste of the extra cost.
  • Newly developed Acoustic Absorber eliminates sound-absorbing material to revive the original presence of the music
Wut? I'd need a lot more info than this line of very cloudy bullshit before I dropped 18k on a set of 12inch speakers.
 
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well quite, but like ATOMIC SUPLEX I don't really associate Yamaha with this kind of stuff which is why I was wondering... maybe it's just distraction pricing (I can't remember if that's actually the right term) - where they make something stupidly expensive to make other things look more reasonably priced in comparison.
Trouble is, it makes Yamaha look like jokers. They have already gone down in my estimation.
 
There's a 1970/80s Yamaha speaker with a similar name that has long been popular with certain elements of the audiophile set, despite not really having been intended for that market ... this may be an attempt to capitalise on that?
 
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